Westchester County Center. The Golden Ball.
Make it to one, you’ve earned the chance to compete for the other.
Lose a playoff game along the way, and you have to pay to watch somebody else play for it. No admission discounts for players. No rebates for shots that didn’t fall.
The first round of the Section 1 Class AA boys basketball tournament tips off Saturday, with fifth-seeded Rye (15-5) hosting No. 12 Nyack (8-12). All year long, the Garnets inched their way up the Class AA ladder, all the while looking up at the top four teams: No. 1 Suffern, No. 2 Yorktown, No. 3 Clarkstown North, and No. 4 Horace Greeley.
Were the Garnets to have one more week of regular-season games, there’s a good chance those rankings would be shuffled. Rye won six games in the first 11 days of February, including a 21-point victory over Clarkstown North, to pull even with Greeley in the standings. The schedule concluded with a 68-64 overtime loss Friday against a talented Iona Prep squad (15-7).
The difference between the fourth and fifth seed could mean the Garnets play most of the section tournament away from home, but the hope is their run extends to the semifinals and championship in the County Center.
Suffern and Yorktown will be the bracket’s favorites, and for good reason. Suffern (18-2), led by Rockland County’s career points leader, senior Jake Pampolina, is the real deal. And though Rye coach Tom Proudian and his boys would love another shot at Suffern, fans remember that the Mounties beat the Garnets by 21 points back on Jan. 16.
Rye didn’t face No. 2 Yorktown (17-1) this year. The Huskers’ lone loss came in a nail-biter at Poughkeepsie (14-3) a few weeks ago. No. 3 Clarkstown North (17-3) won 15 straight games before falling to Rye 69-48 last week.
No. 4 Horace Greeley (16-4) beat Rye by 10 way back on Dec. 18, the Garnets’ third game of the season. If the Quakers and Garnets both win their postseason openers, they’ll meet again in Chappaqua for a spot in the semifinals.
Greeley – and the entirety of Section 1 – know Rye is a completely different team than the one that started the season 1-2 two months ago.
As the great Bronx philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”
And that is precisely why they play the game.
Play-in games Thursday
No. 20 Lincoln (7-12) at No. 13 Carmel (6-14)
No. 19 Riverside (11-9) at No. 14 Peekskill (6-14)
No. 18 Yonkers (14-6) at No. 15 Clarkstown South (7-13)
No. 17 Saunders (13-5) at No. 16 Brewster (6-14)
First-round games Saturday
Saunders/Brewster winner at No. 1 Suffern (18-2)
No. 9 Lakeland (13-7) at No. 8 Fox Lane (11-9)
Lincoln/Carmel winner at No. 4 Horace Greeley (16-4)
No. 12 Nyack (8-12) at No. 5 Rye (15-5)
Riverside/Peekskill winner at No. 3 Clarkstown North (17-3)
No. 11 Roosevelt (11-9) at No. 6 Poughkeepsie (15-5)
Yonkers/Clarkstown South winner at No. 2 Yorktown (18-2)
No. 10 Harrison (10-10) at No. 7 Mahopac (13-7)
