Huegel Lifts Briarcliff In Come-From-Behind Win Over Irvington

Briarcliff’s Ryan Huegel eyeballed Irvington’s immense weight room as the Bears made their way to the Bulldogs’ gym Thursday afternoon.

Huegel, a sophomore who has added significant muscle to a once-spindly frame, jokingly asked Bears coach Matt Evangelista if he could bust out sets on the bench press during layup lines. Huegel sauntered in the direction of the weight room, eliciting an eruption of laughter from his teammates and coaches.

On the court, Huegel was no laughing matter. The sophomore guard erupted for a season-high 21 points, helping spearhead the Bears to a 53-46 victory over the Bulldogs.

Huegel, who provided a spark off the bench as now-graduated Troy Press’ backup as a freshman, dissected the Bulldogs’ defense inside and outside.

Huegel bagged a deep three-pointer that capped off an electrifying 14-3 surge as Briarcliff—which outscored Irvington by a 20-8 margin in the decisive third quarter—turned a 21-14 halftime deficit into a 28-26 lead.

“We got better looks and we just took better shots,” said Huegel, who plays halfback and quarterback for the Bears’ football team, of Briarcliff’s quick turnaround from a meager 14-point first half. “We stressed cutting hard and making good passes. We never come out strong in the first half, we’ve got to improve on that.”

Briarcliff’s Tim Blair, a 6-foot-5 senior center, helped the Bears overcome a lackluster first half by scoring all 15 of his points in the second half.

Blair, who along with Horace Greeley’s Yale-bound center Matt Townsend, is one of the sharpest student-athletes in Section 1.

Brian Daniels, one of three sophomores who started for Evangelista’s youth-laden Bears, snagged a big offensive board and provided the putback  with 4:37 remaining in the quarter, cutting Irvington’s lead to 26-23.

It was no certainly no coincidence that Briarcliff’s game-changing spurt took place while Irvington’s senior standout Chris Brennan (who poured in a team-high 21 points) was relegated to the bench due to early foul trouble.

“It’s always tough when we lose a player like Chris for an extended period of time,” said Irvington’s first-year coach Mike Auerbach, who served as an assistant under close friend Evangelista for four years at Briarcliff. “He does so much for us on the court. I think any opponent would look to take advantage of that lull in scoring.”

Brennan—who combined with senior wing Parris Purcelle to score 17 of Irvington’s 21 first half points—buried a trio of treys in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs staged a late spurt.

Brennan’s corner three-pointer with 2:08 remaining pulled Irvington to within five. Moments later, Brennan knocked back a pair of free throws that suddenly sliced the deficit to two, 45-43.

Briarcliff responded as their go-to senior streamlined the youth movement. Blair, a senior with a wealth of experience, got free for an interior bucket.

He then knocked back four straight free throws as Briarcliff seized a 51-43 lead with under 30 seconds remaining.

Brennan drilled his final three-pointer with 11.6 ticks left, a wistful reminder of how much Irvington needs their senior captain’s scoring and spurt-ability in a tight game of this caliber.

“Chris Brennan is a great player,” said Evangelista. “He can do a little bit of everything for them. He does a lot of everything for them, actually.”

Huegel did a lot for the Bears.

The kid who spent nearly his entire summer training with weights at Club Fit in Briarcliff has used his increased manpower to his advantage—evidenced when he knifed through the teeth of Irvington’s defense and completed a traditional three-point play at the start of the third quarter. Huegel scored the last basket of the third quarter, draining a pull-up 3 that supplied Briarcliff with a 34-29 edge.

“His biggest difference between his freshman and sophomore year is his strength,” said Evangelista, who said he has never coached a team this young.  “When he’s good, we’re good. Ryan can get rebounds at both ends of the floor. He averages 3-4 offensive rebounds. When he’s powering up, he gets that extra strength and uses it to his advantage. That’s how he gets a lot of And-1s.”

Huegel added:

“I mean ever since basketball season ended last year, my brother used to take me to the gym as soon as he got done with baseball practice. We’d go hard about 4 to 5 days a week. I tried to keep that schedule going in the summer. Every day my friend would pick me up, and we would go to Club Fit.”

While the coaching staff certainly won’t allow their high-energy sophomore to lift weights before a game, the Bears have certainly benefited from Huegel’s added strength this season.