SOMERS, N.Y. - After suffering a lopsided regular-season loss to Tappan Zee and traveling over the bridge to face the top seed, Arman Rao kept the mindset simple.
“There was nothing really to lose,” the senior said.
Only thing was, after three quarters, just one point separated the teams — and Somers believed.
“We were off the roof with energy,” Nico Quinones said.
But three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter opened a 10-point lead and ultimately crushed Somers’ dream in a 58-44 defeat.
Still, the Tuskers came out on fire. Ben O’Brien’s relentless baseline drive produced a free throw, Chris Decker followed his own miss, and Leo Keimig knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 5-0.
Tappan Zee answered quickly. Christian Sanchez connected from downtown twice, erasing any thought of early separation.
With Somers clinging to a 7-6 lead, the Tuskers pushed ahead. O’Brien finished another baseline drive, and at the 3:11 mark Quinones drilled a 3-pointer for a 12-6 advantage.
Once again, though, the Dutchmen responded. Isaiah Leveille and Jack Piccione attacked the rim, and after Kareef Martin converted an off-balance layup, Piccione turned a late steal into a fast-break layup to cut the lead to 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second, a Somers fast break appeared poised to extend the lead. Instead, Rao was called for a charge, and Timothy Alexandre tied the game at 16-16 with a coast-to-coast finish at 5:52.
Piccione followed with a similar play off Daniel Hauser’s long miss, giving Tappan Zee its first lead at 16-14. The top seed leaned into its strength — attacking the basket. Leveille completed a conventional three-point play, and Piccione scored twice more at the rim, adding a free throw to stretch the lead to six.
Somers needed an answer.
“He’s our glue guy that makes this team run,” coach James Loughran said.
The praise came after his center powered through traffic for a three-point play, trimming the deficit to 22-19.
Piccione quickly swung momentum back. After picking off a pass, he raced downcourt and electrified the gym with a dunk.
Even so, Somers refused to fade. Despite a short putback miss from O’Brien and two missed free throws by Rao, the Tuskers stayed within reach. Ryan Pashley extended the lead to seven with a layup, but in the closing seconds Quinones drove the lane to make it 26-21 at halftime.
The belief only grew in the third quarter. Julian Rosa fed Decker inside to open the half, and the senior finished strong to cut the margin to three.
Sanchez answered with another 3-pointer, and Tappan Zee’s defense followed suit. Joe Linehan drew a charge on O’Brien, sparking a highlight sequence — Leveille to Piccione and back to Leveille for a backdoor layup — extending the lead to 31-23.
When the margin swelled to 11, it appeared the back-and-forth battle was ending.
Somers disagreed.
Quinones attacked the rim to bring the deficit back to single digits, and moments later O’Brien converted a putback after Quinones’ miss.
With 1:24 left in the third, Hauser stepped up. The big man hit a midrange jumper, then, left open beyond the arc, buried a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game.
Somers kept coming. O’Brien drew a charge with 9.5 seconds remaining, and off the inbound Quinones drove coast to coast for a buzzer-beating layup.
Through three quarters, Somers trailed by just one.
Defense set the tone to start the fourth. Hauser drew another charge, and the Tuskers continued to scrap. But missed opportunities and second-chance points began to tilt the game.
Leveille secured an offensive rebound and kicked to Sanchez in the corner. The sharpshooter delivered again.
After several empty possessions on both ends, Leveille delivered the decisive blows — first a 3-pointer from the corner, then another from well beyond the arc to push the lead to 45-35.
Somers made one final push. Tappan Zee answered Decker’s three-point play at 2:47, then matched Quinones’ layup and Rao’s 3-pointer at 1:40, maintaining control down the stretch.
Though the rally fell short, the third-quarter surge will endure.
“That’s something we’re going to remember forever,” Quinones said.
Somers fans showed their appreciation afterward, sending the team off with smiles and applause.
“It’s so awesome to see so much love from everybody here,” Quinones added.
Loughran, too, reflected on the program’s turnaround from last season’s three-win campaign.
“I’m tremendously proud of these guys,” the coach said.
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