By PAUL GOTHAM
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Alan Willmes led four in double figures as the Liverpool Warriors (25-0) held off reigning champion Mount Vernon, 70-67 and advanced to Sunday’s NYSPHSAA Class AA championship game.
Willmes finished with 21 points including a pair of free throws to go with an assist when Liverpool broke open a tie game with seven straight points late in the fourth quarter.
“We kept our composure, made the right plays,” Liverpool coach Ryan Blackwell said. “Kinda like all year, we made the plays we needed to down the stretch.”
Noah Issakainen snapped a 61-all game with a 3-pointer before Willmes followed with two from the free throw line. Willmes led Issakainen into the open floor for a layup to ice the game.
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Leading by 13 late in the third quarter, Liverpool looked on its way when Mount Vernon battled back.
Charles Lovett finished with 17 points to lead Mount Vernon.
“They pressed us a little bit and we were out of character,” Blackwell explained. “We usually handle the press pretty well.”
George Mason commit Jason Douglas-Stanley scored 13 points including a 3-pointer to give Mount Vernon a 53-52 edge. Troy Hupstead added 12, and Brandon Scott had 10.
“They spread us out,” Blackwell noted. “They did a good job. They’re a championship team. They made some shots. I thought we did a bad job of covering short corner in our zone. We weren’t aware of where the guys were. The man-to-man was pretty good.”
Charles Pride scored 16 points for Liverpool. Nas Johnson had 12 despite foul trouble which limited him to less than six minutes of playing time in the first half. Issakainen added 12.
Liverpool connected on 13 of 22 attempts from behind the arc and held Mount Vernon to 8 of 21. Liverpool hit 23 of 44 from the floor for the night.
“We have multiple guys,” Blackwell said. “They can score and make plays. They have that confidence.”
With the win, Liverpool held off a Mount Vernon program looking to win its 12th state title.
“We knew their tradition, they’re history. They won it last year. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, especially being undefeated. For us to make those plays and come out on top and being in the championship game after losing last year to Fairport, that’s huge for us and our program.”
The Warriors will play Half Hollow Hills East (23-3) in Sunday’s title game. A 2:00 PM tip off is scheduled.
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