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Monarchs Finish Season In Playoffs |
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On Saturday, June 14, the Monarchs were eliminated by the Hudson Valley Hawks in the first round of the NPBL playoffs by the final score of 126-110.
It was a game of runs that was filled with tons of excitement and memorible plays. It was a close game at halftime with the Hawks up 59-51. The Hawks extend that lead in the third quarter and then saw the Monarchs come storming back to make the game close again in the fourth only to see the Hawks hold on for the victory.
“It just seemed everytime we made a run or big shot they were able to come down and hit an even bigger shot, we just couldn’t get the deficit down to single digits,” said Coach Helmeyer.
The leading scores for the Monarchs were Darren Travis with 25 points, 6 rebs, 5 assist, Telron Spell with 23 points 12 rebounds, 3 assist and Henri Burford with 14 points 5 rebounds.
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Monarchs End Regular Season With Victory |
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On Sunday June 8th the temperature in New York almost hit 100 degrees, and the only thing hotter was the match-up between the Monarchs and the Strikeforce. The gym at Albertus Magnus was searing hot leaving the players and fans covered in puddles of sweat.
"First I would like to thank the entire Strikeforce organization, especially Coach Hill, and Ms. Hill for their generous hospitality. They addressed the heat issue in a first class manner supplying us with towels and drinks," says Coach Helmeyer.
The Monarchs jumped out to an early lead by hitting their first several shots and taking advantage of turnovers that their defense created. Then they settled in for a defensive battle that saw them come out on top by a final score of 112-107.
"I have to give the Strikeforce alot of credit. They never quit on the game, even with 30 seconds left, they were fouling us trying to pull out a win," Coach Helmeyer said. "We were fortunate to make our foul shots down the stretch to maintain the lead and come away with the W."
The deciding factor in the game was the deeper Monarchs bench. When called upon several players proved a spark to help lift the team to the victory. "We talked about hustle points and all the stats that don't show up on the boxscore as being the determining factor in this game," Coach Helmeyer said. "And I couldn't be more pleased with my players and the effort they gave today. We had a bunch of guys like Darren, Dion, Robert, Henri, and Wilner step up and play hard. Telron, Cy and Chris made some strong shots while our big men Jean, Jerry, and Brice got rebounds and blocked shots. It was a total team effort and that is what I like to see."
The Monarchs were led by Cyril Belfor & Darren Travis with 16 points each, followed by Brice Aussie, and Telron Spell with 15 points each.
The Monarchs will be in action again on Saturday June 14th at Beacon H.S. facing the HV Hawks for the first round play offs tip off at 7:05pm.
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Another One Down For Monarchs |
 An undermanned Westchester Monarchs team travelled eight hours through the rain and two flat tires Sunday May 18th to battle the Elmira Bulldogs and came out on the losing side with the final score of 140-128. The WC Monarchs who only had seven players available for the game battled the majority of the afternoon trailing by only two points at half-time, 70-68. They continued to keep the game close until about the six minute mark of the fourth quarter when it became obvious that the Monarchs were becoming fatigued.
"Those seven guys played their hearts out, and just ran out of gas down the stretch. They never backed down from all the extra activities that were going on in the game and I am VERY PROUD of the effort they gave", says Coach Helmeyer. The reference to the activities by Coach Helmeyer is that three techinical fouls had to be called by the officials to maintain some control of this contest. Coach Helmeyer also adds the statement that the Bulldogs were being gracious hosts and cleared their bench to allow the final score to appear closer than the game was, did not sit well with him either. "Here I was thinking it was a strategy on the Monarchs coaching staff to foul the Bulldogs and have them miss foul shots so we could cut the lead down and get back into the game. I guess the 100 plus points we scored on their starters didn' count.", says Coach Helmeyer
Leading scorer for the Monarchs was Telron Spell with 36 points and leading scorer for the Bulldogs was David Ruffin with 37 points. Coach Helmeyer went on to add he was "amused, and annoyed" with the press release submitted by Elmira about the game seemed to discredit his team and their efforts.
"The Bulldogs are a very tough team at home, and they have earned the North Division regular season title. I hope we get the oppurtunity to meet in the playoffs. IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A GREAT GAME!", says Coach Helmeyer.
