There’s a ton of basketball left to be played this season for Rye (Class AA) and Byram Hills (Class A). These are two good teams that will most certainly contend for the section championship in their respective classes.
But after Rye’s 39-37 wafer-thin victory over the Bobcats on Friday, fans of both teams might wish they could play each other again.
Byram Hills (6-2) beat Rye (5-2), 51-38 on Dec. 12, in the Garnets’ first game of the season. The rubber match game will not happen this year, but Rye senior Milo Shirakawa would probably be down for it.
Stepping into a firestorm of suffocating defense from both sides and no real offensive flow in the game, Rye coach Tom Proudian turned to Shirakawa for a spark. Maybe the best pure shooter on the team, Shirakawa hadn’t seen a ton of minutes so far this season. On Friday night, he made every minute matter, scoring a team-high 13 points.
With Rye trailing 23-13 with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter, junior Ben Hudson connected for a 3-point basket. 23-16. Moments later, a Shirakawa 3 made it 23-19. Then quickly another Shirakawa 3, and just like that the Bobcats’ lead was trimmed to one, 23-22.
The fourth quarter was as good as it gets in high school basketball. Bobcat and Garnet fans were losing their minds during the back-and-forth final period. With a Shirakawa bucket with 3:58 left, Rye took its first lead of the game, 31-30.
Then more Shirakawa.
A two-point basket with 3:13 to go. Another 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining to put Rye ahead 36-33. Finally, Hudson dropped the hammer on Byram Hills with Rye’s final points of the unforgettable game – another 3-pointer – with 17 seconds left to close it out.
In Rye’s upcoming games, look for Shirakawa’s minutes to increase. The senior was joined in double figures by Henry Shoemaker, with 10 points. Hudson added six and senior Sebastian Lewis five.
Rye’s next game is 4:30 p.m. Monday at Roosevelt High School (6-2) in Yonkers.
