Hannibal Smith used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Rye Boys’ Basketball coach John Aguiar must know how the A Team’s leader used to feel. His Garnets pressed the Pearl River Pirates right out of the building Tuesday night in a near-flawless first half of planned, playoff basketball. When the whistle sent the boys to their halftime locker rooms, the scoreboard read “35-12, Rye.” Game over.

By Mitch Silver

Hannibal Smith used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Rye Boys’ Basketball coach John Aguiar must know how the A Team’s leader used to feel. His Garnets pressed the Pearl River Pirates right out of the building Tuesday night in a near-flawless first half of planned, playoff basketball. When the whistle sent the boys to their halftime locker rooms, the scoreboard read “35-12, Rye.” Game over.

Oh, they played a second half. It must be in the Section 1 rulebook that you have to. But with George Kirby draining threes (he had four for the game), and both Brett Egan and Michael Carty knocking down two more each, the 21st-seeded Pirates had little firepower with which to shoot holes in the Garnets’ lead. Only Pearl River guard Jack McKeever and his three trifectas held off garbage time till the final quarter.

This was once again a total team effort. Charlie Nagle led the scoring with 16 points and a bushel of steals, Mark Croughan was a beast in the middle of the press, and Max Samberg and his friends off the bench kept the pressure on all the way to the end.

They’ll need that team play — and that bench — when the 5th-seeded Garnets take on the winner of the Albertus Magnus-Nanuet game played post-press time. Rye will host lower seed Magnus tonight if the Falcons win, but will travel to Nanuet if the 4th-seeded Golden Knights prevail.