Dobbs Basketball Triumvirate Spearheads Eagles' Win Against Tuckahoe

The Dobbs Ferry Eagles had endured a trying couple of games and had been shooting the ball at an arctic percentage.

Dobbs, usually a high-percentage shooting team with an inside-outside package that’s help vault them to their league’s upper-echelon, put up a season-low 34 points in a loss to longtime Rivertowns Rival Hastings on Feb.2.

Dobbs then put up 36 points in an excruciating one-point loss to defending Section 1 champion Woodlands, a league heavy-weight whom they out-lasted before a jam-packed crowd during an early-season barometer game televised via MSG Varsity.

The Eagles did not force shots or hunt for ill-advised jumpers to pad the stats sheet—against Woodlands, they moved the ball well, passing often. The rock just wasn’t falling the way it had been during a torrid start of the season, when the Eagles ripped off six of their first seven before the Class B school ran into a buzz saw in Jordan Moody (a Division-I prospect with electrifying hops) and Class AA Yorktown.

The Eagles were quick to shed their inconsistencies shooting the rock as they posted their second straight win against cross-town Ardsley (whom they defeated in the championship game of the Michael F. Tewey tournament at Irvington in December) before stamping a resounding 75-65 win over a talent-laced Tuckahoe team with lofty expectations to win the Section 1/Class C title.

After being negated by tight defensive pressure and Hastings’ slowball motion offense—which helped eliminate their transition game and keep their guards launching off-balanced shots—Dobbs Ferry would right the ship.

 The Eagles (14-4) reeled off a 21-10 third quarter spurt against Ardsley, en route to a 52-43 win on Feb. 7. The win halted the Eagles’ first two-game slide of the season.

With the skeptics starting to surface and one of the biggest regular-season matchups of the season (a playoff tune-up that fittingly was picked at the dead-end of the schedule) on slate, the Eagles re-discovered their fluid offense against Tuckahoe.

The triumvirate of David Muoser, John Scapperatta, and Eddie Ritch sparked the Eagles while stuffing the stat sheet throughout.

The trio morphed into the three-headed monster, helping stamp a statement victory over one of the most formidable teams on Section 1's small-schools circuit.

Three-year varsity player Muoser, a smooth and sinewy senior guard/forward, erupted for a season-high 25 points.

Junior forward Scapperatta, a versatile scorer who has extended his shot beyond the arc, erupted for a career-best 21 points.

Ritch, who became the mad bomber at the Croton tournament in December, dropped 19 points. The junior off-guard, who erupted for a 24-spot against Woodlands on Dec. 22, had not eclipsed 10 points in three games. He re-registered his presence in the backcourt, dissecting the defense on a steady mix of jumpers and forays to the basket.

 Tuckahoe’s Sky Williams, a prolific scorer who dropped 41 on Bayside High (NYC), was held to 13 points. Shyheim Nixon poured in a season-best 16 points to pace the Tigers (14-3).

Dobbs was able to score in bunches and surge ahead in the second quarter, when they ripped off a 17-6 surge, allowing them to seize a 32-22 halftime lead.

The game had some extra juice for several of Dobbs’ players, including Scapperatta, Ritch, point guard Eddie Fanning, and Spencer Avalos, who scored five points and set the tone defensively.

Tuckahoe defeated Dobbs in football this season, and the football-obsessed community in Dobbs Ferry knew a little revenge on the hardwood would even the score.