Edgemont’s talented 4th-grade hoopsters, in their first game ever, beat a strong Pelham team 30-29 tonight at Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx.
Scoring was balanced:
Max Ho – 9
Jacob Naya – 8
Cam Siegal – 6
Avery Yee – 4
David Rosen – 2
Miles Teixeira – 1
Pelham jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter. Team GM Joe Naya said: “It looked as though it might be a long night for our Edgemont ballers, but they fought back.” Edgemont led at the end of Q1 fueled by Cam Siegal’s 4 points.
Edgemont charged out in the second quarter, using pressure defense to generate turnovers and get clean looks at the basket. Edgemont led 19-11 at the half, but in 4th-grade basketball, everyone makes a run. The plucky Pelham team, proudly defending their home turf, wouldn’t go away. They came charging back in 3Q using a solid press to turn the ball over and level the score at 21-21 to shrink the game to the final 7 minutes.
In a back and forth final period, our Edgemont team found itself up by 1 with less than a minute to go. Coach David Scagnelli called for a 4-corners offense to run some clock. As the team spread the floor, Jacob Naya saw an opportunity and dropped in a floater off a Euro-step as chants of “No, No, Yes!” could be heard from the crowd. That final basket would ultimately prove to be the difference.
Down by 3, Pelham scored on a tough offensive rebound to pull within one. The home team then forced a turnover setting up the final and decisive sequence. Pelham inbounded the ball and pushed forward, but Edgemont’s defense held as Cam Siegal came up with a steal to seal the 30-29 win.
Coach David Scagnelli said: “The boys executed well down the stretch in a hard-fought, well-played game by both teams” and credited Edgemont’s superior ballhandling as the difference-maker.
Congrats to this impressive group of up-and-coming Edgemont ballers who have spent months preparing for their first game! Their next contest is Friday, December 8th at Westlake.
