Boys Basketball Falls Short in Section Championship to Tappan Zee
The 2024-25 season is over for the Rye Boys Varsity Basketball Team, as an overall successful season ended at the hands of Tappan Zee. The #3 Garnets dropped their Class AA Section Championship game 44-32 to the #1 Flying Dutchmen on Saturday, March 8, 2025, ending their year.
“We couldn’t get into a rhythm on offense all night,” Head Coach Tommy Proudian told MyRye.com in his postgame report. “Tip your cap to Tappan Zee for preventing us from getting comfortable on the offensive end.”
As the final score indicates, it was a very low-scoring affair on both sides, but especially for Rye, who managed only 32 points as a team. The Garnets trailed 17-14 at halftime, but watched as the Dutchmen found some semblance of an offensive groove in the second half, while Rye stayed largely in neutral throughout the contest.
“I am very proud with the effort our team gave,” Proudian continued. “They never gave up and left it all out on the floor. They have nothing to be ashamed of. Tappan Zee was the #1 seed for a reason, and we wish them well in the state playoffs.”
Effort was a common theme for Rye throughout the season, Proudian’s first as the head coach. He watched his team battle for 17 hard-earned wins, an unexpected berth as the #3 seed in the sectional championship game, and an overall 6-1 record in games immediately following a loss.
Rye finishes with a 17-7 record, including victories over Tappan Zee in the regular season, Scarsdale on the road, two comeback wins over Harrison, and a clutch victory over Suffern in December, among others. Senior Jake Kessner reached 1,000 career points, while Proudian can look forward to Henry Shoemaker, Carson Miller, and Ben Hudson making big impacts in 2025-26 after strong individual seasons as underclassmen this past campaign.
