Pearl River Boys top Peekskill 60-47, Advance to Section 1 Semifinals

In front of a raucous home crowd, the Pearl River Pirates defeated the visiting Peekskill Red Devils 60-47 on Tuesday night, and advanced to next week’s Section 1 Class A semifinals.

With the victory, Pearl River improved to 17-3 on the season, and for some of the Pirates, the win over Peekskill; a team that had ended their season the last two years, was particularly sweet.

“This one’s for some of the past players and especially me, Anthony (Calise), and John (Donovan),” Pearl River Senior Luke Houston said following his team’s victory, “We were on a team that lost to them by 54 two years ago at the County Center. That stayed in our minds and we wanted this.”

Houston; Rockland County’s leading scorer, led the Pirates with 33 points and Austin O’Toole added 13 on the night. But it was the hard-nosed play of fellow senior John Donovan; who scored 10 points in the second half, that received Pearl River Coach Jerry Houston’s highest praise.

“(John) doesn’t always get the credit offensively that some of the other guys get,” Houston said, “But he did a great job of getting open and finishing around the basket.”

Thanks to a stifling defense, the Pirates jumped out to an early lead over the visiting Red Devils, forcing Peekskill into taking bad shots and confusing them with their relentless pressure. After one period, Peekskill trailed 17-12.

“(Pearl River) made us rush our offense,” Peekskill Coach Lou Panzano said after the game, “We wanted to be patient, but they did a good job of forcing (our offense) into playing out of control.”

However, Peekskill got their legs under them and charged back, taking a one point lead a little over a minute into the second. They held onto the lead for nearly for the entire second period, surrendering it briefly when Pearl River tied the game at 24 with 1:24 to go in the first half. Peekskill broke the tie less than thirty seconds later, and marched into the locker room at halftime with a 26-24 lead.

To start the second half, the two teams traded baskets, and the lead, several times before Peekskill was finally able to seize control. Thanks to a 9-0 Peekskill run mid-way through the period, the Red Devils opened up an eight point lead on the Pirates; their largest of the night. A brief Pearl River run brought the game to within three with 2:48 to go, but Peekskill answered the Pirate rally with back-to-back baskets -- including a long three-pointer by Nayge Wagner; who scored 10 points in the third quarter to lead the Devils.

But in the fourth, with Pearl River trailing 44-38, the Pirates once again ratcheted up the defensive intensity, and regained the lead. After an 11-0 run to start the quarter, Pearl River took control of the game and cruised to a 13-point victory. In the period, the Pirates outscored the Red Devils 22-3.

Despite his team’s offensive performance, Luke Houston was quick to point out that it’s his team’s defense, not their offense, which has led to their success in 2011.

“The offense can come and go, but defense has always got to be there,” Houston said.

Shaine Carter and Steven Hunter each scored 11 points for Peekskill. This year will mark the first time since 2004 that Peekskill has not reached the Section 1 Class A semifinals.

Pearl River advances to face rival Tappan Zee in the Section 1 Class A boys semifinals, which will be played on March 2, 2011 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

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