Continues Road Struggles
Nyack men's basketball went 1-2 in the next to last week of the regular season, playing against the three teams that were all tied for second place in the CACC. The busy week started with an exciting upset victory over Holy Family College, not only the second place team in the league, but also ranked #1 among the NAIA North Independents.
A crowd of over 400 fans had plenty to cheer about as the Pride put on its best performance of the year. Behind 30 points from Fred Price, and 24 Points from Jared Dowdell, the Purple Pride ran away from Holy Family in convincing fashion 93-76. Nyack shot 77% from three-point range, out-rebounded the bigger Holy Family squad 40-28, and held their shooters to a paltry 26% from behind the arc.
Nyack took control late in the first half after Fred Price went baseline for a one-handed rim-rattling dunk that sent the Nyack faithful into a frenzy. The noise from the crowd seemed to sustain Nyack the rest of the night. The energy in Bowman Gym reached a fever pitch later in the game when Larry Roberson stole the ball from Holy Family's Chris Klos as he attempted to drive to the basket. Roberson pushed the ball the length of the floor and hit a sprinting Aaron Bennett in stride as he cut to the basket. Bennett ducked under 2 Holy Family players and spun a perfect reverse lay-up off the glass to push Nyack's lead to19.
Holy Family made a run but got no closer than 9 as the red hot shooting of Jared Dowdell and the open court heroics of Fred Price sealed the win. In the final minute, Price put an exclamation point on the victory with another spectacular dunk off a feed from Larry Roberson as the fans rocked the house.
Despite the tremendous home victory, Nyack could not sustain the intensity as they went on the road to face a tough Teikyo Post team on their senior night. TPU features the CACC's leading scorer in Ron Christy, and he did not disappoint the TPU faithful. Christy posted a career high 50 points and led Teikyo Post to a convincing 104-77 win. Nyack just could not find the range early making just 6-32 shots and getting out-rebounded by 10 as they dug themselves a big hole by halftime. The Pride attempted a run in the second half behind strong performances by Fred Price (24 points), Jared Dowdell (17 points), Jason Crafton (11 points), and Elijah Reid (12 points). But on this night, Ron Christy was in a zone and just wouldn't miss as Nyack's bid for a second straight upset fell short.
Nyack re-focused for their big game at Caldwell College on Saturday night. For the second consecutive game, Nyack would play a team on their senior night. Caldwell, the defending CACC champions, stayed alive in the race for the regular season crown with an 88-78 victory. Early on, Nyack played like a team with nothing to lose and Caldwell seemed to carry the pressures of the world on their shoulders as the Pride raced out to an 18-8 lead. The Cougars, behind the twin towers of 6'10 Paul Tonkovich and 6'9 Sulamain Mohammad, settled down and went on a 18-0 run to take a 26-18 lead. But Nyack did not go away. Fred Price shouldered the scoring load with 23 first half points as Nyack cut the lead to 6 points at halftime.
In the second half, the Pride again fell behind. Nyack battled foul trouble all night, having 34 fouls called against them versus only 21 against the Cougars. Starters Ian Taylor, Elijah Reid, Fred Price and Jared Dowdell all carried 4 fouls and were forced to sit for long periods of time during the second half as they watched Caldwell's lead balloon to 15 points with 11 minutes to go. However, Larry Roberson came off the bench and provided the spark that got Nyack going again. With Price (31 points) drawing the majority of Caldwell's defensive attention, Roberson (18 points) and Dowdell (22 points) consistently broke free from behind the arc and hit big shots. Nyack got to within 1 at the 3-minute mark but would never take the lead. Down 4 in the last minute and forced to foul, Nyack watched as Caldwell hit all their free throws to seal the win.
Nyack's next game will be their final home game of the season. They will honor their seniors on Thursday, Feb 20 at 8:00pm in the Bowman Gymnasium against cross-town rival Dominican College. This will be the last chance for Nyack fans to see these players at home - Tim Nurse, Aaron Bennett, Jared Dowdell, Jason Crafton, and Fred Price.
There will be special halftime entertainment and the Nyack Basketball Store will be open with special sale prices on shirts and balls. Admission to the game is just $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. Nyack College faculty, staff and students are free.
