Pearl River Beats Rival Tappan Zee, Advances to Section 1 Class A Championship Game

Pearl River nearly lost its star player early and its lead late in Wednesday's Section 1 Class A semifinal against rival Tappan Zee at the Westchester County Center Wednesday.

Pearl River managed to hold on to both on the way to a 60-53 victory.

The No. 2 seed Pirates (18-3) answered rallies by the Dutchmen with big shots and made their free throws down the stretch to punch their ticket to the championship game against the No. 5 seed Byram Hills Bobcats (16-5) 7 p.m. Sunday back at the County Center.

“In the end, free throws played a huge role. We shot them well all game,” said Pearl River coach Jerry Houston, whose team made 20 of 25 free throws (80 percent).

Pearl River and Tappan Zee had split their two meetings early this season, each winning on its home court, so they knew what to expect from one another. Both teams regularly play aggressive defense, often pressing for most of the game. The press was only instituted in the fourth quarter and only briefly by both teams. They allowed each other to bring the ball up court before snapping into a half court defensive set for most of the game.

Both teams were tentative coming out of the locker room, feeling each other out. No baskets were scored in the first three minutes of action.

Pearl River standout Luke Houston, who was nursing a sore ankle coming into Wednesday’s match up, appeared to re-injure the ankle four minutes into the game, with Pearl River holding a 4-0 lead.

Houston was carried to the locker room but was back on the floor by the end of the first. Tappan Zee struggled offensively during this stretch as the Pirates defense stepped up when they saw their man go down. The Dutchmen were held to six points in the first quarter.

"My teammates carried me for the first three quarters. They all played well and did their jobs,” said Houston.

Pearl River guard Joe Clinton did an excellent job keeping the team controlled during the first half. The Pirate offense was not as explosive as it can be, credit the Dutchmen defense, but they were scoring.

Austin O’Toole put up a dozen in the first half for Pearl River and the Pirates took a 26-18 point lead into the half.

The scoring was much steadier for both squads in the third quarter. Rather than scoring bursts, they were matching baskets. Tappan Zee was playing much quicker and scoring more effectively, which knocked the Pirates onto their heels.

As their lead shrunk and the Dutchmen’s confidence grew, Anthony Calise stepped up for the Pirates. The Pirate forward found himself open for a three-pointer and knocked it down. Just a moment later he got another look from deep and cashed in.

“Anthony (Calise) was huge for us in the third. They hit us with a strong run and he answered back for us,” Jerry Houston said.

“I just didn’t want the team to come out flat in the second half, we needed to keep our momentum going,” said Calise. “I’ll do anything I can for my team, some days I’m a three-point shooter.”

Things took a turn for the worse for the Dutchmen lost what could be their most effective big man, Billy O’Shea, as he picked up his fifth foul at the end of the third quarter.

Still up by eight at the start of the fourth, the Pirates were clearly looking to close the game out as quickly as possible and they turned to Luke Houston to get the job done.

Houston handled the half court offense masterfully. After swinging the ball around a few times and draining the shot clock, Houston drove hard to the basket repeatedly rather than settling for jumpers. One play was particularly impressive, Houston stood wide open at the three-point line with six to go on the shot clock. He was patient, waited, drove and released a floater as the shot clock expired and found nothing but net. He scored 12 of his 20 in the fourth including six of six free throws. 

Tappan Zee’s Billy O’Shea (who fouled out in the third) was at a loss of words during post game interviews.

“I don’t know what to say,” O'Shea said. “It’s hard watching your team out there.”

Tappan Zee finished the season 16-5 one year after winning a Section 1 championship.

“Tough loss. We made a lot of shots when we needed to and others just seemed to rattle out,” said Tappan Zee Coach George Gaine. “The past two years have been unbelievable. I love all these kids and I will always remember them. The seniors gave it their all every day and really gave our program an edge that will be tough to live up to.”