The Mamaroneck Boys’ Varsity Basketball team has made history this season, and it’s only January. With 13 consecutive wins, the Tigers had their best start in team history, even beating two of the top teams in Section 1. Mamaroneck took massive victories over a talented Scarsdale team on Jan. 15 and most recently Mount Vernon, a perennial powerhouse.
Mamaroneck started off their season with wins over Roosevelt, Yonkers, North Rockland, Harrison and Spring Valley. They carried this momentum into the 4th Annual Keith D. Yizar tournament where they beat Hamilton 81-35 in the semi finals and Ardsley 76-50 in the finals. Will Plunkett (’26) had 56 points in the two games, earning him tournament MVP. Meanwhile, Brandon Burrell (’26) and Elijah Friedman (’25) each had double digit points in both games, earning them All-Tournament Honors.
Mamaroneck then went on the road to Pennsylvania where they captured another tournament victory, this time beating McKean (DE) and Williamsport (PA). Plunkett was named tournament MVP again, and both Burrell and Friedman once again received All-Tournament honors. After these games, the team began their gauntlet of a league schedule where three of their next four games would be against local rivals.
Mamaroneck faced off against Rye at Westchester County Center in a highly anticipated game, where the Tigers took control of the game early and cruised to a 64-50 win against the Garnets. Up next was Ossining; Mamaroneck had the chance to make history.
With a win, they would set the record for the longest winning streak to open a season in school history. Mamaroneck again took control early and won handily, giving the Tigers a historic 11-0 record. While the team understands their early achievement, they know their job is not finished.
“While having the most consecutive wins to start a season is cool, we’re trying to be remembered for what we do in the postseason,” Plunkett said. “The season is only beginning and we know it’s going to take a lot more to win these games against tough opponents.”
The tough opponents would come next for Mamaroneck, as they had two upcoming trips to some of the best teams in the section, Scarsdale and Mount Vernon.
The highly anticipated game between the 11-0 Tigers and the 10-1 Raiders started off extremely tight with the score being 13-13 at the end of the first quarter before Mamaroneck took a strong 30-23 lead at halftime. The game would continue to be close with Burrell trading shots with Scarsdale’s standout point guard Jake Sussberg (’25). Ultimately, behind Burrell’s 29 point game, Mamaroneck pulled out an extremely close 58-56 win after a buzzer beater attempt from the Raiders hit the rim.
“The motto for our team is ‘Gritty, Grimey, Tough, Together,” Burrell said, emphasizing the team’s focus on work ethic. Burrell claims this philosophy allows the team “to stay together when games get intense and the pressure is on, [leading] to tight wins like the one at Scarsdale.”
This win cemented the Tigers as a part of Section 1’s elite, but their next game was just as difficult. Mount Vernon are the reigning section champions led by one of the most talented players in the section, Tavien Tyler (’25). But Mamaroneck never wavered and took control of the game early. Burrell outmatched Tyler throughout the entire game and scored 19 points, while Plunkett had a double double of 17 points and 12 rebounds and Friedman scored 8 points.
The team knows how important these wins are for both confidence and seeding down the end of the road.
“Coming out on top against a great program like theirs shows us that we are more than capable of hanging with and beating all of the top teams that we face,” Burrell said.
“It just makes the locker room vibe that much better,” Friedman said. “Stacking these wins is huge for our confidence.”
The emergence of Plunkett and Burrell as true superstars has been key to the Tigers’ historic start to the season. While both of these players have been starters since their freshman years, Tiger fans have seen both of them take incredible strides within their game as the two cement themselves as some of the best players in the section.
“We say that the magic is in the work and both of these guys have put in the work,” Coach Tyrone Carver proudly said, commending the work ethic of his two star players. He continued to stress how Plunkett and Burrell “put in the work in the offseason too,” contributing to their success.
Burrell said leading the team both on and off the court is “something [he] always looks forward to” and is an opportunity that he “will never take for granted.”
Still, Burrell and the rest of the team know that the job is nowhere near finished. The real challenge lies ahead in the Section 1 playoffs. When asked about what the team needs to do to roll over this success into the playoffs, Coach Carver simply replied, “Be humble and get better every day.”
Both Friedman and Burrell emphasized the importance of not being complacent as Friedman knows there is “so much we know we can improve on.” Plunkett agreed, stating how “pushing each other is key to our successes.”
This season is one that looks extremely promising for the Tigers, and they aspire to take it game by game all the way to the playoffs. They beat Ketcham on Jan. 25 and will continue a three game homestand as the Tigers take on an extremely talented one-loss New Rochelle team, and rivals Scarsdale. Fans hope to see this early success continue in this stretch, and throughout the rest of the season, where they will look to capture their first Section 1 title in school history.
