Benny DiMirco didn’t have a lot of time to think about how Eastchester’s final possession was supposed to play out last Wednesday, but his instincts—and his ability to make things happen—just kind of took over.
With 7.9 seconds to play and his team trailing league rival Harrison by one point, the Eastchester senior collected the inbounds pass, streaked up the court, spun past a Huskies defender and let go of a perfect teardrop floater that found the bottom of the net.
It wasn’t how they drew it up, but DiMirco’s gutsy play put Eastchester on top for good, as they downed the visiting Huskies 56-55.
“Honestly, I was thinking about that [Elite Eight] when Pitt played Villanova and Scottie Reynolds took it up the court for a shot,” DiMirco said after the game. “I just trusted my hard work, and I knew I was going to make that shot.”
DiMirco finished with 20 points in the Eastchester win, but after one half of play, and a 31-22 halftime lead, it didn’t seem like the Eagles would need to rely on last-second heroics to pull out a victory.
But the Huskies roared back in the second half, eventually claiming a lead late in the third quarter on a long jumper from Zach Evans. The two clubs traded leads in the fourth quarter until Evans struck again, muscling his way into the lane for a putback with just under 8 seconds to play to make the score 55-54.
Eastchester coach Fred DiCarlo called a timeout to draw up the Eagles’ final possession, which was supposed to end with a kick-out pass to the corner. But as things broke down, DiMirco took those final seconds into his own hands.
On the ensuing inbounds following DiMirco’s floater, Eastchester forward Andrew Schultz, who finished with 13 points, intercepted the pass to put the game on ice.
It was exactly the kind of heart-pounding win DiMirco said the 10-4 Eagles will need to call upon once the postseason rolls around.
“The gym wasn’t too packed, but you felt the intensity on the court,” he said. “These kids [on Harrison], we grew up playing against them and we played with so much passion today. We trusted each other, and we found a way to persevere.”
As for stopping Harrison’s second-half run, DiMirco said the Eagles simply followed Schultz’s lead, whose toughness in the paint inspired the rest of the squad.
“It was all Andrew; he’s a beast,” DiMirco said. “He’s a 6-foot-5 animal, a Division I football player, and when we have him, we know we can win.”
