Pearl River Shooters Go Cold in Section 1 Title Game Defeat

Byram Hills coach Ted Repa summed up Pearl River's night in one simple phrase.

"They missed," Repa said.

Pearl River went cold in the second quarter and never warmed back up in a 47-38 loss to Byram Hills in the Section 1 Class A boys basketball championship game Sunday at the Westchester County Center.

Pearl River (18-4) finished one victory short in its pursuit of the first section championship in school history.

"It’s the finality of it all," said an emotional Pearl River head coach Jerry Houston. "It was such a great season, a great ride. The finality of it for the seniors being done. It was something they really wanted for the school, for themselves and for the program and coming up short. You don’t know how many times you will get here.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t cash in tonight."

"There are six seniors on this team and we really wanted this one bad, but we just came up short," Pearl River senior guard Luke Houston said.

Houston carried the Pearl River offense much of the season, averaging over 20 points per game, but finished with only five points on two-of-18 shooting Sunday, though he did grab 10 rebounds.

“It was an off shooting night, but that has a lot to do with their defense,” Luke Houston said. “Yeah, we missed shots. But they forced us into some bad shots and we missed them.”

"You don't expect that," Repa said of Houston's cold shooting night. "I thought we did a decent job contesting shooters and they went a little cold, to be honest. We took advantage."

Sophomore Ryan Golden led Byram Hills with 14 points, including a three-point shot that gave the Bobcats the lead for good at 17-15 just 40 seconds into the third quarter.

"Once Ryan hit that three in the third quarter to get us the lead, I think everybody took a breath," Repa said. "It had been such a grind for us. Now we can actually make a shot. Let’s play our game."

Jeff Lynch, who scored 14 points Sunday for Byram Hills, was named the Class A tournament MVP. Golden joined Houston, Pearl River's Austin O'Toole, Tappan Zee's Ryan O'Rourke and Ryan Hickey of Kennedy on the all-tournament team.

Pearl River actually started strong and led, 15-5, on Anthony Calise’s basket early in the second quarter. From that point, Pearl River's entire team went cold. The Pirates scored only four points total in the second and third quarters as Byram Hills pulled out to a 25-19 lead heading into the fourth.

"We had some shots we normally make not go down, but you’ve got to credit the defense that they played," Jerry Houston said. "They didn’t give us many good looks."

O’Toole gave Byram Hills trouble in the first quarter with his ability to attack the basket, but was called for his second foul with 6:23 to go in the second quarter and did not return until the second half. Both first-half fouls on O’Toole were charges that wiped out made baskets. He finished the game with eight points. Senior forward John Donovan also scored eight to go with a team-high 13 rebounds.

The Pirates seemed to find a spark to start the fourth quarter when Joe Walsh and Joey Clinton each hit three-point shots to pull Pearl River within two at 27-25, but Byram Hills regained control with a fast-break basket by Andy Murphy and a three-point shot by Andrew Maloney.

"When we did get something going, they responded," Jerry Houston said. "Sometimes you just can’t get on track. (My players) didn’t play one of their best games and I don’t think I helped them out in terms of coaching."

Byram Hills (17-5) earned a first-round bye in the state tournament and will play in the Class A regional second round 7 p.m. Friday at the Westchster County Center against the winner of a game between the champions of Section 4 and Section 9.

"It hasn’t sunk in yet," Repa said. "I’ve been dreaming of this all week since we got the opportunity. I have more respect for Pearl River...as much as any program in the section."