We’re down to the final eight teams in the Section 1 tournament (Clark is already in states in Class D). Here are the matchups in case that rock you live under doesn’t have internet:

Class AA
Mount Vernon vs. Poughkeepsie, Sunday at noon
Class A
Peekskill vs. Port Chester, Sunday at 7:15
Class B
North Salem vs. Briarcliff, Saturday, 5 p.m.
Class C
Keio vs. Tuckahoe, Saturday, noon

Here’s where we go after Sunday:

State regional finals
Monday
Class B vs. Section 9 at New Paltz, 6 p.m.

Tuesday
Class D: Clark Academy vs. Section 11’s Greenport at Westchester County Center, 3 p.m.
Class C: Tuckahoe vs. Section 9’s Millbrook at Westchester County Center, 4:45 p.m.
Class AA: Mount Vernon vs. Section 9’s Minisink Valley, at New Paltz, 6 p.m.
(Class A gets a bye)

State quarterfinals
Friday
Class A vs. Section 9-Section 4 winner, at Pace, 8 p.m.

Saturday (if necessary)
at Cortland State
Mount Vernon-Minisink Valley winner vs. Section 4, 2:45 p.m.

At New Paltz
Class B, noon
Class C, 2 p.m.
Class D, 4 p.m.

If you want to start planning ahead, check out the great Section 9 site of the Middletown Times-Herald Record. Their version of Varsity Central is called Varsity 845. You can find info about all the teams, as well as game previews for this weekend’s Section 9 championships.

7:18 p.m.: Port Chester wins 61-51. Larizza scored 19 points for Port Chester and McGuinness had 15 to lead Pearl River. Henriquez had 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

7:10 p.m.: Pearl River had it down to seven at 51-44, but Port Chester made its free throws and now its 58-47 with 30 seconds remaining. I’ll have a final and some state momentarily.

6:52 p.m.: Larizza just hit his fourth 3 to make the score 46-31 with 3:40 left. So much for a close game today.

6:51 p.m.: Now it’s 43-31 with four minutes left. Pearl River still hasn’t scored this quarter.

6:42 p.m.: Port Chester leads 37-31 after three. Larizza and McGuinness each have 11 points, and Henriquez has eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

6:35 p.m.: Pearl River has cut the lead to 30-29 with 3:30 to play. A 3-pointer by McGuinness forced a Rams timeout.

6:31 p.m.: The lead is now 28-22 with 5:57 left in the third quarter. Eddie McGuinness opened with a 3 for Pearl River but the Rams have scored four in a row.

6:19 p.m.: Port Chester is up 24-19 at the half, the biggest lead of the game for either team. Larizza is the leading scorer with eight points, while Putnick and Ferreira have six each for the Pirates.

6:10 p.m.: Back-to-back 3s by Lou Larizza as Port Chester goes up 20-16 with 2:19 remaining.

6:02 p.m.: Rob Ferreira just gave Pearl River its biggest lead at 16-12 with 6:14 left in the half. Ferreira has six points so far.

5:57 p.m.: Pearl River leads 11-10 after the first quarter. Kafele Carty scored the Rams first six points, while Stephen Putnick had the first five for the Pirates. Standout center Jordan Henriquez picked up his second foul on an over-the-back in the final minute.

Two teams hoping for a finals date with Peekskill will tipoff at approximately 5:45, and I’ll have the updates here. After two blowouts this afternoon, I’m really hoping for a close game. By the way, not much respect for Port Chester’s top players in the official program: Lou Larozzi and Jordan Herdiquez.

5:16 p.m.: Peekskill wins 79-47. Watts had a game-high 23 points, Brickhouse had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists and Jones had just two points but recorded six assists, five steals and four rebounds. Pagan led Panas with 14 points. Pearl River-Port Chester should start around 5:45.

4:56 p.m.: A putback at the buzzer by DeVon Tucker means Panas outscored Peekskill 16-14 in the third quarter, but it’s still 56-29 overall. Jones still has two points, but he has six assists and four steals.

4:48 p.m.: It might be too little, too late, but after 15 first-half turnovers the Panthers look a lot more comfortable in the second half. Michael Pagan has six in the third quarter and 10 of the Panthers 23 points. It’s now 54-23, which means 12-10 since halftime.

4:30 p.m.: Peekskill leads 42-13 at the half. Panas finally hit a field goal with 2:41 left in the second quarter, an alley-oop lay-up by DeVon Tucker to make it 40-10. Watts has 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting. Amazingly, Mookie Jones only has two points. Peekskill is 19 of 29 from the floor.

