New Rochelle’s boys basketball team shined at the Westchester County Center last weekend, when they easily dispatched league foe White Plains in impressive fashion, beating the Tigers 74-36 at the Slam Dunk Showcase.
For the Huguenots, the strong showing could portend big things as last year’s Class AAA runners-up look to get back in the championship conversation this winter.
The Huguenots jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, relying on a balanced offensive attack that features high-impact players at every position on the court. Standout forward Malik Gasper did the dirty work down low, netting eight points, and grabbed 10 rebounds while Izaiah Augustine tallied 11 points of his own, but the game’s MVP was Justin Cohen, who also scored 11 while hauling in five boards on the night.
New Rochelle head coach Rasaun Young noted that Cohen missed last year’s run to the Class AAA finals with a shoulder injury, so it was heartening to see him step up on the big stage on Friday evening.
“He missed the whole year last year, so he’s been really excited to come back and help the team out,” said Young. “He’s playing really good basketball right now and even though he came into tonight’s game not shooting all that well, we knew he would turn things around here.”
Overall, Young said he was happy with his team’s performance, but noted that there is always room for improvement for a team that will have to take on some of the top teams in Section 1 in coming weeks and credited White Plains with making things difficult for the Huguenots on the afternoon.
“We need to get a bit better taking care of the basketball, hitting our free throws and making those chippy layups that we missed today,” said Young. “But that’s what White Plains makes you do; we’ve been playing them for a long time and they always make it tough.”
The Huguenots are currently 7-2, with their only losses on the year coming against powerhouse teams from North Carolina in a late December tournament. They will take on their biggest Section 1 test to date on Jan. 15 when they host Mount Vernon in a hotly-anticipated league matchup.
The Knights are also 7-2 and will come into next week’s game riding a five-game winning streak.
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