Cohen's Hot Shooting Helps Boys Basketball Advance to Quarterfinals

After its best season in years, the Raiders began their Section 1 Tournament bid with a win at home against Clarkstown North Friday night, 56-45. Though the No. 7 Raiders were seeded above the No. 10 Rams, the Rams came in off a big win against No. 2 North Rockland last week, while the Raiders were hoping to end a four-game skid. The older Scarsdale players also had last year's tournament in mind, which ended with a heartbreaking 68-66 loss against Clarkstown North in the first round. This year, led by a strong senior class, Scarsdale mustered a 12-6 record and was looking for revenge against the 10-8 Rams.

Jon Cohen's shooting got Scarsdale off to a fast start. His two consecutive three-pointers with four minutes to play in the first quarter had the packed Scarsdale bleachers going wild and gave the Raiders a 10-5 lead. The Rams never caught up. Cohen would go on to score 21 points, 19 of which came in the 1st half. The Raider's offense was also aided in the first half by big man Jack Hewitt, who ended the game with 11 points. Hewitt's presence was even more apparent on defense as Clarkstown had no counter to the 6-6 center. Under the basket, he made the Rams look gravely undersized and ended the game with 5 crucial blocks.

Going into the half, Scarsdale held a comfortable 31-19 lead, but came out flat after the break. Cohen's three-pointers stopped falling and a visibly frustrated Hewitt missed what are typically automatic shots for him, allowing the Rams to bring the game to within 6 points. But two big layups from Dylan Lobue (who, in the first half, impressed the crowd by playing a defensive possession without a shoe), as well as contributions from Tyler Nathan and substitute Peter Simon, combined to stop the Rams from tying the score. At the end of the third quarter, Scarsdale still held its lead, 39-30.

In the fourth quarter, Clarkstown, having been dominated near the basket, tried to tie up the game with long jumpers. But as had been the pattern throughout the game, Scarsdale's timely scoring and solid defense were aided by horrendous Rams shooting. In the final few minutes, the Rams were launching more air balls than baskets. As the game wound down, Scarsdale lengthened its possessions and began rotating in backups, including future starters Grant Goodman and Andreas Larson. After the buzzer, the team looked alternatively relieved to have ended their losing streak and excited to continue their run.

In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the Raiders will take on the powerful No. 2 North Rockland squad that trounced Suffern in its first-round matchup 72-33. Although it will be an uphill battle from here on out, the best Scarsdale squad in years refuses to go down without a fight.

This article was contributed by Brian Solender, a senior at Scarsdale High School, and a former reporter, assistant editor and sports editor for the Maroon.