Tigers Have A Pulse
5 01 2008
Croton’s Frank Dimaggio soars through the Pleasantville defense.
The Croton-Harmon Tigers (2-4), led by 19 points from senior shooting guard Ryan Sawyer, upset the Pleasantville Panthers (5-4), 58-54, in a League III-A match-up on Friday, January 4.
Down 32-20 at the half, junior guard Alex Judge led a second half surge, scoring 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Notes on the game
* I knew that at some point the Tigers would turn this season around — tonight was that point. Playing uninspired in the first half, the veteran Croton seniors fired the team up in the locker room. The result was a fiery brand of basketball, fueled by hustle, defense and transition. Frank Dimaggio and Ryan Sawyer were pesky as mosquitoes at an upstate New York lake house in July, recording a combined seven steals. Their perimeter pressure was too much for the Panthers to handle and ignited the second half turnaround. Pleasantville, without a defined slasher to alleviate the pressure, was forced to settle for awkward shots on the perimeter, resulting in a measly 22 second half points.
* Brandon Sileck and Pat Cooney made their presence known on the inside in the second half. Their determination and hustle was unbridled and resulted in a combined 16 rebounds and countless hustle plays to track down loose balls. At one point, following a scrum on the ground created by a sprawling Cooney, Pleasantville Head Coach Bob DelleBovi screamed to his players, “GET ON THE FLOOR!” It was at this point that it was clear to everyone in the stands: Croton was not losing this game.
* Coming into the game at 1-4, the Tigers were in a pretty dire situation. After losing some tough games to Tuckahoe, Lincoln Hall and Dobbs Ferry in the early portion of the season, the League III-A match-up against Pleasantville had a “must win” kind of feel to it. With nine of their final 12 games against league opponents, the Tigers needed a base from which to build off of.
* Sure, it was a real sold win, but the Tigers almost watched the opportunity fly right by. Pleasantville dominated in the first half, smothering the stagnant Croton offense and picking apart its zone. It wasn’t till Dimaggio started penetrating the lane and pushing the ball with some urgency that Croton came to life. Dimaggio’s seven third quarter points all came as a result of strong moves to the rim.
* Dimaggio’s ability to dissect defenses with speed and quickness allows Sawyer space on the perimeter — where he thrives as a pure shooter. In my opinion, Dimaggio’s emergence was the reason that Sawyer was able to get on track from downtown. Coming into the game, the sharpshooter had only four 3-pointers through five games, roughly an average of 0.8 per game. He connected on 1.8 three pointers per game last year. In my opinion, he needs to be back up at that average for Croton to be successful.
* Sileck has the athletic ability to launch 3-pointers, run the floor and rebound. All this talent is great, but on the relatively undersized Tigers, his size and leaping ability benefit the team most in the paint.
In homage to Croton for playing the MOST classic basketball song ever — David Barrett’s “One Shining Moment” — after the game, I dug up last year’s NCAA tournament “One Shining Moment” video.
It is beyond cheesy, but so perfect at the same time. Can you imagine one of these videos created for all the madness at the County Center? Neither can I.
