Strong Play, Tough Loss for Harvey School Hoopsters

The following game recap is from The Harvey School:

It was a game Harvey coach Dom Narcisco knew going in that his small school team would be tested mightily, and while large school Tappan Zee, the #4 ranked team in Class A won the contest 54-39, it was a victory in some ways for the Cavaliers.

When Dutchmen head coach George Gaine called Harvey’s coach asking if he were interested in scheduling a game, Narcisco, a Tappan Zee High School alum, easily responded yes, knowing a game of this caliber would only help propel his team to play hard and prepare themselves for their ultimate goal of winning the championship of the HVAL. With leading scorer Ricky Hicks out with an ankle sprain, the Cavaliers knew they had a daunting task in front of them. For Narcisco, he was excited to host his alma mater and match his coaching wits against Gaine, his longtime friend.

Harvey fought hard throughout the game and got excellent contributions from everyone. The bench was alive and the players were excited to be battling with some of the best in the area. The score was close throughout the first half as Harvey trailed by only nine heading into halftime. The Cavaliers were able to contain senior Tappan Zee’s Luke McLaughlin who has scored over 1,000 career points. Harvey held him to only 11 points.

Harvey made a run in the second half, led by an excellent shooting performance by junior Mike DePass. For the second straight game, DePass had four 3-pointers and finished the game with a team high of 16 points and six rebounds. The difference in this game was Tappan Zee’s ability to grab many offensive rebounds and get a number of chances to score on many trips down the floor.

After the game, Gaine spoke to the Harvey players and offered nothing but praise. He told the team that they were one of the most physical and hard-working teams that Tappan Zee has faced all year. He said there was no reason that the Cavaliers cannot reach their goal of winning the HVAL championship. He said he was very impressed by the overall performance that Harvey put forth.

“Although we were not victorious,” said coach Narcisco, “this game was a huge success.” He added, “Our players know that they can hang with the best and have what it takes to reach their ultimate goal.”

Harvey, now 10-8 overall on the year, will travel to Watkinson Friday who is 5-1 in the league, with their only loss coming from Harvey two weeks ago. The battle for seeding in the HVAL playoffs has entered the final stretch.

Photo: Harvey’s boys varsity basketball team with head coach Dom Narcisco (left) and assistant coach Mike Rubenfeld (right). Photo credit: Contributed

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