After a somewhat trying start to the basketball season, it appears as though the Huskies are back on track. With a tremendous performance at the Harrison Holiday Basketball tournament last weekend, the boys’ basketball team has kicked off a three-game win streak, building confidence as the second half of the winter campaign looms.
Starting with a 51-45 win over league foe Eastchester in the tourney opener, the Huskies would go on to top Peekskill in the finals before traveling to Brewster to beat the Bears on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
According to head coach Gary Chiarella, the Huskies’ win streak can be chalked up to players—especially those new to the varsity game—slowly acclimating to the increased level of competition.
“I think we’re just getting more comfortable, especially with the speed of the game,” Chiarella said. “We were missing some experienced guys with injuries so we were playing a lot of newer kids, and even though they have the skill sets, they need to build up confidence to compete.”
The Thursday night win over Eastchester may have been a turning point for the Huskies, as they rode a strong second-half effort from point guard Luke McCarthy—who scored 11 of his 17 points in the third quarter—to a tightly contested win over their rivals.
McCarthy would go on to score 15 points in the win over Peekskill en route to being named the tournament’s MVP.
“Luke is our general, he’s going to orchestrate what we do,” Chiarella said. “He can score a little more than he did last year, but he really has a lot of control over how things go out there.”
McCarthy took a backseat to teammate Alex Siapanedes in the scoring department on Tuesday night, as the junior guard dropped 21 points against the Bears. Sharing the offensive load will be important for the Huskies down the stretch, according to Chiarella.
“When we have been successful, it’s because we are getting contributions from everyone on the team,” said the head coach. “It doesn’t matter if it’s two points or four points; you have to understand your role and be the best you can be every game.”
The Huskies will be back in action on Dec. 21, when they take on Lincoln, and are currently preparing for a Dec. 23 showdown with rival Rye at the Westchester County Center.
Although Chiarella admits that playing at the historic venue might be a new experience for many of his charges, he is confident that his team can be successful if they let the game come to them.
“This is going to be the first time a lot of these guys have played Rye on the varsity level, and the first time any of them have played at the County Center, outside of maybe rec league,” he said. “Hopefully it’s not too big for them, and if they just treat the games the same and don’t get distracted, we should be OK.”
