Sports

Last Second Free Throws Save Huskies

Despite being held to 39 points, Harrison pulls out victory over Somers.

Harrison forward Jared Hodes made two crucial free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining to lift the Huskies to a 39-37 victory over the Somers Tuskers Tuesday night in Harrison.

The free throws salvaged a sloppy victory for the Huskies, who never looked comfortable against an aggressive Somers defense.

"We set basketball back about 50 years offensively," said Harrison Head Coach Gary Chiarella.  "We need to work on our zone offense."

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Somers lined up in the same zone defense from start to finish, frustrating the Harrison offense and keeping the game closer than expected.  Chiarella even took his entire starting lineup out of the game at one point in the first quarter, but the Huskies were still never able to consistently put the ball in the basket.

"We sat in a 2-3 because Rinaldi is very strong in the middle and we just tried to keep the ball away from him," said Somers Head Coach Mark Tanzi.  "We figured if we stopped Rinaldi we had a chance."

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The Tuskers certainly did have their chance.  Harrison was unable to establish their typical scoring recipe of using Rinaldi under the basket and was inconsistent throughout the game shooting the ball from the outside.  While the Huskies offense sputtered, the Tuskers built a 24-19 halftime lead.

"They were a lot more aggressive than we expected," said Rinaldi, who was held to seven points, sharing the team high with Michael Jacobson and Brendan O'Shea.

But Somers was plagued by the same offensive woes for most of the game; unable to put enough points on the board to close out the victory.  Limited to only three points in the first seven minutes of the final quarter, the Tuskers needed a late basket to tie the game at 37 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.

"We just had trouble with turnovers today," said Tanzi.  "We just weren't in sync."

The Huskies capitalized during their final possession, drawing a foul that put Hodes on the free throw line in the final seconds.  After Hodes sank both shots, Somers had a little over six seconds to tie or win the game.  Fittingly, the game was won in the final seconds by the team on the defensive side of the basketball.

Somers quickly moved the ball down the floor and dished it to Brian Winters, who was unable to convert on a pair of last second jump shots that could have sent the game into overtime.  Time expired and Harrison escaped with the rollercoaster victory.

"It was very ugly," said Chiarella of his team's offensive performance.  "We are very fortunate to just get out of there with a win, and we're happy.  We'll take it."


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