Tip Off Today for SHHS Basketball Playoffs

It's been an amazing season for both the Sleepy Hollow High School boys' and girls' varsity basketball teams – but their biggest challenge starts today.

Both teams will play their first bracket game this evening in the opening of the Section 1, Class A basketball tournament. Both games are expected to be hard fought.

The boys (14-4) will play with home-court advantage against Rye High School (9-10), who beat Our Lady of Lourdes High School yesterday, 48-43, to earn a playoff berth. The girls (10-7) will face Peekskill High School (14-3) this evening in Peekskill.

The boys did well in tournament positioning, earning a second seed this year after failing to make the playoffs last year.

"I'm happy to be seeded where we are seeded," Head Coach Tony Baxter said. "It's a recognition of a lot of hard work."

Baxter travelled to Poughkeepsie yesterday to scout Rye and prepare for today's 5 p.m. game. The Horsemen played Rye in a pre-season scrimmage match earlier this year, but haven't seen them in action since.

"It was a competitive game," Baxter said. "They are a physical team and they'll give us a good challenge."

The girls didn't do so well with tournament positioning, earning a 13 seed spot.

"It is pretty much what we anticipated," Head Coach Nick Romeo said. "We knew we were not going to get a first round home game but we were hoping for the 12 seed instead of the 13 to possibly get a second round home game if would be forunate enough to advance."

Peekskill has been a force this year, and Romeo anticipates a hard-fought game this evening.

"I'm thinking this will be a tough game for us," he said. "But Peekskill plays similar to Woodlands as they like to run the floor. They are a difficult team to match-up with because of the strength and size of their top three scorers but I think our girls are up for the task of slowing them down."

Romeo said the game will come down to defensive plays and quickly taking advantage of turnover opportunities.

"Our transition play will be our key to the game along with rebounds," he said. "We need to out-rebound them, limit their second chances, and then we will remain in the game with a chance to win in the end."

The Horsemen face Rye High School at home today beginning at 5 p.m. The game is open to the public with a $3 admission fee.

The Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Patch will be providing coverage of both games this evening. Check back for more.