Sports
Tappan Zee Squeaks By North Rockland in County Championship
The Dutchmen boys' basketball team beat out the Red Raiders 50-47 in a dramatic championship game.
It went down to the wire at Clarkstown South on Saturday afternoon for the boys' County Championship basketball game, featuring the North Rockland Red Raiders against the Tappan Zee Flying Dutchmen. The Dutchmen squeaked by, winning 50-47.
Tappan Zee held a small lead through much of the first half. Each time the lead was stretched to six or eight, the Red Raiders would draw closer, preventing the Dutchmen from pulling away.
Tappan Zee Head Coach George Gaine put in big man Brendan Donahue to start the second half and ran a few plays for him. North Rockland started the half sloppy and turned the ball over a few times, but Tappan Zee was again unable to pull away.
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Donahue quickly scored five in the third quarter, but his teammates only contributed three points in the rest of the quarter, leaving the Dutchmen with an anemic eight-point third quarter.
The Red Raiders started the fourth quarter down by four and were ready for a battle. Kahreign Joseph took over for the Red Raiders. He scored 13 of the Raiders’ 15 fourth-quarter points and got his team within one with only 22.5 seconds left on the clock. Tappan Zee inbounded the ball to Pat Peterson who was immediately fouled.
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As if it was a game of knockout in the back yard, Peterson hit both free throws to put the Dutchmen up by three.
“There was no doubt in my mind that he would make them,” said Gaine. “We ran a play to get him the ball and he doesn’t miss in the clutch.”
North Rockland got the ball into the hands of Joseph for a final three-point look but the shot fell short and time expired.
“I was confident stepping to the line. I was shooting them for my team not just for myself so I knew I would make them,” said Peterson. “Brendan [Donahue] is a beast inside and we have him back [from a fractured clavicle injury]. I don’t think there is anyone in the section who can stop him. He’s so humble he would never say so. He did a great job coming off the bench for us today.”
“I’ve got a big body. I try to fight for position around the basket and I just do my best,” said Donahue. “The team was behind me today and that really gave me a lot of confidence.”
North Rockland had plenty to be proud of. Their team is young and will have three starters returning next season, two of whom are underclassmen. But the taste of defeat is never enjoyable.
“It was tough to watch down the stretch,” said Jarrett Hilton of North Rockland. “Kahreign [Joseph] was doing it all for us. I wish I could have done a little more to help the team. It was definitely a frustrating loss.”
“Tappan Zee played an excellent basketball game. They have strong senior leadership and really played as a team,” said North Rockland Head Coach Chris Roff. “We had our moments and we had our chances. In the end, we made mistakes and didn’t play well together when we needed to.”
Teamwork was a big part of this ball game. North Rockland had the game high scorer in Joseph with 21 points, but he was the only Red Raider in double digits while three Dutchmen made it over the 10-point mark and a fourth player had nine.
“We just play with a lot of heart and trust each other,” said Taj Vines of Tappan Zee. "It got a little tight there toward the end but when you play hard and trust your team you can get through it.”
“I feel very fortunate and I feel very humble that in this league and in this county we were able to get this done,” said Gaine. “It says a lot about our team and we are excited to move forward.”
Tappan Zee will move on to represent Rockland County in sectionals.
