Boys basketball: Tappan Zee throttles Somers, earns first Section 1 title in a decade
WHITE PLAINS – Regardless of circumstance, Tappan Zee does Tappan Zee.
It works.
A commitment to hyperactive team defense was validated Sunday when the Dutchmen raised the gold ball in celebration of a methodical 39-15 win over Somers in the Section 1 Class A championship game at the Westchester County Center.
“It’s really unbelievable,” Tappan Zee senior guard Jack Maloney said of the program’s first title since 2012. “This is nothing like I’ve ever felt playing basketball.”
The Dutchmen limited the top offense in Section 1 to nine points in the last three quarters of play.
“Our defense has been special this whole year,” Tappan Zee sophomore guard Tommy Linehan said. “We’ve always known that was our strength. It was great to showcase it here today.”
Scoreboard:Check in here for 2023 Section 1 postseason schedules, picks and recaps
Class B:Valhalla overwhelms Byram Hills, taking ownership of the Class B title
Initially, the Tuskers gave as good as they got on the defensive end.
Somers was up 6-5 after one, but the Dutchmen were unphased. They were patient and kept the ball moving against an aggressive zone, running the shot clock down possession after possession.
“We started, I think, as the best defensive team in the section,” Tappan Zee coach George Gaine said. “And we ended as the best defensive team in the section. That’s what we hung our hat on. We made big shots. We took time off the clock. That’s who we were.”
The Tuskers thrive in transition, but were never able to fire up the fast break. Linehan and Maloney had the Dutchmen up 16-9 at the half.
Matt Fitzsimons gave Somers a shot of adrenaline when he connected for 3 in the opening minute of the second half to make it a four-point game, but the Tuskers were blanked the rest of the quarter. Patrick Linehan beat the buzzer for 3 and gave Tappan Zee a 26-12 lead going into the fourth.
“We didn’t care if we missed shots early,” Gaine said. “We wanted to get our defense set and when a shot went up, we sent four guys back to limit them in transition. That was the whole plan. We knew the shots would fall eventually.”
What it means
All the close calls over the year sparked conversation about Tappan Zee's ability to win the biggest games of the season. This group silenced the critics by coming back across the bridge with the program's first gold ball since 2012.
"I’m so emotional right now," Tommy Linehan said. "I was here all those years watching all the losses and saw the tears afterward, so this is for everyone, for the whole program, all the alumni."
Player of the game
Tommy Linehan again made the shots that provided needed separation. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals and was named tournament MVP.
By the numbers
No. 2 Tappan Zee (22-2): Sean Berrigan finished with seven points, eight rebounds and two assists. ... Maloney had eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
No. 1 Somers (20-3): Fitzsimons closed out his career with eight points, 11 rebounds and two steals. ... Mac Sullivan added four points. ... The Tuskers came in averaging 69 points a game.
They said it
"We knew shots were going to start to fall," Tommy Linehan said of the start. "We knew all the work we put in all year was going to pay off. We weren’t worried."
"Credit to George Gaine and Tappan Zee," said Tuskers coach Chris DiCintio, who is stepping away to watch his daughter finish her collegiate career. "They played really, really great half-court defense and slowed us down. We had some chances inside, but weren't able to capitalize. I liked our defense in the first half and I thought we had a chance when that 3 went down to start the second half, but we didn't make shots after that. I'm proud of my team and all the good things we did this year."
"We just wanted this so bad," Maloney said. "We all bought into defense. We all knew the game plan and went to battle with it."
Up next
Tappan Zee plays the Section 4 champion at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Yorktown High School.
Mike Dougherty covers basketball for The Journal News and lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com or via Twitter @lohudhoopsmbd.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Section 1 boys basketball championship: Tappan Zee beats Somers 39-15
