The best thing that could have happened to Scarsdale happened tonight. Finally, the Raiders lost.

New Rochelle fought off a furious second-half, 15-point rally and handed the Raiders a 66-60 defeat, their first of the season.

It was an incredible run up to this point. Scarsdale went 12-0 and could have easily been 8-4. It won four straight games in unthinkable fashion. After rallying in the fourth quarter to beat Roosevelt by 10, it came back from five points down in the final minute to beat Lincoln; rallied from five points down in overtime to beat Mamaroneck; and somehow, someway came back from a 10-point deficit in OT to shock White Plains. Any one of those games was a missed free throw or turnover away from being a loss. And Scarsdale survived every one.

Today, the free throws didn’t fall and the turnovers mounted. Scarsdale still almost survived, seemingly have fate on its side when Greg Garfinkel drained a rainbow 3-pointer to give it a lead with two minutes to play. The Raiders took advantage of a New Rochelle team that simply stopped running, stopped defending and stopped doing all of the things that built its 40-25 lead in the third quarter.

David Zaitz led the comeback for Scarsdale, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the second half, before Simeon Marsalis and Travis Wright held it down for New Rochelle in the final minutes. Marsalis was 9 of 10 from the line in the fourth, scoring 11 of his 25 points in the quarter, and Wright continued his incredible rebounding. He had 14 of his 18 boards in the second half and scored 14 points. More on those two kids later.

The win was huge for New Rochelle, which had lost three of four, including Mount Vernon.

It was just as big for Scarsdale. The pressure is off now that there’s a blemish on its record. Now it can go into Thursday’s game with Mount Vernon with a clear mind, not carrying the burden of being undefeated.

And yes, it is a burden. For an accomplished team like Peekskill, it’s a badge of honor. For a team building toward something special like Scarsdale, it’s pressure.

The Raiders can take solace in knowing two things. It lost today after playing a miserable first half that included between 10-15 turnovers, most of which New Rochelle cashed in for points. And it lost today by shooting 4 of 10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. It’s not going to do that again.

As for the Huguenots, they’re confirming all the things I believed about them since watching them in the first week. They’re a good team that’s only going to get better.

Marsalis, who had a great summer with the Westchester Hawks, was exceptional today. He completely controlled the game in the fourth quarter, whether it was a huge steal, a driving lay-up, a screen, a deflection or all those free throws he sank so calmly.

Wright (left) is an exceptional rebounder. He had a ton of pressure on him against Mount Vernon as Kevin Jones grabbed 20 rebounds. Wright didn’t play well that day but I think he’s definitely capable. Pound for pound and inch for inch, there aren’t many that rebound as well as Wright.

John Calarco was outstanding in the first half, going to the basket and finishing. He got his hands on so many rebounds and loose balls. Eddie Egbuta got himself in foul trouble and Markell Rice didn’t get too many shots. Those two are obviously capable of having big games. Those five, plus Antoine Mason and Jamaal Gill coming off the bench, make New Rochelle legitimate threats to Mount Vernon.

Right now, obviously, Mount Vernon is the better team. New Rochelle, though, has maybe a little more room for growth. As great as they’ve played, I think Marsalis and Calarco are only going to get better over the next month as they gain confidence. Winning a couple of games over White Plains or another against Scarsdale will definitely do that.

Scarsdale will bounce back from this loss. I’m sure it’ll even benefit from it.

It’s like I always say: Nobody’s perfect (except Peekskill).