Sports
Tappan Zee Wins Pearl River Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament [VIDEO]
Tappan Zee beat Albertus Magnus in the championship, 59-50, in a battle of two of the top teams in the county.
Heading into the final quarter of the Pearl River Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament, Albertus Magnus led Tappan Zee by one point, but that’s when the Dutchmen clamped down on defense.
In the final quarter, the Falcons scored just two field goals, while the Dutchmen rallied to earn a 59-50 win in the title game.
“We went through a little adversity tonight,” said Tappan Zee’s Patrick Peterson. “We were down a couple of points, but we got back and we just went through our main thing of defense and won ourselves a championship.”
For the Dutchmen (6-0), their path to the tournament title consisted of two physical games, what coach George Gaine called “grind -out” wins, with Tappan Zee beating host Pearl River Tuesday in the first round.
“The guys are bringing the defense, so if the shots aren’t falling, we’re still able to win the game,” he said.
But before Tappan Zee’s defense shut down Albertus in the fourth, the Falcons erased a five-point halftime deficit in the third quarter thanks to some sharp shooting by senior Tyler Sayre.
Early in the third, Sayre hit a jumper to tie the game at 29, and after Tappan Zee took a two-point lead, Sayre hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions, giving the Albertus a 35-31 advantage, its first lead since early in the opening quarter.
Sayre led all scorers with 23 points. He was followed by Pat McGuinness, who had 13 and Jack Sullivan, who had 10, for Albertus
For the Dutchmen, Peterson led the way with 19, followed by Billy O’Shea’s 14 and Brian McLaughlin’s 13.
Peterson’s first bucket was a big one. Not only was it a three from well beyond the line in the left corner, but it also gave him over 1,000 career points. He came into the game with 998.
“It felt like I got a weight off my shoulders,” Peterson said. “It was definitely good to get it out of the way early.”
On the play, Peterson received a pass from Joe Letizia and shot it with a man in his face. Peterson said it wasn’t really a designed play and he wasn’t sure if he was going to shoot it when he first received the pass.
“The time before I got swatted, so I was hesitant for a second,” he said.
Meanwhile, Letizia was named tournament MVP.
“My whole team’s the MVP,” Letizia said. “I should give it to them, not me.”
Joining him on the all-tournament team from Tappan Zee was center Brendan Donohue, along with Albertus’ Sayre and Sullivan and Pearl River’s Austin O’Toole. Before the championship, Pearl River won the consolation game against Nanuet by a score of 58-41.
