Pearl River Boys Basketball Rallies Past Ardsley

Veteran Pearl River boys basketball coach Jerry Houston holds firm to the belief that as long as his players wear PR or Pirates on their jerseys nothing comes easy.

“We have to work for what we get,” Houston said Friday night following a hard-fought, well-earned 61-41 victory over visiting Ardsley before a packed house in a Section 1 Class A boys basketball contest at Pearl River

Second-seeded Pearl River (16-3) next hosts nemesis Peekskill on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Ardsley (8-12) was seeded No. 15, but came ready to play, just as Houston envisioned, and held a surprising 30-26 lead at the break behind the pinpoint outside shooting of senior Nick Loccisano and the rugged inside play of senior Dakota Dinaso.

“I felt so happy to play, I felt like we were unstoppable,” Dinaso said. “But in the second half they came out with more intensity and took the game from us.”

Pirates standout Luke Houston, who injured his right ankle in a 57-47 victory over Suffern on Monday, was a game-time decision. Although he played with verve, diving for balls and getting back on defense, Houston scored just two points in the first half and finished with seven.

“We got a lot out of him in a tough spot,” said Jerry Houston. “(Junior Austin) O’Toole had a career-high 22 points; it was a nice time to get it. And (John) Donovan was strong off the boards in the second half. He had his hands full with that kid 43 (Dinaso); he was a ton to handle.”

Dinaso finished with 14 points while Loccisano had 13 to lead the Panthers.

O’Toole was the only Pirate in double figures, but Joe Clinton had nine points, and Donovan and Joey Walsh each had six.

Down by four entering the second half, O’Toole ignited a decisive 18-2 run for Pearl River with a three-point basket from the left side. After a free throw by Clinton on Dinaso’s third personal foul, O’Toole drove almost the length of the court off a steal to open a 33-30 lead.

 Dinaso made two foul shots to bring Ardsley to within one with 5:17 left in the third period.

With Houston--who had taken off an ankle brace in the first period after stiffening up--on the bench, and the Pirates using a press, O’Toole made a free throw, and then a left-side drive for two for a 36-32 advantage as the tide quickly turned.

Senior Anthony Calise hit a right-side jumper and then senior Joey Walsh made a three from the left side. When Donovan scored on a put-back, the Panthers found themselves on the short end of a 44-32 count.

Houston, who Dinaso said was either “hurt or off his game,” confided that it took him a while to get into the flow of the game after his ankle stiffened. But he was not offering any excuses, nor diminishing Ardsley’s effort.

“We knew Ardsley was very good, and would not roll over for us,” he said. “We stood off their runs, and pulled it out as a team. My teammates really stepped up.

“I’m not 100 percent, but there are no excuses in the playoffs. My teammates carried the load.”

Jerry Houston said Luke’s value goes well beyond his scoring.

“He does a lot defensively, pushing the ball offensively,” Jerry Houston said. “Ardsley slowed the pace, and we took too many threes. To their credit, they played hard. In the playoffs we’ve knocked off teams we shouldn’t have -- and the other way around. It was good to get this one.”

The upcoming game against Peekskill offers a couple of incentives for Pearl River.

“They’ve beaten us the last two years,” Luke Houston said.

“Last year, they beat us in the first round," Donovan said. "Our major goal this year was to win at least two (playoff games), and get to the (Westchester) County Center. This year is our best chance to do it. We’re a different team, and they’re a different team. They’re still great, but we’re confident in how we play.”

Asked about the big guy in the middle, Dinaso, Donovan said, “He’s tough, and has been pretty consistent all year. We knew all about him; he was our main focus.”

            Free throws

• Joe Clinton, the head men’s basketball coach at Dominican College and the proud father of talented young Joe Clinton the Pirate, proved to be a prophet when assessing the game beforehand. “Pearl River is very good, unselfish, well-coached, they easily could have been 17-1; they lost a couple of tough games. But in the playoffs, anything can happen.” Clinton the Elder, who owns quite a background in the sport, said he hopes his son “listens to me” when administering advice. “He does all the little things that don’t show up in the box score,” said the coach. “He makes the extra pass, he’s heady, he’s been playing since he was three. He’s like a coach on the court.” As an example, young Clinton had a pass of his stolen with Ardsley ahead 23-21, but he hustled back on defense for a big steal of his own. It was just the type of play his dad might have been talking about.
• Orangetown Councilman Denis Troy, a self-proclaimed “basketball junkie,” and Supervisor Paul Whalen, whose daughter Casey is a Pirettes cheerleader, rooted along with a hometown crowd that roared from start to finish. Troy, whose three sons all played basketball at Pearl River, still keeps his hand in the game as a CYO official. “I gave up playing only four years ago,” Troy said, with an obvious gleam in his eye. Whalen credited both teams for their effort, and hopes to be on hand for the Peekskill showdown. “We come to most of the games,” he said.
• Pearl River trainer Frank Amadio said he was confident Houston would be able to play with a taped ankle. “But,” said Amadio, with a huge bellow and an even-wider smile, “I told him no slam-dunking today!”
• Former Pearl River football coach Mark Travaglino said he loves his leisure time after a 16-year stint (10 as head coach), and said his son Troy, built just like his dad, plays the linebacker and guard positions for the Orangetown Patriots midget football league team.
• Chemistry teacher Shannon Misias worked the scorebook clock. “I was called into duty,” she kidded.