Sports

Pearl River Boys Basketball Beats Suffern in Opener [VIDEO]

Austin O'Toole scored 23 points to lead the Pirates in a 60-44 victory over the Suffern Mounties Friday at home.

Pearl River boys basketball Head Coach Jerry Houston said his team would have to be more balanced this season.

Pearl River showed it could do just that in Friday's opener at home against Suffern, with four Pirates scoring in double figures in a 60-44 victory over the Mounties.

"It was great getting contributions from everyone," said senior guard Austin O'Toole. "Everyone stepped up in their own way."

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O'Toole led the way with 23 points. Senior point guard Joey Clinton scored 12, nine of them in the fourth quarter, and senior Sean Wilson and sophomore Kevin Degnan each added 11. Houston said he expects the offense to improve as the players get more accustomed to their roles. Only Clinton and O'Toole were starters last season.

"It's early," Houston said. "I think there is a level of trust or chemistry to be built. When you are playing well offensively, things just naturally happen. It doesn't have to be a set play to make something happen. They will find each other. We are still developing that chemistry."

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O'Toole stepped into the role of top scorer, one he is expected to play often, but that was not thing he did that Houston brought up first.

"He made a lot of things happen," Houston said. "There was a very big play where it was tight at one point and he got an offensive loose ball and he was able to kick it to Sean, who then kicked it to Kevin for a lay-up and a foul."

That was Pearl River's opening basket of the fourth quarter, pushing the Pirates' advantage to 40-34. Pearl River led most of the game, but did not pull away until an 11-2 run to open the final period gave the Pirates a 46-36 lead.

From that point on, the Pirates just buried the Mounties in made free throws. Pearl River made 18 of 21 from the line in the fourth quarter, including 9 of 10 by Clinton. Before those free throws, Clinton hadn't scored since making a 3-point shot for the Pirates first points nearly three minutes into the first quarter.

"Obviously, at times Joey struggled finding his offense, but I thought he was kind of the key in the fourth quarter, getting to the basket and making some nice passes," Houston said. "Also, he handled for us. I thought it said a lot about him to bounce back in that fourth quarter when we needed it the most.

"I thought the free-throw line (was the difference). We got there a bunch and knocked down our free throws, especially in the fourth quarter. That allows you to extend whatever lead you might have."

Pearl River made 20 of 28 free throws in the game.

"We work on it every day, multiple times," O'Toole said. "We love getting in those situations at the end."

Degnan helped his team get there in his first real playing time on the varsity level. The 6-foot-6 sophomore showed the versatility of his game, hitting a three-point shot as well as scoring inside.

"I thought he did a really nice job," Houston said. "He didn't force things when they weren't there. He knocked down some shots for us. He has that ability to come in and out. For the kid's first game as a sophomore, it was good."

Houston said his defense was solid, but wanted to see better rebounding.

"Rebounding, we have to tighten up," Houston said. "They got a lot of second shots, but they are tough on the boards."

Suffern has size, but did not shoot well, going 0-for-9 from three-point range. Rich Ibsen led the Mounties with 12 points and Jamaal Celestin had 10.

Pearl River's next game is 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Rockland.


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