Horace Greeley High School, in the Westchester hamlet of Chappaqua, is one of the nicest and toughest gyms in which to play. With the enormous, high-definition scoreboard, vocal student cheering section, and seemingly half the town there to root on the Quakers, it’s not a particularly friendly environment for any visiting team.
But the Rye boys basketball team wasn’t bothered in the least.
With a Chappa-quieting 59-55 Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal victory over the No. 4 seed Quakers (17-5) on Wednesday night, fifth-seeded Rye (17-5) punched its return ticket to Westchester County Center.
The Garnets will square off against top-seeded Suffern in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Monday in White Plains.
Coach Tom Proudian will take it.
“Henry Shoemaker was an animal on the boards tonight,” Proudian said. “The kid was absolutely ferocious in the paint, such a competitor. His rebounding and toughness were the difference in this game for us. It certainly helped that we had a 15-point lead in the second half, which was just enough, because we needed every one of those points.”
With the game tied at 15 apiece after one quarter, it was a coin flip as to which squad might carve out a bit of separation. By halftime, Rye had a five-point lead.
With 2:52 left to play in the third, Rye’s lead had swelled to 15. But with three minutes left in the game, Rye’s lead shrunk to three, 53-50. And with three seconds left in regulation Rye led by only two, 57-55.
Two clutch Shoemaker free throws gave him 16 points and sealed the win. Junior Ben Hudson led Rye with 19 points, and senior Carson Miller added 15.
The humble Shoemaker knew this game required a total team effort.
“I was telling my guys in the locker room before the game that these are the games, in gyms like this, in front of crowds like this, that we play for,” he said. “There’s no tomorrow if we don’t win, and every one of my teammates gave everything they had out there tonight. We now know we’ve got Suffern in the next round. They’re a great team – and we’re a great team. I’m excited. Anything can happen in the County Center.”
