The Rye Boys Basketball team fell short in the New York State semifinals on Friday, March 20, dropping a 63-54 decision to Amsterdam. The Garnets’ season ends just two wins shy of a State championship, which would have been the first in team history.
The Garnets took a one-point lead into the first quarter break, but that was as close as they would come to their seventh consecutive postseason victory. Amsterdam’s offense scored in spurts, and their defense clamped down on Rye, who scored 26 points in the fourth quarter after just 28 in the previous three quarters combined.
Ben Hudson led the charge in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late for Tommy Proudian and his group. Proudian reached the Final Four in his second year the helm, becoming the first Garnets head coach to reach this stage at any point in their tenure in the 21st century.
Rye ends the year a very impressive 21-6, which included a Sectional tournament and Regional tournament championship, and league regular season title. The Garnets entered postseason play as the #5 team in Class AA, but refused to lose, even to “favorites”, all the way until the State semis against Amsterdam. Their magical run to the doorstep of the ultimate stage was a testament to incredible coaching, relentlessness from players, and a clutch gene their rivals would kill for. It was, in all regards, one of the best seasons in team history, and their most impressive of the 21st century. In 2027, Proudian will not have his two top scorers – Henry Shoemaker and Carson Miller – at his disposal, but he has already proven to be able to win regardless of personnel.