4:17 p.m.: Peekskill scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to go up 36-6. Watts now has 15.

4:08 p.m.: Peekskill leads 26-6 after the first quarter. Ralph Watts has 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including a 3-pointer to close the quarter. Panas is 6 for 6 from the line or else it would be worse.

4:00 p.m.: It’s now 13-2, and the Panthers just called another time out with 4:18 left. Another fast break lay-up by Brickhouse and a pull-up by Watts, who has six points.

3:57 p.m.: A fast break reverse lay-up by Daquan Brickhouse puts Peekskill up 9-2. Panas just called time out with 5:13 left in the first quarter. The Red Devils took the lead right from the start on a putback by Ralph Watts and a 3 by Darien Thomas, while Panas had a shot-clock violation. DeVon Tucker made two free throws for the Panthers points.

Hi, this is Harold Gutmann and I’ll be updating everyone on the progress of the Class A semifinals. In a shocking development, the game won’t start on time. Best guess is a 3:50 tipoff.

Class C championship
No. 2 Keio (14-7) vs. No. 4 Tuckahoe (14-8)
When: Today, noon
How’d they get here: Keio beat Leake & Watts, 56-45. Tuckahoe rallied to beat Blind Brook, 41-39.
Match-up to watch: John Foster, Tuckahoe vs. Takuhiro Hashiyama, Keio. The Unicorns really don’t have a true big man. Foster, meanwhile, has steadily improved in the last month. If Foster plays the way he did against Hamilton in the quarters, Keio could be in trouble underneath.
Who’ll decide the game: Robert Johnson, Tuckahoe. No question about it. When he works for his shots the way he did in the fourth quarter against Blind Brook, he is dangerous. Keio is going to throw their fastest defender on him no matter where he goes. It’s up to him and be patient and not force things.
How Keio can win: Work for high-percentage shots. The reason Keio was able to beat Leake & Watts was because of its discipline on offense and ability to knock down 10-15 footers. Hashiyama was brilliant, especially when he created space along the wing. As long as Naruse and Ogawa work the ball on the perimeter and penetrate, the shots will be there.
How Tuckahoe can win: Pressure the ball. Tuckahoe didn’t have a prayer of beating Blind Brook on Monday until it put on its press and finally played with a sense of urgency. When the Tigers do that, they’re tough to beat. Keio has some good ball-handlers, especially Naruse. But it might be worth testing them early and see how they handle the big stage.
Who will win: Tuckahoe. The Tigers’ season was done with five minutes to play on Monday. I wrote them off, as did everyone in the crowd. But their dramatic comeback against Blind Brook made me a believer on this team. PREDICTION: TUCKAHOE 53, KEIO 50.

Class B championship
No. 1 North Salem (21-1) vs. No. 2 Briarcliff (18-4)
When: Today, 5:15 p.m.
How’d they get here: North Salem beat Irvington, 66-58. Briarcliff beat Albertus Magnus, 70-58.
Match-up to watch: Karl Miras, North Salem vs. Alex Gulotta, Briarcliff. Personally, I don’t think Briarcliff can win this game unless Gulotta shoots the ball well. He’ll likely have Miras in his face the entire game. Miras did a superb job defending Irvington’s Nick Nedwick in the second half and was largely responsible for the Tigers rallying to win that game.
Who’ll decide the game: Kyle Beechum, Briarcliff. Marc Miller is 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds. The only player who could possibly muscle him around in the paint is Beechum. He’s continued to play better and better as the season has gone on. How he defends in this game is pivotal.
How North Salem can win: Don’t change a thing. The Tigers have gotten this far, winning 21 straight game, by sticking with the same formula: in-your-face defense, patience with the ball and toughness on the boards. There are no egos on this team and every has their role. As long as they don’t stray from that, they’ll be in the game.
How Briarcliff can win: Switch up the defense. Now that the Bears have finally decided to give max effort on defense, they can do a few things. Irvington stuck with its zone against North Salem and, slowly but surely, the Tigers adapted and won the game. Briarcliff should give North Salem as many different looks as possible. The Bears are far faster and more athletic. The more they make North Salem run, the better.
Who will win: Briarcliff. The bullseye has been on this team’s back since the moment it won here last year. With Gulotta, Joe Lombardi and Beechum back, this season is a failure without a sectional title. North Salem is going to give Briarcliff some headaches with its defensive adjustments. But it won’t be enough. PREDICTION: BRIARCLIFF 65, NORTH SALEM 59.

