On Friday night, two of the top basketball teams in lower Westchester squared off, as Class AA Eastchester hosted Class A Rye in another chapter of a fierce league rivalry. On this night, however, it was the Garnets that would come out on top, shaking off a slow start to top the Eagles 54-52.
Eastchester, which fell to the Garnets in an early season matchup, was firing early on all cylinders in the early-goings of the matchup, grabbing a 34-22 lead by the end of the first half. Much of Eastchester’s success came from the hot shooting of Marcus Rolon, who notched 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first two quarters.
Rye coach John Aguilar credited Eastchester with a solid game-plan and said that the Eagles’ athleticism was causing some matchup issues for the Garnets, especially in the first half.
“This year, our kryptonite has been quick guards, and Eastchester has one of the best back courts in Section 1,” said Aguilar. “But I thought we came out a lot better in the second half.”
Rye’s second-half run, which saw them outscore their hosts 32-18, was fueled by the team’s unselfish play, something that has been a Garnet calling card this year. Charlie Stevens led Rye with 15 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, while Jake Kessner—who was helped scoreless in the second and third quarters—scored six of his 11 points in the final eight minutes.
Aguilar said that Rye—which improved to 11-2 with the win—has benefited from the late game heroics of a multitude of different players this year, and that being able to rely on a number of different options during crunch time has paid dividends.
“This is the deepest team I’ve had, that’s something I’ve told them since the beginning of the year,” said Aguilar. “Every night it seems like someone different steps up at the end of the game.“
With the loss, Eastchester fell to 9-4 but is still positioned as one of the top teams in Class AA. The Eagles will look to take down some other tough squads in the coming days with matchups against Harrison and Pearl River (11-1) looming. The Garnets will take on Byram Hills (8-6) on Jan. 26 as they look to put together a strong push as the regular season comes to an end.
“What we’re seeing this year is that it’s all about matchups,” said Aguilar. “It doesn’t matter what a team’s record is, it’s all about how they match up with other teams, so we’re just going to keep on working hard to improve with the playoffs coming up.”
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