Garnets Come Up Short in Hectic Battle

It was a hectic game and fourth quarter in Rye High School's Louis E. Drago Gymnasium Tuesday.

With several lead changes and ties throughout the game, the Garnets lost by one point to the Valhalla High School Vikings, 54-53. 

"The bottom line is we didn't rebound as much as we should have," said Rye Basketball Head Coach Chris DiCintio.

He said his team has had a series of close losses, the most recent being a 53-52 loss to Walter Panas High School.

DiCintio said another reason for the close losses was his players' shots not falling as they should.

But, "they will," DiCintio said, adding that his team is just facing a run of bad luck, with their shots not falling through the net.

The Garnets jumped to a quick 4-0 lead in the first. Vahalla quickly scored their first bucket at the 6:40 mark. Rye, however, increased the lead to 7-2 with less than 6 minutes left in the quarter. Rye scored another bucket, bringing the score to 9-2 shortly after. 

The game swung in the Vikings favor as they tied the score at 9-9,  eventually leading 14-12 despite a Rye three-pointer with 2:30 to go.

In a tight second quarter with uncalled fouls, Rye held it close throughout the rest of the half, trailing only by three at intermission.  The Garnets were down as much as six with 4:05 to go, eventually cutting the lead to 22-20 on a three pointer by Chris Twyman. Vahalla then followed with one of their own to bring the lead to 25-20. The Garnet's sank a two-pointer right before the half, bringing them within three points of Vahalla.  

Rye's Tim Longran stepped it up in the third, putting the Garnet's ahead 36-35. Vahalla fouled Twyman who made two at the line and tied the score with 27.1 seconds left in the quarter.

Twyman came with a vengance in the fourth by blocking a Valhalla shot. The Vikings then went to the line, making one free throw to lead 38-37. Twyman brought his team ahead 39-38 with 7:15 to go. 

With less than three minutes left, the Garnets were up 51-47. Rye squandered its lead on a foul, making the score 51-49 after shots from Viking LaQuinn Shuler.

A two by Nagle increased Rye's lead to four. The Viking's Shuler hit a three, cutting the lead by one point. The Garnets then fouled, resulting in a 54-53 Viking lead. Nagle then threw the ball out of bounds on a pass over midcourt. Valhalla called a timeout with 34.2 to go. The Garnets then fouled Shuler, who missed both freethrows.

With 17 ticks on the clock and amid Rye's strong defensive pressure, the Vikings were forced to call a timeout. As the clock wound down to 2.8 seconds, Rye's Brian Pickup missed a shot. He then fouled Valhalla's Kevin Arias who went o-2, giving the Garnet's one last chance to be victorious after the ball landed out of bounds. The Garnets struggled to get one last score before the buzzer, suffering a narrow loss in a game that had been close in every quarter.

Rye next plays Harrison on December 28 at 12 p.m. in a game at the County Center.