Another season and another Section 1 championship for head coach Bob Cimmino and his Mount Vernon Knights. Cimmino continues to pile the trophies up; this being his 11th title in 16 tries during “Championship Week” at the Westchester County Center.
Cimmino (left) has been nothing less than phenominal during his tenure at Mt. Vernon
Mt. Vernon’s opponents, the Poughkeepsie Pioneers, took an early lead and were up 17-15 on the Knights after the first quarter in the championship game. Behind a determined and unbelievably impressive stat line for game-MVP, Jabarie Hinds (26 points, 9 steals, 3 boards), along with a solid performance by Brandon White (14 points and 20 boards), the duo would find a way to seal the Knights’ fifth straight title and 9th in the past 10 years by the score of 69-57.
Although the Knights weren’t the heavy favorites this year in the section, Hinds, a star junior, simply refused to lose when it mattered most. After two crushing comeback losses against rival New Rochelle, Hinds led his team over the hump against the Hugenots in the semi-finals.
Hinds (left) was awarded MVP in the championship
A highly recruited point guard prospect, Hinds is next in a long line of guards to leave their mark at Mount Vernon. Following recent guards Mike Coburn (Rutgers Jr.) and Chris Lowe (UMass alumn), Hinds has now been a part of three section titles but is yet to win a State Championship.
*Pictures courtesy of lohud.com