As most of you know, the County Center schedule was reshuffled a little bit for today. Tonight’s girls game between Beacon and Byram Hills moved from 8:15 to 2 because of the threat of snow.

Peekskill vs. Panas is still scheduled for 3:30, although it will be more like 3:45 by the time this game finishes and they warm-up.

A few moments ago, Peekskill arrived at the County Center in fresh new warm-up suits. They’ll be getting plenty of mileage out of those. Actually, Mookie Jones is donning a Syracuse sweatshirt. Amazingly, he seems to be enjoying the Beacon-Byram Hills game, even though Beacon is currently ahead 28-10.

Harold Gutmann will be back later with game updates.

The flu bug ripped through the Scarsdale locker room this past week, turning one of the quickest and high-energy teams in the area into a sniffling, coughing and fatigued shell of its 17-win self.

Please, I know what you’re already thinking. And I promise that this isn’t an excuse. Scarsdale would have lost to Mount Vernon in today’s Class AA semifinal at the County Center. It just would have been a lot more competitive. The score would have been closer than the 78-59 score — a score that wasn’t even as close as it sounds.

If you came to the County Center today to watch mighty Mount Vernon take on Scarsdale, you got gypped. You didn’t get to see the Scarsdale. This wasn’t the team that could drain 3-pointers from all over, race up and down the floor or run around endless screens and knock down shots. Instead, you saw a Scarsdale team had to slow the tempo down and lure Mount Vernon into an ugly halfcourt game where it seemed every play ended with a whistle or a missed shot.

Evan Livingston, Scarsdale’s star senior point guard, hadn’t practiced all week and had a 101-degree fever up until game time. He had two points in about 20 minutes. David Zaitz, who’ll play next season at Amherst, had 21 points despite walking around school like a zombie all week because of head congestion and fatigue. Seth Goldwasser battled the bug. So did many other players.

Again, the illnesses didn’t decide the game. It just made what could have been an intriguing David vs. Goliath match-up into 32 dull minutes, resulting in a nondescript game. Scarsdale was capable of much more.

Mount Vernon led only 12-6 after the first quarter as Scarsdale shot only 3 of 12 from the floor. So many shots seemed to roll off the rim for the Raiders. But stood out most was the fact they passed up so many shots from the perimeter. This was one of the best 3-point shooting teams — led by Lucas Radov, Section 1’s leading 3-pointer shooter. Yet  they only attempted four 3s in the first half. None fell.

They were far more focused on hanging all over Kevin Jones and Sherrod Wright. It worked early. Jones missed his first six shots before finally getting angry and taking the game over. He had 10 of his 23 points in the five minutes before the half as the Knights went up 10. Wright then hit his first four shots of the third to push the lead to 20. Game over.

Jones had 16 rebounds and two blocks, and Wright added 23 points and six rebounds. Jordan Lessane scored 10 points and Ketema Brooks added nine assists.

Zaitz had 21 points to cap his four-year varsity career, and Goldwasser had arguably his best game of the season, recording 10 points and six rebounds while playing superb defense on Jones, who is four inches taller, mainly because he was physical with him.

“Kevin was finally able to take two or three guys up in his arms and score baskets,” Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino said. “He’s got to be mad, hit a few times, before he decides to power-up. They obliged. They were all over him.”

Mount Vernon now goes into Sunday’s final against No. 2 Poughkeepsie. Expect it to be a lot more like the thriller Poughkeepsie and New Rochelle played in Wednesday’s other semifinal. Either way, the Knights, I suspect, are headed for their eighth title in nine seasons.

Scarsdale, meanwhile, had an incredible season brought to an end. There’s no shame in losing to Mount Vernon, where many seasons have ended before. We’ll just never know how good this game could have been.

With County Center week going on, I completely lose track of everything in the outside world. I forget to pay bills, eat meals, see my family and, worst of all, follow the CHSAA playoffs.

Stepinac and Mount St. Michael survived Wednesday’s intersectional games. Here’s the quarterfinal matchups in the A Division:

Saturday
all games at Mount St. Michael
Mount St. Michael vs. Xavier, 1:30 p.m.
Iona Prep vs. St. John’s Prep, 3 p.m.
Cardinal Hayes vs. Moore Catholic, 4:45 p.m.
Stepinac vs. Bishop Ford, 6:15 p.m.

