Caption: Korey Greenland tries for one last steal as Ryan Ramos (10) applies the press

Rye Neck Boys’ Basketball

Panthers Lose Class B Play-in Game, 53-48

By Mitch Silver

 

Rye Neck’s basketball season came down to a catfight. The 15^th seeds, mired near the bottom of Class B, clawed their way into a playoff matchup with even lower-ranked Pleasantville by defeating a 10-win Edgemont team Wednesday, 76-73. Ryan Ramos scored 24 in the victory and Ronan Heaton added 18 fast-break points.

 

But the gusto with which they ran their break against the favored team from Scarsdale three days earlier was nowhere in evidence Saturday afternoon as the Panthers lost a fourth-quarter lead to Westchester’s other Panthers, 53-48.

 

Head Coach Mike Vecchione’s team took an early 8-2 lead with senior point guard Ramos running the offense, only to see Pleasantville hit a couple three-pointers to make it 17-14 Rye Neck after the first period. Korey Greenland entered the game for the home side two minutes into the second quarter and nailed a three right away. Good thing, too, because only he and  Justin Cantu—another guy who canned one from beyond the arc—would score before the half. Pleasantville finished with a flourish to walk into the locker room up 29-23.

 

When a shooter is really good, you’re surprised when they miss. Think Steph Curry. Think Korey Greenland. The junior swingman hit three trifectas in a row, nosing the Hornidge Road Panthers in front after three, 40-39, before proving he was human by missing one just before the buzzer.

 

The hosts were still ahead with five and a half minutes left in the game on a Ramos three, 43-42. And then, with the season on the line, everyone went cold. Passes missed their men; rebounds went to the visitors. Only Greenland’s bucket and pair of Ronan Heaton free throws kept the locals in the game. Meanwhile, Pleasantville got scoring from every player on the floor, just as they had in the first quarter and also the second.

The final five-point margin allowed the visitors to notch just their sixth win of the season. And, as it is in the jungle, only the winner of a catfight survives to live another day.