Resilience Shines Again for Boys Basketball in Gritty Split vs New Rochelle, Scarsdale
Rye Boys Basketball moved to 12-6 on the 2024-25 season over the past weekend, falling short of New Rochelle on Friday, February 7, before rebounding to defeat Scarsdale on Saturday 2/8. Rye continues its steady pace, and still sits well above .500 on the year with just two regular season games left on the docket.
Loss vs New Rochelle
The Garnets dropped their first game of the weekend back-to-back on Friday 2/7 by a score of 60-47. The final does not do the game justice, as Rye battled against the top team in Section 1, with a late deficit of just six points that eventually got stretched. Henry Shoemaker led the way for Rye with 17 points, followed closely by Jake Kessner with 15.
“We hung tough with the top team in the section,” Head Coach Tommy Proudian told MyRye.com. “I was very happy with the energy and effort we played with. We just couldn’t get things going offensively.”
Rye tried an aggressive press zone defense, which caused some chaos for the Huguenots. However, they hit enough three pointers and drew enough fouls to maintain a lead throughout the contest and wear the Garnets down. Justin Cohen knocked down four triples and 6′ 7″ Malik Gaspar dominated in the paint with 26 points, especially as the fouls started to mount for the Garnets.
Rye fell to 11-6 at the time but had a quick turnaround for their visit to Scarsdale on Saturday for the second half of the back-to-back. The Garnets were looking to improve to 6-1 this season after a loss.
Win @ Scarsdale
Rye picked up their 12th win of the year on Saturday, February 8, scraping by Scarsdale 59-56 on the road for an exciting victory. Kessner (15 points) and Shoemaker (12) once again reached double digits, but it was Andrew Wilmarth’s 19 points that led the Garnets to the W.
“A great road victory against one of the top four programs in AAA,” Proudian said to MyRye.com. “This weekend we proved we can go toe to toe with any team in the Section, large or small.”
For all the great wins Rye has had in 2024-25, this one is probably their most impressive, even if it was non-league. The Garnets shot 50% (8/16) from behind the arc and did just enough to shut down Scarsdale’s secondary options. Their star, Jake Sussberg, dropped 33 points, but the rest of the Raiders could only account for 23 combined.
“We will always have a chance because of our energy and toughness we bring on defense, and our unselfish play on offense,” Proudian continued. “And when shots are falling for us as they were at Scarsdale on Saturday… we are a a difficult matchup for our opponents.”
Rye moves to 6-1 on the season in games immediately following a defeat, showing their incredible resilience and bounce back ability. Proudian believes that along with fostering such reserve, the tough non-league competition will make his team more ready for league playoffs than their opponents.
“This was [the] goal, to make our schedule as tough as possible during the regular season so we’re battle tested for the playoffs,” Proudian said. “We have now played the top four teams in Class AAA, going 2-2… We are a resilient team with great resolve and the players have shown no game or environment is too big for them.”
What’s Next?
The tough sledding is not yet over for Rye, who still have another difficult league and non-league foe awaiting on their schedule. Proudian and his group play twice more before Class A playoffs begin, once against Harrison in a huge rivalry game, and the other vs a 16-1 Class AA Tappan Zee. The contests serve as another back-to-back: Rye hosts the Huskies on Friday, February 14, for a 7:00pm tip-off; then, they host the Dutchmen at 1:00pm on Saturday, February 15, for a weekend matinee at RHS. Watch the games at the following links (Harrison), (Tappan Zee). We hope you didn’t have other important Valentine’s Day plans.
