Rye’s boys basketball team came up short against undefeated Mamaroneck on Jan. 4 at Westchester County Center, but three straight wins to close 2024 show the Garnets’ potential with league play coming up on the calendar.
Mamaroneck (10-0) beat Rye 68-50 as part of the Slam Dunk Showcase in White Plains, with game MVP Elijah Friedman scoring 20 points for the Tigers. Rocklan Boisseau wasn’t far behind with 18 points for Rye (3-2), and fellow senior Jake Kessner added 12.
Rye scored six in a row to get back within six points, 29-23, at halftime. Mamaroneck outscored Rye 21-11 in the third to pull away and continue its perfect season. Fortunately, not all competition will be as stiff as Mamaroneck, which had won its first nine games by an average of 46 points before Rye kept the margin to 18.
Before the holiday break, Rye strung together some convincing wins of its own, thanks to consistent production behind the arc and an unrelenting man-to-man defense.
Against a stout Suffern opponent on Dec. 21, Rye trailed by as many as nine in the first quarter, but Henry Shoemaker’s poise in the backcourt and Rye’s consistent ability to find the open man were the story in the second half. Kessner’s ferocious and-1 finish with just under three minutes to play sealed a 70-58 victory.
After falling behind 20-11 in the first quarter, Rye battled back to take its first lead with 3:43 to go in the third quarter. The rest of the way, Rye’s signature team defense and unselfish motion offense were on full display.
Andrew Wilmarth was a difference-maker in the second half, chasing down rebounds and dishing extra-pass assists leading to easy Garnet buckets. Suffern went to a full-court press starting in the middle of the third quarter, but Coach Tom Proudian’s Garnets were up to the challenge.
The win was Rye’s third straight after dropping the season opener in overtime at Nanuet.
The Garnets didn’t waste any time getting to work against Bronxville on Dec. 19. Rye came out with tremendous intensity in the first quarter and remained in control throughout the 67-38 road blowout. No one was more focused early than junior captain Carson Miller, whose 15 first-quarter points set the tone.
“I was really happy with our defensive performance against Bronxville,” Proudian said. “We stress unselfish basketball with our team and our character is starting to come together.”
Extra passes, finding the open man, and a deep, athletic bench all were clicking against Bronxville. Bronxville sophomore Tommy Ruhanen led the Broncos with 14 points (four 3-pointers). Miller finished with 20, and sophomore Ben Hudson added seven points for the Garnets.
Rye seniors Justin McCarthy and Gage Sasse got in on the second-half scoring barrage, each with a long-range three with a Bronxville defender in their face. Senior Charlie Rupp contributed some big rebounds.
Rye’s first win of the season came in a crosstown battle against Rye Country Day on Dec. 17. Four days after falling just three points short against Nanuet, the Garnets beat Rye Country Day, 72-37.
Rye hosts Byram Hills at 7 p.m. Friday and Lakeland at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.