PELHAM — More than seven minutes flew by on Monday afternoon before Eastchester star Jack Daly scored a point. A year ago, that would’ve spelled trouble for a team built around 1,000-point scorer Dave Solano and Daly, a junior destined to join Solano in that club. Daly remains the center of everything for the Eagles this season, but their adaptation without Solano has been a successful one.
Eastchester continued its strong start with a dominant 63-41 victory that snapped Pelham’s five-game winning streak. The Eagles’ fast pace and aggressive defense triggered another balanced effort. Twelve players scored, led by 16 points from Fordham Prep transfer Mike Milo (pictured right, No. 32).
Daly added 11, but he and the starters were gone after they built a 25-point lead through three quarters.
“This year the team is really deep,” said Daly, who had six points and four assists during an 18-7 second quarter. “Everyone on our team can play. They can shoot. They can play defense. That’s our philosophy basically. If we can do those things, we can be successful.”
The Eagles are now 7-1 with their only loss coming at Poughkeepsie, the preseason Class A favorite. The Pioneers remain the only team Eastchester failed to press from tip to buzzer.
Against Pelham, the pressure resulted in two 10-second violations and a parade of layups fueled by forced turnovers.
“We don’t have anybody over 6-foot-2,” coach Fred DiCarlo said. “I think the only way we can play is up and down. We made that decision over the summer that we were going to run. There’s not a shot we don’t like.”
Even Eastchester’s starting forwards don’t hesitate. Milo, a 6-foot-2 forward, mixed in jumpers with layups and putbacks while Nick Campana, another junior, hit two 3-pointers en route to 10 points.
Milo’s return has solidified the frontcourt. He returned after two seasons at Fordham Prep and rejoined his former modified and CYO teammates.
“Everyone was so excited when they found out he was coming back,” Daly said. “We knew he’d be a big addition for our team. We knew right from the beginning he was going to start and have a big impact.”
That much was clear early. Milo scored six points during a 10-2 run to open the second quarter that extended Eastchester’s lead to 29-14. Pelham’s best resistance came from big man Zack Rollins, who had 13 points, including an alley-oop and another dunk as he drew a foul.
Rollins finished with 13 points, but the Pelicans (7-3) never posed a challenge.
“We’ve played two very good teams this year: Eastchester and Byram Hills,” Pelham coach Mark Finegan said. “They’re playing at a completely different speed and we just couldn’t match it.”
