Although it might sound odd to say that a basketball team that won 17 games during the regular season is just starting to play to its potential, for Rye Neck, that may very well be the case. On Feb. 19, the No. 5-seeded Panthers turned in a dominant performance in the opening round of the Class B tournament, beating No. 12 Pleasantville 51-33 to record their sixth straight win. With a tough quarterfinal-round game looming against Edgemont, Rye Neck may just be as deep—and as sharp—as it has been all year.
After a relatively competitive first half that saw Rye Neck head back to the locker room with a 25-18 lead, the No. 8 seed dialed up the intensity to pull away in the final two quarters.
One factor in the Panthers’ strong second half showing was the emergence of top scorer RJ Hutt as a factor in the paint. Pleasantville largely kept Hutt in check early in the game, but the junior turned on the jets after the intermission, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
“I think I was getting better looks later in the game,” said Hutt. “But really I knew that my team needed me to go out and score more in the second half.”
The Panthers also got contributions from Ryan Cantu (12 points) and Ronan West (8), as well as center James Paul who—along with Hutt—helped Rye Neck dominate in the paint.
“We definitely got a lift bringing [Paul] in off the bench,” said head coach Mike Denman. “We were able to get to the rim and Pleasantville was having trouble making their shots.”
With the victory, the Panthers (18-3) have won 11 of their last 12 games, something that Denman—a first-year head coach—chalked up to his players growing more comfortable with the system as well as some timely additions to the roster.
Ronan West—who was sidelined with an injury for the first few weeks of the season—has become an integral part of the Panthers’ rotation, while eighth grader Davey Ryan has also impressed since his recent call-up from junior varsity. According to Denman, their emergence has given the Panthers’ coaching staff more options for in-game adjustments.
“If you look at the bench now, it’s definitely deeper, not as thin as it was in the beginning of the year,” said Denman. “As a coach, it gives you the freedom to put someone else in the game if you notice a player struggling.”
Denman hopes his newfound depth will be an asset in the Panthers’ quarterfinal round matchup with No. 4 Edgemont on Feb. 25. Edgemont picked up a buzzer-beating win over Rye Neck back on Dec. 4, but the Panther coach is hopeful that his team’s growth will elicit a different outcome in the playoffs.
“In that game, they were able to pressure us and the pressure disrupted our offensive flow,” said Denman. “With Ronan back, and the [Ryan] call-up from JV, we should be able to withstand the pressure and get to the rim.”
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