On Feb. 19, Harrison’s basketball season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion, as the Huskies fell to top-seeded Tappan Zee 43-42 in the Class A quarterfinals.
Despite leading for much of the game, Harrison lost the lead late, the last lead-change coming with just 30.6 seconds to play, when Tappan Zee junior Kevin Lynch hit a free throw to put the Dutchmen up by one point. Harrison had two chances to hit the game-winner, but 3-point attempts from Michael Nannariello and Zach Evans both rimmed out in the final seconds of play, prompting the Tappan Zee fans to storm the court in celebration of yet another trip to the Westchester County Center.
Harrison led by as many as nine points in the first half, and did a tremendous job keeping the larger Dutchmen off the boards, winning the rebounding battle 30-25 for the game.
“It’s been our model all year,” said Harrison coach Gary Chiarella. “We play tough hard-nosed defense and rebound no matter who we’re playing.”
Evans was key to the Huskies’ success, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and six steals on the evening, but the Dutchmen were able to utilize their size advantage in the second half, chipping away at the score behind the low-post scoring of both Lynch and Victor Clervil, who finished with 16 points.
Having just missed out on a run to the Final Four, the Huskies will have to retool in the offseason, as they will lose several key players, including Evans, Nannariello, Jeff Solomon, Omar Nesheiwat and Jack Hochman, to graduation. According to Chiarella, this senior group has paved the way for future teams by going about their business the right way.
“They’ve been outstanding, they’ve played extremely hard,” said the head coach. “It’s been great watching them for the last couple of years.”
At 20-2 on the year, Tappan Zee’s win on Friday propelled the Dutchmen to their sixth trip to the Class A semifinals in the past seven years. They made the most of that opportunity as of press time, topping Nanuet 53-40 on Feb. 22. They will now play for the Class A title against Byram Hills on Feb. 28. Byram Hills advanced to the championship game thanks to a 47-39 win over Lourdes earlier this week.
Harrison coach Gary Chiarella could not be reached for comment as of press time.
-Reporting by Mike Smith
