Tappan Zee Boys Win Second Basketball Title in Three Years (VIDEO)

Tappan Zee entered Sunday's Section 1 Class A boys basketball championship game against Poughkeepsie without senior center Brendan Donahue, who has a severely sprained ankle.

The Dutchmen overcame that to build a 10-point halftime lead, but watched that disappear as the Pioneers began the third quarter with a 10-0 run.

"I thought we did a really good job the length of the game with their pressure, however they are very aggressive and they trap very well," Tappan Zee Head Coach George Gaine said. "I thought for a second we got kind of rattled, but it goes back to the mental toughness."

That toughness allowed Tappan Zee to regain control even without its big man, beating Poughkeepsie, 50-45, to win the program's second Section 1 Class A boys basketball championship in three seasons.

"It feels great," said senior forward Billy O'Shea, who was named the tournament's MVP. "I love playing with my teammates. We don't want it to end. We are looking forward to keeping playing."

Tappan Zee (21-0) will play Seton Catholic Central 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson City High School in the first round of regionals.

The Dutchmen needed a balanced offensive effort to make that happen. Senior Brian McLaughlin led the way with 13 points, but the Dutchmen also got 12 points from O'Shea, 11 from senior Pat Peterson and eight from junior center Eric Casey, Donahue's replacement.

"That was huge," Gaine said. "I didn't want us to be just shooting threes. he gave us easy baskets. "

"Our three things were not turn the ball over, transition and boxing out," junior guard Joe Letizia said. "It’s hard without big Donanhue in there, but Eric Casey stepped up huge."

Gaine also made an adjustment after watching Poughkeepsie's victory over Peekskill in the semifinals.

"I watched Peekskill play zone and Poughkeepsie kept getting second shots," Gaine said. "I said we’re going to make our man-to-man like a zone. We packed it in. It almost looked like a zone. When they shot, it, we wanted rebound responsibility of a man. In zone, there is no responsibility."

Though Tappan Zee did win two years ago, only Peterson and Letizia were major contributors on that team and in Sunday's championship.

"I try to tell people all the time, anybody who predicted Tappan Zee is going to win two section titles in three years are out of their minds," Gaine said. "It’s a credit to these guys, who put in so many hours over the years. They played all those AAU games, those summer games, not to play in college, but to win a section."

McLaughlin joined O'Shea on the all-tournament team, which also included D'Andre Smith and Devin Lawrence of Poughkeepsie, Andrew Maloney of Byram Hills and Chandler Pierce of Peekskill.

Smith led Poughkeepsie with 14 points Sunday. He converted a three-point play and hit a 3-point shot to tie the championship game with 5:03 remaining in the third period.

"We though they were going to go away," Letizia said. "Coach was telling us they would fold, but they didn't fold. They tied it up."

O'Shea finally scored with 3:55 left in the third period to end the Poughkeepsie rally and give Tappan Zee the lead for good.