Dobbs Looks to Recover from First Loss in Briarcliff Tourney Championship

Denzel Hasell didn't shred up the Bears' defense like he did Irvington's and Ardsley's.

Eddie Ritch was clamped down on, pressured every which way.  He didn't dial in from downtown or trigger the souped-up transition game in the same electrifying fashion that he did against Ardsley.

David Mouser did a commendable job limiting Briarcliff's Tim Blair, a unique threat because the teenager is 6-foot-6 and boasts a feathery jump shot.

 Still, freakish sophomore Brian Daniels (who transferred to Briarcliff from Walter Panas) came into his own in the paint, dropping 15 points and penetrating the frontline en route to a 59-50 Briarcliff victory.

"We were all just slightly off and playing against a good team like Briarcliff you really can't be off because they'll take advantage," said muscle-bound junior forward John Yozzo-Scaperrotta, who was saddled with some foul trouble.

"They made us pay, big time."

Dobbs, buoyed by a come-from-behind win over Irvington (roaring back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and win a pure barnburner) in their first game of the season, shellacked Ardsley with inside/outside game. They ran roughshod over Walter Panas in a blowout.

Against the Bears, Dobbs Ferry (3-1) suddenly came down to earth. The momentum from that fourth quarter against Irvington was suddenly quelled.

For Matt Evangelista's Briarcliff team, the scoring was balanced. The players got into the Christmas spirit by sharing the rock around and creating open looks for each other.

Thomas Wen, one of Section 1's leaders in assists-to-turnover ratio the past two years, was a major catalyst. He operated offense, handing out assists and scoring 13 points. He put whoever he was guarding into a straightcoat, as Briarcliff prevent Hasell and Mouser from permeating the driving lanes.

Tyriek Johnson added nine and everyone on Briarcliff's roster seemed to have a hand in on the win.

For Dobbs Ferry, Hasell and point guard Eddie Fanning led the way with nine points each. Danny Crowe, a 6-foot-2 forward, added seven points.

Dobbs opened up a thin margin in the second quarter and entered the half nursing a 26-20 lead.

In the decisive third quarter, Briarcliff re-wrote the script.

They blew the doors off the Eagles in the momentum-changing third quarter. Running roughshod over the Eagles, Briarcliff reeled off a wowing 28-13 spurt that swelled the spread to 48-39 entering the fourth quarter.

No question, Briarcliff's third quarter power surge buried Dobbs Ferry under a barrage of buckets.

 "We never really recovered from that run," said Yozzo-Scaperrotta, an emotional leader for the Eagles.

A recent bright spot for the Eagles has been junior transfer Tom Fleming. Fleming, who came just before the season and is still getting acclimated to the playbook, poured in 12 points in the drubbing of Panas. He's become a spark off the bench who offers immediate contributions with his shooting and slashing.

Fleming's got a good basketball bloodline, as well—he is the cousin of former stalwart Dobbs forward C.J. Fleming ('04). Fleming, a two-sport star during his four-year stay at Dobbs, was a four-year starter and turned in memorable performances, including a 28-point eruption against Leake & Watts his junior year.

Dobbs will look to bounce back from a loss during which they squandered a lead and couldn't withstand Briarcliff's third quarter buckets binge.

The veteran-laden Eagles will kick-start their league schedule soon. Because of the economic downturn, this year's league consists of only neighborly foes.