Propelled by a highlight reel play late in the game, the Rye boys’ basketball team defeated rival Harrison 55-53 at home February 1 in front of a jam-packed gym.

 

By Kevin LaManna

 

Propelled by a highlight reel play late in the game, the Rye boys’ basketball team defeated rival Harrison 55-53 at home February 1 in front of a jam-packed gym.

 

After the Huskies cut the lead to 47-46, RHS point guard Kamal Logue connected on a pass with a soaring Max Twyman for an alley-oop basket that put the Garnets up three. Rye continued to run out the clock and hit key lay-ups and foul shots, widening the gap to 52-46 with 1:38 left to play. Harrison managed to hit a key finger roll and a three in the waning seconds, but the Garnets held on for the victory.

 

“No matter what sport it is, it’s always good to get a win against Harrison, along with the bragging rights for another year,” said senior captain Teddy Ice.

 

Logue, who finished with 12 points, expressed pleasure in the way the team has grown from a squad that dropped some close games early on, to one that has now defeated four of the last five contending teams they’ve faced. Head coach Chris DiCintio said he is “extremely optimistic about the rest of the season”, and pointed to wins against Pleasantville and Byram Hills, the reigning Section and Regional champions, as part of a recent trend.

 

Twyman led the Garnets with 26 points, but said the team’s depth was the real reason for the win. “Our bench made the difference tonight, and, when it was close, our big man, Matt Keough, hit key lay-ups.”  

 

At the start of the fourth quarter, Twyman, a junior, ended a scoring drought for Rye, sinking two free throws. Ice quickly followed by driving hard through the paint for a lay-up. From there on it was a street fight, with both sides playing the full-court press and double-teaming the ball.

 

“It’s always going to be a good game when it comes to Rye and Harrison and it always goes down to the wire,” said DiCintio.

 

The first quarter was tight as a drum, with the teams playing nip-and-tuck by trading two- and three-point leads. The boys were hustling and playing extremely physical basketball, which is only natural when the stakes are as high as they are in this storied rivalry.

 

Rye appeared to open the game up in the second when they jumped out to a nine-point lead after Logue and Twyman splashed three-pointers. But any hopes of a rout were short-lived, as  Coby Lefkowitz and the Huskies came out blazing in the second half.

 

The relentless Huskies eventually fought back to within three points with just under two minutes left in the third, but the Garnets, mired in an offensive drought, managed to stay ahead by playing smart basketball. Rye dictated the pace of the contest, and controlled the ball on both ends to ultimately tip the scale in their favor.

 

The Garnets are now 6-9 – they lost three games to elite opponents at the South Carolina Beach Ball Classic. They close out the regular season on the road at Byram Hills February 10.

— Photos by RyeSportsPhotos.com