Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017: Beacon basketball forfeits seven victories

   Leading off today: The use of an ineligible player has cost Beacon all of the victories in a 7-3 start to the boys basketball season according to Hudson Valley Sports Report.

   The player was also on the football team, and that team's victories have also been forfeited.

   Superintendent Ann Marie Quartironi said Beacon self-reported to Section 1 after learning of the district's error in permitting the unidentified athlete to play. "The student was in no way at fault for the error," she said in a statement.

   Beacon AD Marty Nemecek notified the affected schools Friday.

   "We are still looking to be competitive and try to earn back a sectional bid," coach Scott Timpano told the website. "We are extremely disappointed but we'll go out and work hard and compete the rest of the season."

   No. 1 Moravia falls: Moravia's Jordan Crossgrove hit a long 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left to force overtime, but Groton took the early lead in the extra session as Paul Brecht scored eight straight points and held off the state's top-ranked boys basketball team 64-59.

   Groton is ranked 14th in Class C.

   Groton's Canaan Bowie led all scorers with 27 points and Brecht finished with 21, including 11 in OT. Crossgrove and Gabe Short each recorded 15 points for Moravia.

    • The new No. 1 team in Class C could be Northstar Christian in Section 5. Coming off a 77-49 loss to Class AA Bishop Kearney earlier in the week, Northstar scored a 62-55 win over Class D No. 3 C.G. Finney as Trey Roberts scored 14 points.

   CHSAA showdown: Archbishop Molloy, ranked fifth in the state in Class AA, scored a 78-67 win over No. 11 Christ the King.

   Molloy rallied from a two-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, and Khalid Moore and Cole Anthony each finished with 23 points. Seven-foot center Brown added 17 points with 15 rebounds for the Stanners.

   Molloy, which shot 31-for-50 from the free-throw line, has another big test Sunday vs. No. 3 Queens High School of Teaching.

   More boys basketball: Schalmont pulled away from a close game with a 17-6 margin in the third quarter and went on to hand Class B No. 15 Ichabod Crane its first loss, 71-55. Troy Moran led the Sabres with 20 points and Jesse O'Dell.

   A leaking roof in the Iona Prep gym forced officials to suspend the Gaels' game with Archbishop Stepinac midway through the third quarter with the hosts up 39-34. The game will resume next Friday.

   Boys hockey: Top-ranked Mamaroneck blanked No. 7 Suffern 3-0 in a Division I matchup. Will Payne, Connor

LeBlanc and Harrison Schreiber scored in a 90-second outburst in the second period.

   "We're starting to get really confident on defense," Mamaroneck goalie Tommy Spero said after his first shutout of the season. "We're stepping up more where we were backing in and that's been key. We also worked on clearing guys in front on the penalty kill instead of letting them screen. It's been working great so far. The defense is getting better and better each day and I'm loving it."

   More later, possibly: Aside from the Beacon forfeits, Friday proved to be a fairly newsy day in the world of New York high school sports. Time allowing, I'll be back with a second blog later Saturday. Otherwise I'll catch you up on the developments at some point Sunday.