The Pioneers varsity boys basketball team is entering 2026 with a tournament win already under its belt and championship aspirations on the horizon.
Led by a defense coach Mark Bianco said “has been smothering” through the first month of the season, the Pioneers captured the title at the Bill Green Holiday Tournament in Bronxville Dec. 13. They then capped the calendar year with a 72-44 romp at Brewster Dec. 19.
Bianco said the team entered the season with a goal of winning both its early season tournaments. While the Pioneers placed third in the Eastchester Holiday Tournament Dec. 6 – an eight-point loss there to John F. Kennedy Catholic is their lone blemish in seven games this season – they beat Nyack and the host team to win in Bronxville.
“I was so happy for the guys,” Bianco said. “They bust their tails day in and day out and this was a great win for us to get a little taste of winning a tournament.”
Tazjir Gary was named tournament Most Valuable Player after recording 16 points and 10 rebounds in beating Bronxville in the final, 53-47. Tyrone Dubose (22 points, seven assists) and Victor Nelson III (nine points, eight assists) were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Matteo Howard (six points) and Jace Best “played phenomenal defensively,” Bianco noted, while Richard Graham and Kyshon Palmatier “gave us great minutes off the bench.”
Bianco said his team had been “playing really good basketball” entering the tournament, holding opponents to roughly 40 points per game.
Poughkeepsie this season is in Section 1 League E, along with Mahopac, Carmel, Brewster and Yorktown. The Pioneers host Carmel Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.
Bianco said his team is eager to compete for a league title before the postseason begins with the Section 1 Class AA tournament.
“We preach championship habits in everything we do, whether it’s on the court or in the classroom,” the coach said. “The nice thing about this group is that everyone contributes. We get after it every day in practice and the guys really push each other to be better than the day before. If we continue to do that, we will continue to get better daily.”