Harrison Loses Tough Game Against Horace Greeley

The Horace Greeley Quakers overcame a terrific Harrison defensive effort in the first half and outlasted the Huskies on Friday night, holding on for a 58-48 victory in Chappaqua.

After scoring only four points in one quarter Wednesday night against Fox Lane, Harrison wasted no time returning the favor, holding Horace Greeley to the same total in the first quarter to build a 12-4 lead.  Unfortunately for the Huskies, it wouldn't be enough.

Horace Greeley started to get things rolling on the offensive side early in the second quarter.  The Quakers scored on a few quick transition baskets and started to drive to the hoop instead of settling for jump shots.  Horace Greeley freshman Harrison Brown played a key role, dribbling through the first layer of Harrison defenders to soften the defense for his veteran counterparts.

"Our team was kind of down at that point and it gave our team some energy," said Brown.  "It felt good."

The Quakers scored 20 in the second quarter to close the gap to only a basket at halftime.

"We actually got some penetration to the basket," said Horace Greeley Head Coach Dave Fernandez.  "We got a couple of drives to the basket and we got some easy baskets off of that."

In the second half Horace Greeley started to feed the ball to Matt Townsend under the basket.  Townsend finished the game with 18 points, sharing game high with teammate Adam Honig.

But Harrison continued to do just enough to stay in the game.  Dennis Rinaldi led the Huskies with 15 points while playing tough defense against a very formidable Horace Greeley front line.

"Dennis Rinaldi played great interior defense on Townsend tonight," said Harrison Head Coach Gary Chiarella.  "The kids played, I thought, an outstanding game.  They played hard, very hard, and that's all we ask."

However, it wouldn't be enough for the road victory.  A Honig three point basket with just over six minutes remaining put Horace Greeley ahead.  That basket brought the home crowd to life and, despite a valiant cheering effort from the Harrison Junior Varsity team, the noise in the gym would favor Horace Greeley the rest of the way.

The Quakers were flawless from the free throw line in the game's final minutes while Harrison was unable to come up with the baskets it needed to keep the game close.  A Bibby Graves basket with one minute remaining put Horace Greeley up by eight with only a minute remaining, and the Quakers held on for the victory.

"We're right there with everybody else, we've just got to get a little more," said Chiarella.  "We missed a couple of chippy shots and they didn't, that's the bottom line."