Author: Jon Lewis

Today, the 4th-grade Edgemont boys bounced back from a tough loss at Westlake on Friday night, where they struggled against an aggressive 2-3 zone. Coach David Scagnelli noted that the team turned the ball over too frequently.

But at the friendly confines of EHS on Sunday, this group of upstart ballers from the Edgemont Union Free School District at Greenburgh made a statement.

Early, both teams struggled to find the range. The score stood at a frigid Edgemont 4, Byram Hills 2 after 7 minutes of play. But the Edgemonters clearly had found a rhythm that was absent Friday night:  solid defense, good ball movement, and quality looks. One sensed it was only a matter of time.

And indeed that was the case. As the 2nd-quarter started, the shots started falling and Edgemont stretched the lead to 14-4 at intermission. An explosive third quarter opened the floodgates and put the game out of reach as the home team coasted through the 4th-quarter to seal a 32-6 win.

Scoring was led by Cam Siegal with 10, followed by Avery Yee with 8 and Jacob Naya with 4. David Rosen led the way on the boards with 8 rebounds, followed by Jacob Naya with 6 and Wells Cunningham with 5.

Coach Scags and his 4th-grade squad will prepare this week for a home and home against New Castle on Friday and Saturday.

The Edgemonsters trekked up the Sprain Brook Parkway for a Sunday morning tip-off against Yorktown. The first quarter was marked by defense, and Edgemont trailed 7-4 at halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, the Edgemonsters–increasingly comfortable working within the the “Scags System”–came together. Fueled by buckets from Isabella Pacia and Farryn Gallup, the girls took an 8-7 lead. Lockdown defense by Penelope Kraus, Sarah Hu, and Eliza Press forced numerous turnovers while Sophia Yaghoubi, Macey Miller, Addison Burnside and Ariana Segal owned the glass.

Yorktown fought back to a 12-8 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter, but Edgemont came out strong at the start of the 4th with buckets from Hu and Press and a free throw by Lindsay Jaffe, adding to her two earlier baskets. Late game foul trouble ultimately allowed Yorktown to go on a run resulting in a final score of Yorktown 21, Edgemont 15.

Coach David Scagnelli said: “In a well-played game by both teams, the Edgemont girls showed tremendous improvement on both ends of the floor in a hard-fought loss.”

The Edgemonsters are improving every week and we forward to their home opener on Sunday, 12/17, at Edgemont High School. Tip off is at 2:45PM

In front of the home crowd at Greenville, the Edgemont 5th-grade boys took on a tough New Castle team. After taking a 8-0 lead in the first quarter, the game was competitive with 9 lead changes and went into overtime, where the home team prevailed 30-24.

Edgemont scoring leaders were Boo Demarinis, Sam Meyer, Harley Pfeffer and Jake DePietto. Bennett O’Reilly, Justin Hu, and Jack McKillop posted strong defensive performances.

Coach Brian Davis noted that he loved the aggressive play of his squad, which forced 14 turnovers and collected over 30 rebounds. Said Coach Davis: “This was a tough game with a lot of emotional swings. The boys played hard, smart, and together, and in the end we came away with a hard-fought overtime victory.”

Now 1-1, the 5th-grade cagers resume action on Wednesday, December 13th, at Greenville vs. the Rockfish. Tip-off is 6:45pm.

After a slow start against New Rochelle on Friday, the visiting 5th-grade Edgemont Panthers rallied with an 18-0 run in the 3rd quarter to bring the game to within 5. Balanced scoring by Harley Pfeffer, Jack McKillop, Jake DePietto, Sam Meyer and William Agoglia fueled the furious comeback, but the Panthers ultimately fell 38-26 in their season opener.

Coach Brian Davis said: “The boys started out nervous, but did much better in the second half against a big, talented New Rochelle team. We played hard until the end and I’m proud of our effort.”

Coach Davis and the Panthers have high hopes going into their home opener at Greenville this Friday, December 8th, at 7:45pm vs. New Castle.

On Saturday, the 7th-grade Edgemont Dunking Divas visited one of the nicest gyms in Westchester–the Holy Child School of Rye–to face the Mamaroneck Tigers in the first ever meeting of the teams. Missing a few players, Edgemont called up Sarah Hu, 5th-grade sister of Divas PG Julia Hu.

The younger Hu made an impression early with 2 foul shots and a bank shot, and ultimately finished with 6 points. But defense was the story. Relentless pressure led by Ava Orlando confounded the Tigers and Edgemont grinded its way to a 20-13 win.

On Sunday, the Divas played Scarsdale B in the 5th meeting of the teams over 3 years. Scarsdale jumped out to an early 4-0 lead but the Divas fought back and went up 10-4 on buckets by Jordan Ellenberg and Maddy Frain. Ultimately, the Divas were too much for Scarsdale and won 24-12.

Sidney Burak attacked the basket all weekend and earned a steady paycheck at the charity stripe, while Kaitlyn Kane and Julia Hu easily dribbled through pressure and set up their teammates for quality looks.

In both games, Abigail Lewis and Gabriella O’Reilly dove on the floor, caused tie-ups, and played in-your-face defense.

The Divas play Yorktown at home this Sunday.

The 8th-grade Edgemont Running Rebels coasted to a 40-22 win yesterday at home against Scarsdale B. They next take the court on Saturday, December 9, at Yorktown.

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.

The Edgemont 7th-grade Dunking Divas, coming off an 11-6 season last year, have high expectations for 2017-18. Returning Head Coach Dave Scagnelli has been working on a motion offense and developing a strong man-to-man defense featuring ball pressure and weak-side help. The Divas are also learning a 1-2-2 full-court zone press.

Today, the girls moved the ball nicely in the first half to give themselves great scoring opportunities, but had trouble converting the chances into points. Only up 10-7 at the break on their home floor, returning Coach Scagnelli looked to increase defensive pressure at the start of the 3rd quarter. The Divas responded with a second-half onslaught and ultimately ran away with the contest, winning 27-12.

Said Dunking Diva Madison Frain, who had a number of strong drives to the cup: “It was the perfect way to start the season. Our man-to-man defense definitely challenged the other team.” Gabriella O’Reilly created havoc which led to numerous steals and transition buckets; Julia Hu, Sidney Burak, and Kaitlyn Kane took care of the ball; and Anisha Rao and Jordan Ellenberg crashed the offensive boards and scored in the post.

The Divas will break for Thanksgiving and then return to action on December 2nd vs. a tough Mamaroneck team.

The 8th-grade Edgemont Running Rebels erased a 13-point second half deficit to beat a tough New Rochelle team in overtime. Andrew Knecht, in a monster game, led Edgemont with 26 points including key buckets down the stretch, and pulled down double-digit boards. Mikey Ferrante struggled from the floor early but turned it up at crunch time with clutch free throws.

David Brooks and Matt Gallousis played important roles in the win. Assistant Coach Dave Scagnelli said: “To come back like that, on the road, against an aggressive team shows that these Edgemont kids have a lot of heart. Edgemont beating New Rochelle in basketball is not something that happens every day. It’s a great win to start the season.”