On a frigid, mid-winter Friday night with outside temperatures surely below zero, the packed student cheering section at Rye High School was a source of warmth.
Unfortunately, the basket at which the Garnets were shooting was a cold spot, particularly in a hugely consequential three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. Woodlands High School (14-2), the defending Class B section champions from Hartsdale, came back for a 54-49 road win.
“We were well-positioned to win this one,” said Rye coach Tom Proudian. “Our shooting went quiet there in the fourth quarter for a stretch. Our shots just wouldn’t fall. We got out-rebounded a bit late in the game. Plus, whatever we threw at him – and we tried lots of combinations – we had no answer for their big man, (6-foot-5 senior) Sean McKenney, in the paint. He was a force down low tonight.”
This game was there for the Garnets’ taking. With a halftime lead of 28-21, Rye played its best first half of the season. Senior Carson Miller (20 points) was slashing. Senior Henry Shoemaker was rebounding with ferocity. Junior Ben Hudson (13 points) was playing as hard-nosed as he had all year. And junior Cal Wing (seven points) was doing a great impression of a young Kevin McHale off the bench.
But Woodlands senior shooter Aaron Woodberry (22 points) – who had NBA range on his 3-pointers – was unstoppable from deep in the fourth quarter. And all of a sudden, the Garnets couldn’t score.
Clinging to a 46-42 lead with six minutes remaining, Rye was held scoreless for three-plus minutes until a Miller 3-pointer. During that drought, behind some great interior play from McKenney (10 points and 10 rebounds), Woodlands took its first lead of the game with 4:31 to go. Rye never led the rest of the way.
Rye (9-4) has plenty more basketball to play. The Garnets have seven more games before the start of playoffs, and with four in the next week, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to bounce back quickly. Next up is another home game at 5 p.m. Monday against Nyack.
