Quakers lose to Peekskill on last-second heave, 52-50

January 15, 2010
by John Sadik-Khan

In the finale of Peekskill’s John Moro Showcase Basketball Tournament on Saturday night, January 9, the Horace Greeley boys’ varsity came within one second of defeating Peekskill and ending their 50-game at-home winning streak.

Once again playing shorthanded (Justin Ciero and Billy Sadik-Khan were not available), Quakers played a terrific game against the Peekskill Red Devils in one of the hardest places to win in Section 1. Adam Honig’s 20 points and Matt Townsend’s 14 points led the way for Greeley.

Greeley jumped out to a 7-0 lead on consecutive baskets by Honig, and then held on during a Peekskill run, to lead 11-10 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was similarly back and forth, with Townsend’s five points (including an “and-one” put back) and six offensive rebounds and help from freshmen Harrison Brown and Matt Xie resulting in a 24-24 tie at the end of the half.

Quakers rack up 13-point lead at end of third quarter

Responding to a Peekskill 7-2 run at the start the third quarter, Greeley used strong defense to then hold Peekskill to 2 of 10 for the rest of the quarter. On offense, Greeley enjoyed a 14-2 run to lead 40-33 at the end of the third quarter. Greeley converted three steals and two blocks in the quarter to fast break baskets by Honig and Gibby Graves, who led Greeley with six assists. Townsend and Xie delivered seven tough inside points despite a densely packed Peekskill zone. The quarter ended with a basket by Robert Cross to punctuate the run.

The fourth quarter was another back-and-forth affair, with Honig matching Peekskill baskets with big shots of his own. When Peekskill finally tied the score with less than a minute to go, Greeley worked the ball around and following a miss, Brown corralled the offensive rebound and was fouled with 12 seconds left. He made the first free throw to give Greeley the lead again, 50-49.  Peekskill rebounded the second free throw and, after failing to penetrate Greeley’s zone, Peekskill’s All-County point guard Daquan Brickhouse backed up and, while falling backwards, launched a 30-foot shot from behind his right ear. Unfortunately for the Greeley players and their loyal crowd, the Hail Mary shot bounced through the basket as time expired. Hopefully, the boys can build on their great effort as they move through the second half of their season.

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