Eastchester may not yet have a ton of wins to show for their efforts this year, but one thing is for certain about this Eagle team; they’ll stand up to just about anyone.
On Friday night, the Eagles traveled to White Plains to take on the Tigers in the nightcap of the 31st annual Harry Jefferson Showcase and acquitted themselves well against their hosts, taking the larger school down to the wire before ultimately falling short in a 44-37 game.
After a first quarter that saw both teams struggle to score efficiently, the game kicked into high gear in the second half, with the Tigers and Eagles trading buckets and Eastchester even taking the lead midway through the fourth quarter before ultimately running out of steam. Eagles coach Fred DiCarlo said he’s been impressed with the effort he’s seen from his group over the first few games of the season, even if the team doesn’t have the wins to show for it.
“The defensive intensity has been really good; we’re trying to find an identity as a team, and we’re really buying in on defense,” said DiCarlo. “We see who we are, we know we have to play four quarters of defense, and we’ve done a good job with that; now we just have to try to get the ball in the basket.”
Greg Poli paced the Eagles with 14 points while White Plains’ Eli Turuseta scored a game-high 15 en route to taking home the MVP award. Peter Tedesco was named Eastchester’s “Player of the Game”
After starting the season with a win over Hunter College Prep, the Eagles have dropped four straight, although DiCarlo notes that the team’s win-loss record hardly reflects the bright spots he’s seen from his young team.
“We have 11 juniors and we’re still trying to figure out how to finish games, but I think that will come as the season goes along,” said DiCarlo. “We played a real tough Clarkstown South team, we played a good Kennedy Catholic team right till the end, and today we’re going up against an AAA school, so I think with the experience, the wins will come.”
Eastchester will close out the 2025 calendar year with a Friday showdown against league rival Rye. At 1-1 on the season, the Garnets have been shorthanded in the early portion of the year, as several key contributors—including point guard Carson Miller and forward Henry Shoemaker—will return to the floor after a deep postseason run that saw the Garnets’ football team capture its first-ever Class A title.
Eastchester comes back after the New Year with a game against Harrison.
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