Scarsdale Boys Basketball Recap: Raiders Struggle with Inconsistency

In Scarsdale's Section 1 Class AA outbracket game against John Jay, Ross Fiedler stole the ball from an Indians forward and pushed it down the court. David Bougard, the Raiders' 6-foot-4 center, was trailing the play and said "backboard" in a low voice.

Instead of going for the lay-up, Fielder bounced the ball hard against the glass, Bougard grabbed it in midair and threw it down. That dunk, immortalized on YouTube, capped off Scarsdale's 59-51 boys basketball playoff win.

Another big play came against Saunders. After losing a 16-point fourth-quarter lead, the Raiders were tied with the Blue Devils in overtime when Greg Garfinkel hit a floater at the buzzer to win the game.

But for every highlight, there was a tough loss, and Scarsdale finished the season 10-10.

"We had some great moments and some moments we'd like to forget," coach Jon Feld said. "But I tell the kids we have to learn from those and put it towards those next experiences."

The problem for the team was inconsistency. Senior Henry Hirsch had 31 points against Lincoln, and then went scoreless the very next game against Mount Vernon.

"Kind of the way the season went," Feld said.

But there are good signs for the future.

The junior class and sophomore center Andrew Crean all showed great improvement this season, and reinforcements are coming. Scarsdale's junior varsity team went 10-5, including a win over White Plains and two close losses against Mount Vernon.

Junior Evan Fiedler came off the bench in the first game against Woodlands and scored 12 second-half points, leading the Raiders to victory and cementing his spot in the starting lineup. While he was more of a scorer, his fraternal brother Ross is more of a distributor and brought stability to the point guard position. So did junior Matt Greenberg, who fought through injuries to be a valuable contributor.

Talented athlete Johan Drakes and fundamentally sound guard/forward Tyler Ross were other juniors who played good minutes, while Crean gained valuable experience as a sophomore.

Scarsdale lost seven games against the powers of its league — Mount Vernon (three), New Rochelle (two) and White Plains (two) — but stayed close in a couple of those games and went 10-3 against its other opponents.

"There were games we got blown out and other games were exciting for the fans," Feld said. "It was an interesting mix."