Strong Finish Propels Huskies to Victory

The Harrison Huskies battled back from a double-digit second half deficit to defeat the Byram Hills Bobcats 53-51 Friday night in Armonk.

The road victory appeared unlikely for the Huskies during a rough first half.  Byram Hills came out of the gates strong, building an 18-8 lead after the first quarter.

"They came out and they were so intense and we were not intense, and it was just a disaster in the beginning," said Harrison Head Coach Gary Chiarella.

Led by guard Andrew Maloney, who finished with a team high 14 points, the Bobcats looked like the more inspired team throughout most of the first half.

"It took a while for us to get going," said Chiarella.  "We only had 20 points at halftime because we couldn't match their intensity."

If intensity is what Chiarella asked for in the locker room, it showed on the floor in the second half.  The Huskies climbed back into the game throughout the third quarter, diving for loose balls and working much harder on the offensive glass.  Senior Dennis Rinaldi was once again impressive under the basket leading the Huskies with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Although the Bobcat lead shrank throughout most of the third quarter, Byram Hills did anything but lay down during the Huskies comeback.  A well orchestrated mixture of man-to-man and zone defense kept Harrison from taking the lead.

That is, until the fourth quarter when Matt Pipitone took control of the game.  Pipitone opened the scoring in the fourth quarter and then immediately stole an arrant Byram Hills pass and took the ball to the basket for a three point play.  With that, Harrison took a 37-36 lead.

"I got excited," said Pipitone, who scored all of his 11 points in the final quarter.  "I was trying to give the team some intensity."

That he did, Pipitone had a key block, steal and a plethora of baskets down the stretch to preserve the victory.

"Tough kid," said Chiarella of his senior guard.  "You can't teach that, he's a tough kid."

The rest of the team was tough down the stretch as well, hitting pressure free throws in the final minute to keep the slim lead out of reach.

"We are playing good together, chemistry is good," said Pipitone.  "Everybody is working together, that's what you have to do to win."