Rye Beats Sleep Hollow

The Rye Garnets took another step forward in the playoffs, winning two straight games to advance further in the Section 1 Class A tournament. 

They beat the Sleepy Hollow boys varsity squad 54-39 in Sleepy Hollow Friday.

"The biggest key was defense and rebounding, we wanted to make sure we executed on the boards and played tough and that's what we did," Rye's Brian Pickup said. 

The Garnets played in Sleepy Hollow after a tough fought game against Our Lady of Lourdes on Thursday, 48-43. 

"I am very impressed with the fact that we had to come back from a very tough game last night," Rye Head Coach Chris Dicintio said. "That game took a lot out of us, but I'm very impressed with the intensity they brought today."

"After yesterday it was pretty tiring, but we used team effort as one and brought it together and it worked," Pickup said. 

Rye's victory ended the season for Sleepy Hollow. Their players were visibly emotional after the game, having gone through such a turnaround from last year's two-win season.

"Coming from last year and two years ago, we barely had six wins," said senior Bobby Small. "I'm not mad, it's a big accomplishment. It was a good journey but it ended short."

Hollow ended the season 14-5 after securing second seed in the playoffs. But even home court advantage couldn't give the Horsemen an edge over the solid 2-3 zone defense and the aggressive rebounding of the Rye Garnets.

"They were physically bigger than we were," Head Coach Tony Baxter said. "And we didn't make shots today and we were a little tentative offensively."

The Rye defense kept the Horsemen out of the key and forced them to make outside shots that failed to hit home on numerous occasions. 

Rye also capitalized on steals and rebounds, making quick turnarounds and drawing fouls that they were able to covert into points. 

The first quarter saw a tough defensive stance on both sides and ended with Rye ahead 11-8. 

At the half, Rye was up 19-22. After the break, Rye went on a three-score drive that ended with a contested 3-point shot to put them up 19-27.

The Horsemen were unable to break past the Rye defenders for inside shots and by the middle of the fourth quarter it became obvious that Rye was coasting toward victory.

Rye's Brian Pickup led the game in scoring with 17 points, he was followed by Connor Smith (13) and Tim Lonergan (9). Justin Best led in scoring for the Horsemen with 14 points. 

Rye is now focusing on continuing their advancement in the playoffs.

 "We're going to take it one at a time; the County Center is the final goal," Pickup said. "If we keep working hard, and practice and we'll be able to do it."