On Jan. 11, two young teams took the court as Rye Neck traveled to Bronxville to tangle with the Broncos. In the end, Bronxville’s slight edge in experience—and the return of junior point guard Matt Toal—proved to be the difference-maker, as the Broncos overcame a six-point halftime deficit to top the Panthers 53-35.
Toal, who finished with 11 points, all of which came in the second half, finally returned to the lineup after missing the majority of the season because of a back injury. His presence played a key role in Monday’s win, as the three-year starter helped spark the Broncos’ 34-10 second-half run.
“We came out slow in the first half,” Toal said. “But once I started to shoot a little better, I think other people started to feed off that.”
Alston Tarry, 19 points, and Jack Reilly, 17, also got into a rhythm in the second half, something that head coach Brian Senior attributes, at least in part, to the effect that Toal’s return has had on the squad.
“We’re a young ball team, so having a point guard that has game experience is a calming influence,” Senior said. “It allows everyone to play within themselves and not try to do too much.”
Bronxville also stepped up its defensive intensity in the second half, harassing the Panther guards near half court and disrupting Rye Neck’s offensive flow. Rye Neck was only able to score one basket in the first five minutes of the half, something Senior said reflected the commitment to the game plan.
“We just had to make a couple of adjustments, we were leaving the middle wide open in the first half,” he said. “In the second half, we were able to shut it off.”
Containing Rye Neck sophomore Kol Lewis, who scored nine points in the first half and finished with 14, was among the Broncos’ goals in the second half.
“[Lewis] was definitely our main focus, as well as not giving up open perimeter shots,” Toal said. “We didn’t bail them out, we didn’t let them get to the line and we rebounded much better.”
Rye Neck will look to bounce back from the loss on Jan. 12, after press time, when they host Hastings. The Broncos will travel to Ardsley on Jan. 12 before gearing up for a showdown with a strong Woodlands team on Jan. 15 and hope that the return of Toal will continue to pay dividends.
“It was tough watching, especially when we went on a bit of a losing streak,” Toal said. “I felt like I should be helping the team, but now I’m feeling pretty good.”
