A huge third quarter helped Byram Hills to a 54-38 win against Briarcliff at Draddy Gym at Manhattan College.
The Bobcats outscored the Bears 21-4 in the third quarter as they looked to push the tempo of the game to open up the second half.
Byram Hills’ Ryan Golden led all scorers with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jeff Lynch added 13 points and four rebounds. Brian Daniels (pictured right) had 14 points and five rebounds for the Bears while Jared Jones added 13 points and seven rebounds.
While on paper the game was lost for Briarcliff in the third quarter, the true turning point came in the second. After Byram Hills’ Andrew Groll (pictured right) picked up three fouls less than seven minutes into the game, Briarcliff seemed to have a perfect opportunity to take a large lead. The Bears built a 21-15 lead early in the second, but were not able to extend it and led by only one heading into half despite Groll sitting out the entire second quarter.
NEW YORK It took a half, but the Byram Hills’ boys basketball team finally made good use of their extra large venue.
A huge third quarter from the Bobcats on the college court in Draddy Gym at Manhattan College helped them to a 54-38 win against Briarcliff Sunday.
“On such a big court, if you get some stops you can get some easy buckets,” Byram Hills coach Ted Repa said. “We were able to get easy buckets in transition and that’s key. Makes life a lot easier.”
The Bobcats outscored Briarcliff 21-4 in the third quarter thanks to aggressive defense and a willingness to push the ball quickly upcourt .
The Bears (9-2) only scored one field goal during the entire quarter as Byram Hills (11-1) took a 49-33 lead heading into the fourth.
“We’re not that deep, so we haven’t been able to put together an effort completely throughout the whole game,” Briarcliff coach Brendan Coxen said. “I think we got caught napping. We got caught relaxing and they just jumped all over us in that third quarter.”
It didn’t start that way, as Briarcliff held a huge advantage after the Bobcats’ sophomore big man Andrew Groll picked up his third foul less than seven minutes into the game. Groll struggled early against Briarcliff senior Brian Daniels.
“Groll usually doesn’t get into foul trouble; he’s pretty smart,” Repa said. “Daniels is very crafty and he’s able to draw lots of contact and get some foul calls.”
With the 6-foot-7 center out for the entire second quarter, Briarcliff looked primed to make a run as Jared Jones (13 points, seven rebounds) hit back-to-back 3s to give the Bears a 21-15 lead with 5:15 remaining in the half. However, Briarcliff’s inability to get good looks to Daniels inside slowed their offense.
“We didn’t attack the rim,” Coxen said. “We talked about doing it, and our guards were a little flat, and we settled for some jumpers and pull-ups. Their help defense put us in that situation, so I tip my hat to them.”
Jeff Lynch (13 points, four rebounds) found Mike Giacomo (pictured above, left) (eight points) for a 3 at the buzzer to cut Briarcliff’s lead to one at the half and swing momentum in the Bobcats’ favor.
Byram Hills opened up the second half with a 10-0 run. Groll would stay out of foul trouble, holding Daniels (14 points, five rebounds) to four points after intermission.
“We definitely didn’t execute like we wanted to in the first half,” said Byram Hills’ Ryan Golden, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. “So in the second half we needed to make a change, and every rebound we turned and faced and got upcourt and it really benefited us.”
Pictures courtesy of Ricky Flores/The Journal News. For the entire gallery click here.
12 Comments
It was 21-4.
This is the second game in a row that the Bear’s played miserably in the 3rd quarter, what are you saying at half coach? Bad adjustments, seems as you almost cost your team two games.
Glad to hear the coach admit his team is not deep. They have 4 quality Seniors who start and add a 5th since you need 5 to play. Bench does not exist – so if you are a Bear fan enjoy this Season. Next season will be painful at best.
Can anyone tell me why this game was played at Manhattan College? I’m curious.
Game was at Manhattan College because a teacher at Briarcliiff has an in with Manhattan College cause I believe their spouse is a professor there. I watched Briarcliff v Pleasantville there in Feb 2011 for same reason….. Not sure any team should give up a home game to be on a huge court like that with no student fans as B’cliff did in 2011….....I guess playing up v Byram Hills is Ok on neutral court
no depth because they never attempt to develop any.
clifford,
Thanks for the info. How was the crowd yesterday? Its seems kind of odd to schedule a game against a close rival all the way in the Bronx if it will hurt the crowd turnout. Its one thing if they need the extra space for a large crowd (I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Briarcliff gym, not sure how big it is).
Game was at Manhattan because the AD at Manhattan is the father of the Briarcliff assistant coach.
OK. I stand corrected. I did not know that Bryan Byrnes’ dad was the AD at Manhattan College. The rumor 2 years ago when we played at Manhattan College was that it was a teacher’s spouse.
Byrnes’ is a well respected gym teacher and coach a Briarcliff.
Still not sure Briarcliff should ever give up a home game v Pleasantville to play at Manhattan College.
1) Byrnes is not a phys ed teacher at briarcliff
2) Ever think that maybe the kids enjoy playing on a D-1 court?
3) How does the Varsity program NOT develop younger players? AAU, clinics, Coxen is a Phys Ed teacher at the middle school level and sees first hand the prospects. Silly comment IMO
4) with a small school, you cant expect a deep bench every year, its the nature of the beast unfortunately
5) The Bears had a very physical game friday night, could be a mitigating reason for coming out flat Sunday.
Briarcliff didn’t come out flat, it took until the third quarter when Byram wore them out. Meanwhile, the Byram coach had a better appreciation of how to take advantage of the big court and of the opponent’s shortcomings. Once Byram started to run, Briarcliff’s style caught up with it and its lack of depth meant it couldn’t adjust.
Coxen would have only seen his current teams players if he was a Pocantico Hills teacher. Without the Pocantico Hills kids Briarcliff has NO real players. Take a look at the roster and residency… Hugel is your ONLY true Briarcliff resident. Everyone seems to forget.