Boys Basketball: Bears Advance to Section One Quarterfinals

Briarcliff's varsity boys basketball team’s season continues at 7 p.m. Wednesday against a strong Irvington opponent following the Bears 59-35 victory over Bronxville Friday.

Irvington routed Edgemont 75-37 Friday to advance to the matchup with the Bears.

The Broncos end the season at 5-14 overall and look to be back in league playoff contention next year especially with the loss of only two seniors in Jack Near and Dillon Mitchell.

Briarcliff clung to a 12-9 advantage entering the second despite the Broncos riding their heels after Matt Tomey netted one at the line for a 7-6 lead in favor of the visitors.

Tyreik Johnson’s trip put the Bears back up 8-7 en route to the 12-9 edge.

Tomey cut the margin further at 12-11 leading to the Broncos last lead of the ball game, 13-12 as Johnson’s basket put the no. 3 seed up for good 14-13.

“We had a down quarter,” Briarcliff Head Coach Matt Evangelista said about the Bears' slow start.

You never would have noticed the team's early struggles, though, thanks to their 28-18 cushion at the break.

“From there we played a good second through third and fourth quarters,” Evangelista said of the Bears successes on capitalizing on the Broncos 29 turnovers; a low number compared to other games earlier in the season.

“Overall, we didn’t play well in the first half,” Bronxville Head Coach Brian Senior said, adding, “We had too many turnovers,” referencing his players' struggles.

Brian Daniels led the Bears with 16 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.

Ryan Huegel had 12 points, six steals, four assists and three rebounds. Louis Carrafiello was 3-for-4 shooting-wise. Carrafiello also grabbed six boards.

Matt Tomey finished with 18 points to the lead Broncos who fell to the Bears 62-38 December 10. Ned Carpenter chipped in ten.