WAVERLY –– The No. 5 Dryden boys basketball team played a strong second half against No. 1 Waverly, but the Lions couldn’t overcome their slow start and they fell to the Wolverines 60-48 in the semifinals of the Section IV Class B tournament Wednesday at Waverly High School.
Dryden traveled to its opponent’s home gym for the second consecutive game. In the previous round against Trumansburg, the Lions came out strong and led after the first quarter and at halftime. On Wednesday, Waverly came out firing and took a quick 20-8 lead after the first and 33-17 lead into the break.
Waverly’s quick start was largely due to the play of star guard Joey Tomasso. Tomasso scored 21 points in the first half, with 17 coming in the first quarter. He also hit three shots from beyond the arc.
Dryden looked much better in the third quarter, as it outscored its first half total of 17 points with 20 in the quarter. Alexander Scott found openings around the rim and scored consistently and Luke Eshelman knocked down two 3-pointers.
Dryden’s comeback attempt was difficult despite playing better, as Waverly’s ability to knock down the 3-pointer was huge for it in the third quarter. Tomasso made three 3-pointers and teammate Jay Pipher hit two. The Lions looked to be heading into the final quarter down 49-37, but Tomasso took a deep shot from around half court as time expired and was fouled. He hit all three shots to push the Wolverines’ lead to 15.
The final quarter was low scoring and Dryden won it 11-8, but it could never shrink the lead enough to put together a big run. The Lions cut the lead to 10 on three different occasions in the fourth, but Waverly secured several offensive rebounds down the stretch, leading to more opportunities to score and burn clock while doing so. Tomasso also capped off his big night scoring six of his teams eight points in the fourth. He finished with 39 points.
Dryden head coach Zack LeViere knew his team’s slow start was a big difference and the second chance looks from Waverly down the stretch proved to hurt more.
“Coming into the game we knew Waverly shoots the ball well and they shot it well again tonight,” LeViere said. “They hit nine threes and six came from Tomasso. We knew we had to get out on shooters, but we left them quite open a couple of times.”
“We had few too many turnovers and were not winning the 50/50 balls and rebound battles,” LeViere added. “They got a lot of offensive rebounds, and when you get those second chance points, you’re just getting more possessions.”
Despite falling, LeViere was proud of the way his team battled in enemy territory, primarily in the second half.
“For us to battle like we did, even with giving them some extra possessions, it’s a credit to our hustle,” LeViere said. “We came out and had a tough first quarter and were down 12. After that first quarter though, we played even with them the rest of the game. That was with us feeling like we didn’t play our best basketball either.”
Scott led Dryden with 19 points. Eshelman knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points, Dan Murphy had 10 points, Peter Nydam had five and Jay Miles had two.
Dryden has a lot to be excited about next season. The Lions had no seniors this year and the entire roster is returning. LeViere saw a lot of good things in the second half of the season and postseason and knows they can accomplish a lot next year.
“Heading into next year, we’re looking forward to it and feeling good,” LeViere said. “This year we got the experience that I think this team needs. It shows them the level it takes to win. If you look at teams whether it’s the professional level or high school, you sometimes must go through this first. That’s the hope for these guys is that they got this feeling of what playoff basketball is like. We need to make sure we are working and getting better this offseason too.”