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Monarchs Heading to Elmira |
 The WC Monarchs will be on the road Sunday May 18th, and will face off against the Elmira Bulldogs. Although they did not come away with a victory in that meeting the Monarchs have surely made some roster changes since that last meeting that can certainly enable them to come away with a victory. "This team has good chemistry on the floor, and they can play all 94 ft", says Coach Helmeyer. These guys gave the Strikeforce a run for their money in their meeting May 10th at Albertus Magnus High School the final score of that game is nothing in comparison to the game itself and the lead changes and the baskets scored from one end to the other. Chemung County YMCA in Elmira NY is where the stage is set for these two teams to battle it out, key match-ups you won't want to miss will be Mackenzie Clark vs. Jerry Fiefie, David Ruffin vs. Telron Spell just to name a few. Tip off is at 3:05pm!
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Monarchs Short on Victory |
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The WC Monarchs came to play on Saturday May 10th when they took on the NY Strikeforce at Altbertus Magnus H.S. The Monarchs came out strong and lead the Strikeforce through the majority of the first half leaving them down by three points 61-58 at the half. "The Strikeforce are a very tough team, they're athletic, they run the floor well, and they keep coming after you", said Coach Helmeyer. There were many chances for the Monarchs to put the game away but they mentally put themselves down, with losing focus of the time and score we got caught up in the flow of the game. Coach Helmeyer told his players that he felt they played extremely well and he was proud of the effort that they gave. Coach Helmeyer also said, "In this league no lead is safe and you can't take a possession off, and that's what happened. We were slow to rotate defensively a couple of times and they (Strikeforce) made us pay for it by hitting acouple of big three's. Top scorers for the Monarchs were Robert Rogers with 33 pts, followed by Telron Spell with 24 points,and Rommell Spaulding with 20. The Monarchs will travel up to the Chemung YMCA to take on the Elmira Bulldogs who have continued on their winning streak since making major roster changes.
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Monarchs Welcome Four New Players |
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 The Westchester County Monarchs announced today the signing of four new players to there roster. Markus Austin, Jean Joseph, Jerry Fiefie, and Wilner Joseph all signed contracts hoping to help the Monarchs make a run at the NPBL Championship.
Markus Austin 6’6” has already made his first appearance against the Hawks last week. A gradute of White Plains High School and Eastern Michigan University, Markus has played the last two years with the Vermont Frost Heaves of the ABA. “Markus is an athletic player who can play inside and outside and will be a tough match up for some teams.”said Head Coach Tom Helmeyer.
Also joining the team will be Jean Joseph 6’9” and Jerry Fiefie 6’11”. Joseph played at Emmanuel College in Georgia and Fiefie gained experience while at Quinnipiac University. Both should make an immediate impact for the Monarchs. “I have been saving a roster spot all season for a quality big man and now we were able to find two. I am very excited to have both guys join our team. There height and presence in the paint has been what we've been missing.” Coach Helmeyer said.
Rounding out the signees is Wilner Joseph 6’0”, who played at Naugatuck Valley Community College. “Wilner gives us another quick guard who can handle the ball, penetrate, and defend.” Helmeyer said. “I am happy all four guys decided to join us, we have done an excellent job addressing the weaknesses this team had. I look forward to playing the rest of the season and making a run at the championship."
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Monarchs Heading to Rockland County |
 The WC Monarchs travel to Albertus Magnus High School on Saturday May 10th to face the NY Strikeforce in what is sure to be a battle of the basketball minds between Coach Tom Helmeyer, and Coach William Hill. This will be the first meeting of these two teams this season and this is surely a game you don't want to miss. The Monarchs are looking to climb out of their losing slump with a strong roster of talent in Telron Spell, and Henri Buford. Both teams possess the up tempo style of play that the NPBL prides itself on. The only question is which team will out last the other??? Doors open at 6pm tip off is at 7:05pm.
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Monarchs Fall Against Hawks |
 The WC Monarchs lost another close one to the HV Hawks on Saturday night. It was a close game all night with several lead changes and the winner not being determined until the final eight seconds of the game. We accomplished all of our goals and executed our game plan perfectly, to come away with a loss is very tough for us! "I told my players before the game not to be fooled by the Hawks record, in addition the games the lost were close games, and they could easily be a 5-2 team", says Head Coach Tom Helmeyer.
Head Coach Tom Helmeyer also had to say "we got a little careless with the ball at times and the Hawks took advantage of our turnovers. We have to do a better job of staying focused and limiting our turnovers if we expect to win any more games." Playing on the road isn't easy for us the crowd is against you, and you have to play through the fouls, and finish plays. I am hoping these experiences will pay off for us in the playoffs as we have lost our last games by six points or less.
The Monarchs were led by Telron Spell with 31 points, followed by Henri Buford with 25 points, and rounding them out is Robert Rogers with 14 points.
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