In the B Division, No. 2 Blessed Sacrament will face No. 7 Sacred Heart tonight at Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. Blessed Sacrament dominated both regular season meetings. Salesian plays Cathedral at 7:45.

I’ll do my best to keep up-to-date from now on.

No. 1 Peekskill (22-0) vs. No. 12 Panas (14-8)
When: Today, 3:30 p.m.
How’d they get here: Peekskill beat Tappan Zee. Panas defeated Spring Valley.
Match-up to watch: Michael Pagan of Panas vs. Elliot Watson, Peekskill. Each is a super-athletic post player who, when focused, is a brutal playing to match up with. Pagan is a phenomenal rebounder who has played his best in the postseason.
Who’ll decide the game: Daquan Brickhouse, Peekskill. The last time the sophomore point guard was on this floor, he was sticking overtime daggers into White Plains in the Slam Dunk final. The kid is a gamer. And don’t forget, he’s a sophomore.
How Peekskill can win: Hit the boards. Panas’ ability to rebound, especially on the offensive end, has gotten it to this point. Watson, Ralph Watts and Darien Thomas cannot allow the Panthers many second-chance opportunities or this will be closer than you think.
How Panas can win: Stop Mookie. Panas knows it’s an underdog. But I think that, if it’s going to lose, make somebody other than Mookie Jones beat you. Don’t be just another team that Mookie has sent into the offseason. Even if it means triple-teamming him, make somebody else win the game.
Who will win: Peekskill. No dispute here. The Red Devils have actually earned a lot of respect in the past eight days without even playing a game. They knocked around Poughkeepsie twice this season. Add that to a growing list of reasons why Peekskill is headed for a fourth straight title. PREDICTION: PEEKSKILL 76, PANAS 60.

No. 2 Port Chester (17-5) vs. No. 3 Pearl River (18-4)
When: Today, 5:15 p.m.
How’d they get here: Peekskill beat Tappan Zee. Panas defeated Spring Valley.
Match-up to watch: Jordan Henriquez, Port Chester vs. Pearl River’s ability to box out. If the 6-foot-11 Henriquez is within reach of the rim, Pearl River is in major trouble. The Pirates are going to have to keep a body on him at all times.
Who’ll decide the game: Lou Larizza, Port Chester. The Rams have a habit of straying from their game plans when they step on the County Center floor. It’s up to Larizza to make sure that doesn’t happen. Even if it means sacrificing his own shots, the point guard must create shots and keep the talent around him together. He’s the glue.
How Pearl River can win: Shoot the lights out. Usually I come up with a tactical element. This is more out of the Pirates’ control. Pearl River will not rebound with Port Chester consistently. Henriquez, Kafele Carty and Shakeem King are too good on the boards. How do you not get killed on the boards? You make shots.
How Port Chester can win: Play disciplined. The tendancy for Port Chester in a game like this has always been to outrun its opponent. It fell into that trap against Rye and Lourdes momentarily but rescued itself and kept the lead because of a few 3-pointers. Pearl River will make the Rams pay for their mistakes.
Who will win: Port Chester. Ever since I watched Port Chester and Peekskill earlier this season, I felt it was destiny these two powerhouses would meet in the final. The Rams haven’t stumbled since dropping the final two games of the Slam Dunk. They’ve earned one more shot at a Peekskill team that’s swiped away their title chances. PREDICTION: PORT CHESTER 66, PEARL RIVER 58.

6:09 p.m. – Here are some final stats from the last game. Kevin Jones and Sherrod Wright each had 23 points for Mount Vernon.
David Zaitz led Scarsdale with 21.

Okay, time to magically switch over to Josh Thomson’s Sixth Man blog where I will be keeping everyone posted on the Class AA girls semifinal game between Mount Vernon and Lourdes. Keep it right here on lohud.com for the latest.

6:02 p.m. – After a couple fouls, we finally have a final. Top-seeded Mount Vernon has moved on with a 78-49 win over Scarsdale. The Knights will play No. 2 Poughkeepsie in the championship game Sunday at noon.

5:59 p.m. – The Mount Vernon chants are rolling in as the final seconds tick off the clock.

5:49 p.m. – There’s 3:36 left and Sherrod Wright is going to the foul line for two more. The junior just made a tough layup moments before to give Mount Vernon a 65-40 lead.

5:45 p.m.- Not much has changed. There’s 5:21 left and Mount Vernon leads 58-38. David Zaitz just hit a tough reverse layup. He’s having a solid game for the Raiders with 18 points thus far. He’s also showed his variety of skills passing, on the glass and on defense.

