RYE BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Season Comes to an End in Playoffs at Harrison, 63-48

Citius. Altius. Fortius. Faster. Higher. Stronger. While a Harrison-Rye matchup may not quite rank with the Olympic Games, Baron de Coubertin’s motto certainly applies to the Huskies’ basketball team.

By Mitch Silver

As they did in their two previous meetings this winter, the home team ran faster, jumped higher, and out-muscled their counterparts from Rye in the Class A Sectional playoffs held at fourth-seeded Harrison High February 12.

Fresh off a nifty 51-37 defeat of John Jay 24 hours earlier in their playoff opener, the 13th-seeded Garnets got off to a 5-0 start. Two minutes later the lead was gone, as Harrison started penetrating Rye’s matchup zone. Junior guard Charlie Nagle and his teammates kept it close, trailing by only 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. But the second quarter was all Harrison. Seniors Joe Nannariello and Justin Stagg between them hit 12 of their combined 36 points on the night, while Rye sharpshooters Nagle and George Kirby were harassed all over the floor (and from the stands as well: the home crowd happily cried “Air Ball!” every time a Garnet player looked to shoot).

Harrison took a 27-14 lead into the locker room where Coach Gary Chiarella told them simply, “More of the same.” And so it was. Riding a 37-20 rebounding edge on the night, the Huskies shot 67 percent from inside the arc and 33 percent beyond it. Nannariello’s younger brother Michael scored all ten of his points in the third period. Even though the Garnets’ offense awoke to put 15 points on the board, Harrison added 18 for a 45-29 lead after three.

Rye finished strongly and actually “won” their final eight minutes of the season, 19-18, but the Huskies were just too much for their game but outmatched rivals. The 14-5 Huskies went on to host Tappan Zee post-press time, while Coach John Aguilar’s squad must say goodbye to their seniors and, as the saying goes, wait ‘til next year.

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