Pearl River Sports: Boys Basketball Rally Falls Short

The . 

Just as they did in a previous loss against Clarkstown South, the Pearl River struggled to find its offense. Pearl River managed only 16 points through three quarters before putting up 32 in the fourth.

"We're feeling our way a little bit," Pearl River Head Coach Jerry Houston, Jr. said. "This is the type of game, given our inexperience at certain spots, especially guard, it made things tougher. This is our sixth game, but we haven't played in this kind of environment yet."

Houston also said the Tappan Zee defense made things tougher on Pearl River's offense.The Dutchmen were able to pressure the Pirates' guards to take away the outside shot and make it tougher to get the ball to the forwards in good position to score. One challenge for the Pirates is finding a balance of relying on junior forward Kevin Degnan and getting other players involved.

"We look to Kevin to do a lot of things," Houston said. "It's not the kids' fault. It's probably my fault ore than anybody. It's a fine line. You want to take advantage of good offensive options, but at the same time, try to get other people to contribute. We definitely bogged down offensively."

Degnan helped change that by attacking the basket more in the final period, scoring 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, his third game over 20 points in the last four.

Pearl River is now off for over a week. The Pirates' next game is 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 at home against North Rockland.

Wednesday's Schedule

• Pearl River vs. Suffern bowling at Hi Tor, 3:30 p.m.
• Clarkstown North at Pearl River girls basketball, 4 p.m.

Thursday's Schedule

• Clarkstown South at Pearl River wrestling, 4:30 p.m.

Friday's Schedule

• Pearl River vs. Clarkstown ice hockey at Palisades, 4:50 p.m.

Saturday's Schedule

• Oneonta at Pearl River girls basketball, 2 p.m.
• Pearl River ice hockey vs. Bronxville at Sport-O-Rama, 7 p.m.
• Pearl River girls track competes in Grinch Games at Fordham University, 8 a.m.

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