With his team in competition for the top seed in the Class A tournament, Jack Daly understood the importance of Monday's game. The Eastchester junior acted on it, spending 48 hours carefully nursing the ankle sprain he suffered Saturday against Bronxville.
Daly was so strict on himself, he didn't even break for the Super Bowl.
"I was watching the Super Bowl with ice on my foot, elevated," Daly said. "I knew it would be an important game for seeding. I had to be rested for this game. I think that showed today."
Daly's health and the Eagles' depth were both on display, particularly in the fourth quarter. He assisted on key 3-pointers by Nick Campana and Dan Ciardiello and Eastchester beat Post Road rival Scarsdale 57-53 to earn arguably its most impressive win to date.
"We tried to schedule some tougher non-league games. We knew at the end of the year this would be a good way to get ready for sectionals," said Eagles coach Fred DiCarlo, whose team improved to 15-1. "We know they're a good program and had a great year this year so we knew this was going to be a test."
The Raiders (12-5) dropped their third straight, but they pushed Eastchester to the brink despite a subpar performance on their Senior Night. They were within three points at halftime, withstanding 17 of Daly's 23 points. Senior Tyler Nathan finally tied the score 46-46 on a 3 with 3:48 to play.
With the game tied 48-48, Ciardiello and Campana hit 3s on consecutive possessions on drive-and-dish plays by Daly, who finished with 23 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals.
Ciardiello and Kevin Teahan each scored 11 points and combined to hit five 3s. They were two of 12 Eagles who played, keeping them fresh for the fourth quarter.
"We expect those shots to go in because we're not tired," DiCarlo said.
Still, up six points, the coach was hit with a technical foul. Three free throws and a Nathan jumper cut the lead to one, but Scarsdale turned the ball over with 20 seconds left and missed a game-tying 3 in the final seconds.
"We had a rough night tonight shooting the ball," coach Jon Feld said. "There were a lot of chippies we missed. Give a little bit of credit to Eastchester on that, but we're used to making some of those shots."
The loss spoiled Senior Night for a team with seven, including all five starters. Three-year varsity players Jack Hewitt (15 points, 17 rebounds) and Alex Squadron (six points, seven rebounds) abdicated their starting spots to fellow seniors Dylan LoBue and Peter Simon.
"We have had a lot of opportunities and these guys haven't gotten as much playing time this season," Squadron said. "They're great players, great guys, and we wanted to give them a chance. They played well."