5:38 p.m. – A 3-point play by Kevin Jones to start the fourth quarter has given Mount Vernon it’s biggest lead so far at 58-34. More chanting from the Knights’ crowd is bound to start soon.

5:34 p.m. – We’re through three quarters here and Mount Vernon holds a commanding 55-34 lead. Kevin Jones added a late 3-pointer for the Knights, who seemed to make just about everything they looked at during the period.

5:29 p.m. – Mount Vernon leads 52-31 with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter. The Knights connected on their first seven shots of the quarter to break this game open.

5:24 p.m. – Back-to-back buckets by Jordan Lessane has given Mount Vernon a 46-28 lead with 4:18 left in the third. Sherrod Wright has added a 3-pointer as well to give the junior nine points in the first two minutes of the second half. Scarsdale coach Jon Feld just took a much needed timeout.

5:20 p.m. – Everything is going in for sherrod Wright. First the crazy bounce on the jumper, then a deep fadeaway and then a semi-botched dunk that still went through. It’s 38-26 Mount Vernon with 6 minutes to play in the third.

5:17 p.m. – Sherrod Wright just got the half started with a foul line jumper that took an amazingly fortuitous bounce off the top of the backboard before dropping. It’s 34-32 early in the third.

5:05 p.m. – We’re at halftime and Mount Vernon leads 32-22 on a buzzer-beating layup by Ketema Brooks.

Seth Goldwasser caught an airballed 3-pointer by Evan Livingston and put it back plus the foul with 5.2 seconds for Scarsdale’s last score. But then Brooks raced the length of the court and scored to beat the horn.

The Raiders should feel good after finishing the half with a 10-5 run after falling behind 27-12. Kevin Jones has definitely come alive though after a quiet start. The West Virginia-bound star has 10 points and 11 rebounds at the break.

5:00 p.m. – David Zaitz just converted a 3-point play to bring Scarsdale within 27-17. Moments later, Greg Garfinkel ripped the ball away from Jabari Hinds and took it all the way for a layup. That’s got to be one of the best feelings he’s ever had in his life. What a play. It’s 27-17 with just over 1 minute to play.

4:56 p.m. – David Zaitz just scored on a nice move underneath the basket, but Kevin Jones has answered with three hoops of his own. He now has nine points and Mount Vernon leads 27-12. Some members of the crowd have already started the ominous M-O-U-N-T, V-E-R-N-O-N, Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon chant. That’s never a good sign for the opponent.

4:53 p.m. – With 5:11 to play in the second, Kevin Jones finally scored on a 3-point play that ref Rich Katz signaled with a ferocious left hook. Mount Vernon leads 21-8.

4:49 p.m. – With 6:36 left in the second, Mount Vernon is in front 14-6. Sherrod Wright has scored the Knights’ last six points. Kevin Jones remains scoreless.

4:45 p.m. l- After one quarter, Mount Vernon leads Scarsdale 12-6. It could be closer, but the Raiders missed several close opportunities down the stretch and didn’t score for the final 3:30 plus of the period.

4:40 p.m. – We have our first timeout with 2:14 left in the first. So far a very clean game with just one foul being called. Mount Vernon leads 10-6 after a pull-up jumper by Sherrod Wright.

4:37 p.m. - With 3:22 left in the first, we are tied at six. So far the Raiders have done a great job at containing Kevin Jones in the paint.

4:31 p.m. – And we’re off. I heard Kevin predicted MV by 14. I’m going to say more like 24. The Knights’ experience in these types of games is just so valuable.

4:23 p.m. – We are just about to tip. The players are shaking hands at center court and the theme music from “This Week in Baseball” is playing.

On another note, one of the finest referees in the area, Rich Katz, is working the game. He’s also pretty animated which makes things more fun. Should be a good one.

Greetings everyone. Alex Myers back on Kevin Devaney’s legendary blog to bring you the latest from all the games at the County Center today.

We are getting close to the tip of the Class AA semifinal between No. 4 Scarsdale and No. 1 Mount Vernon. The Knights swept the season series.

Following will be the girls Class AA semifinal between Lourdes and Mount Vernon. So this is truly a big day for “The Vern”.

Mount Vernon is currently going through some last minute free throw practice, while Scarsdale is still in its layup lines. It’s a sparse crowd so far with the early time, but as the outside traffic suggests to me, this building should continue to fill up quickly. Be back with more shortly.