Nick Townsend won’t turn 16 before October, but his team has already reached the top of Section 1 basketball.
Second-year student Horace Greeley also received the section’s best individual honor.
Townsend made history on Wednesday when he became the youngest player and first sophomore to be named Mr. Basketball in Section 1. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward was anointed at a virtual award ceremony by the Lower Hudson Basketball Coaches Association.
The honor dates from 1980.
“It means a lot, but it really is a credit to my teammates and coaches and to everyone who supported me,” said Townsend. “They pushed me to where I am now. And the best moment of my season was winning this gold ball with my team.”
Earlier this month, Townsend led the Quakers to their first Section 1 title in 40 years. The 15-year-old won MVP tournament honors after his team dethroned three-time defending champion Mount Vernon in the AA class championship game.
ALL-SECTION: See which basketball players were selected in 2019-2020
In just his second season at college, Townsend had averaged 20.8 points and 15.0 rebounds per game with 60% shots. Greeley has finished 22-3 and has won his last 19 games, including a 50-48 victory over Section 9 champion Newburgh on March 11 in the regional semifinals.
This victory ended the Quaker season prematurely. Townsend and Greeley had reached the regional final and, after defeating Newburgh, a serious contender, had to compete for a NYSPHSAA state title. However, the tournament was postponed and finally canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Thinking about the season, it’s sad to know that we haven’t finished, but we understand the circumstances,” said Townsend. “It was definitely the tightest team I have ever been on. It was a fraternity to be part of this team. Everyone played for each other and gave what they had It was a pleasure to be part of it. “
Townsend made his university debut as a freshman and became one of six players named to the first team in Lower Hudson, including the only one who was a freshman.
He finished his second season with 927 career points.
“I have done as much work as possible,” he said of his success. “I try not to worry about outside noise and listen to my coaches and my family. I will continue to work hard and I hope the best comes out.”
At the moment, Townsend has stated that he plans to continue his basketball career at Horace Greeley. His older brother, Matt, graduated from school in 2011 after accumulating more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during his career.
The former Townsend, who was named to Lohud’s All-Decade team in December, became a captain at Yale and received a prestigious Rhodes scholarship while completing his undergraduate studies.
“I will really miss the seniors we had on our team this year, but we have a large group of guys who will be back next year,” said the young Townsend about his future. “I think we are all hungry. We want to maintain the success we have had in recent years.”
Section 1 coaches also revealed other winners for the 2019-2020 season on his Twitter account, @LowerHudsonHoop.
The organization originally planned to announce the awards at its annual banquet this week, but the event was postponed until May.
Here are the rest of the LHBCA winners:
First all-lower Hudson team
Quinn Kelly, Rye: The 6-foot-1 former averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 interceptions per game for the 20-4 Grenats, who won their first Section 1 championships since 1989. Kelly had 17 points in the class A championship game to help Rye beat defending champion Poughkeepsie, 74-55.
Jayshen Saigal, Scarsdale: The 6 foot 2 inch goalkeeper led Scarsdale in almost every statistical category as a senior. He averaged 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 interceptions and 1.2 blocks per game. He will play Division I basketball in Lehigh after recently accepting a spot on the preferred service list.
Quion Burns, White Plains: The 6 foot 5 inch swingman has shown marked improvement as a senior. He averaged a record 22.8 points per team as a point guard. He led all AA players by scoring, adding 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2 , 0 interceptions per fight while shooting at 46%, including 42.7% from the 3-point range.
Clevmer Lubin, Suffern: With four seniors lost at the end of their studies, the 6 foot 3 inch junior led the Mounties to another champion title and to the final of Section 1, class AA. He averaged 19.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.0 interceptions and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 60.0% from the ground.
Troy Hupstead, Mount Vernon: The 6-foot-5 senior forward led Mount Vernon to 19.7 points per game and rebounded to 12.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.0% from the ground. Hupstead also averaged 2.6 interceptions per game for the Knights, which he led to their 22nd consecutive Section 1 championship game.
Coach of the year
Scott Wright, Suffern: After losing four seniors and five of the top six players on his graduation rotation, Wright’s team quickly reloaded. The gendarmes repeated themselves champions of the league. They returned to the last four in section 1 and finished with a 19-4 record.
Josh Thomson is editor of local sports for The Journal News and Poughkeepsie Journal. He can be reached by email at [email protected], on Twitter at @lohudinsider and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.
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