Huskies Fall To Port Chester In A Close One

Wednesday afternoon at Port Chester High School the Rams narrowly escaped the Huskies to push their record to six wins and no losses. From the opening tip you could tell it was going to be a hard fought battle and fast paced game, as both players jumped prematurely, and then on the re-jump they swatted the ball out of bounds and into the stands.

Early in the game it appeared that Harrison's game plan was to get the Rams big men into foul trouble. Joel Neri the teams 6'10'' junior was taken out of the game quickly with two quick fouls and a technical foul all within the first few minutes of the game.

The first quarter was a period of streaks, Harrison went off to begin scoring the games first seven points. Port Chester Coach Craig Holcomb called a time out to adjust his game plan without Neri, which led to the Rams going on a 13 point run of their own.

"We usually have a big lineup, I substitute one 6'10'' for another 6'10'' and when Joel picked up his third foul I had to sub in another guy who isn't used to playing that many minutes so we had to go to a smaller lineup," Holcomb said. "I wasn't afraid to play with a smaller lineup because I knew it would help our press some."

The Huskies spent the second quarter battling back from a six point deficit left over from the first to eventually tie the game at 24 before the half. This was due in large part to seniors Dennis Rinaldi and Brady Klein. Klein came off the bench to spark the team supplying energy and athleticism under the basket giving Harrison some much needed rebounding, as well as providing solid defense on both the wing and post.

"We kept subbing people in and out looking for the right five guys to make some noise," Dennis Rinaldi said, "Brady came in and gave us what we needed."

Rinaldi, who coming into the game was averaging more than 20 points a game, played perhaps his best half of basketball of the season scoring 17 points in the first half. Most of Rinaldi's points came from the interior but he added one three-point shot from the top of the key when he was wisely using his range to draw the Port Chester big men outside of the paint.  

After halftime the Rams used their size to counteract the Huskies interior domination and for the most part it worked. Harrison was forced to take more outside shots then they were accustomed too and could not make a basket from beyond the arc. Even though the Harrison offense slowed down, the Husky defense remained solid only giving up eleven points in the quarter.

"Our initial game plan was to play hard defense and rebound, which we did except for a few weak side rebounds that were killers." Harrison Coach Gary Chiarella said on the second half. "But to hold a team like that to 50 we just need to figure out how to score more points."

The intensity of the forth quarter was palpable. The period started with the Huskies down just two points. Tempers of both teams were running high as the squads exchanged baskets for the first few minutes of the quarter.  Then Port Chester took a slim lead and the Rams continued with their full court pressure making it nearly impossible for the Huskies to make any sort of substantial comeback.

The game ended with the Huskies taking their second loss of the season 50-44. The teams late game foul shooting was abysmal and they had trouble protecting the ball turning it over several times in the final minutes.

Late in the game the still undefeated Rams stuck with a short, quick lineup focusing heavily on guard play. Port Chester's guards were able to handle the Husky pressure late and made enough free throws to withstand Harrison's best effort.

"We get off to great starts in just about every game, but we give it right back, consistently. We do not know how to deal with prosperity. We are going to have to talk about it, it's really more of a mental thing then anything else." Chiarella said. "We were up seven nothing and we have guys fast breaking, throwing the ball all over the place, when we should be trying to control the ball looking to go up nine or ten nothing. We have to play a smarter brand of basketball."

Harrison looks to get back on track on Friday night at Byram Hills at 7:00 pm.