If there is one thing that rings true when it comes to competition in Class A’s competitive League II-D, it’s that no victory can be taken for granted. On Jan. 27, the Rye Garnets (12-3) nearly learned that lesson the hard way, as they needed to hold off a late flurry from a five-win Eastchester team in order to escape with a 66-59 road win and keep their perfect league record intact.

After a dominant first half that saw them jump out to a 35-22 lead over their hosts, the Garnets fell victim to Eastchester’s torrid play in the third and fourth quarters, as the Eagles were able to cut the Rye lead to as few as four points with just seven minutes remaining in regulation. But a late surge was able to lift the Garnets to a seven-point victory, one that would preserve their perfect 5-0 record in league play.

According to Rye head coach John Aguilar, Eastchester’s second-half run—which was fueled by stellar defense and a 22-point effort from Joe Levy—was simply par for the course for an Eagles team known for its resilience.

“We told the guys before the game that we’ve never had a game here where we’ve had a double-digit lead and maintained it,” Aguilar said. “Every time you get a lead, you know they’re going to come back and that’s what happened again today.”

Although Rye played well, paced by Matt Tepedino’s 19 points and a 17-point showing from Quinn Kelly, Aguilar was somewhat concerned with his team’s play during Eastchester’s second-half run.

“We need more consistency with our rebounding and we need to do a better job with turnovers; we’ve got a lot of senior guards and we’re turning it over much more than I expected coming into the season,” Aguilar said. “When we’re missing a few shots and turning the ball over, that allows other teams to climb back into games.”

With the loss, Eastchester fell to 5-9 on the season, but will have another shot at the Garnets on Feb. 4. The Garnets—who are currently projected to be the No. 2 seed in the Class A playoffs—will look to solidify their postseason spot with five more league games in the final two weeks of the season.

“To me, our league is the best, most competitive league, so hopefully we can come out the next couple of games, compete for a league title and get some momentum heading into the postseason,” Aguilar said. “Things are so tight right now that a couple of losses can drop you from a No. 4 seed to seventh or eighth, so we can’t afford to just back into the playoffs.”