You won’t see many basketball coaches who would be too happy watching their team start the first quarter of a league game by putting up just two points. Most, in fact, would say that that represents a slow start. But after his Rye Garnets did just that against rival Harrison on Saturday, head coach Chris DiCintio had to admit he was pleased.

Despite just two points from the floor in the first-quarter, Rye’s strategy both offensively and defensively set the stage for a 22-point explosion in the fourth, and a 52-39 win over their league rivals.  

According to the head coach, Rye’s philosophy to start the game was simple: Pound the ball down low, force Harrison star Dennis Rinaldi to exert himself, then kick it back outside to the perimeter for a jumpshot.

“We wanted to play an inside-out game, and we did that well, getting the ball into Brendan Nagle,” says DiCintio. “We were able to get Rinaldi in a bit of foul trouble, so they had to bring over another guy to help out defensively, which is when we kicked it out to our shooters…we executed perfectly, but couldn’t hit our shots. But we were pleased.”

In addition, Harrison had an equally tough time scoring on Rye, as the Garnets set their sights on shutting down the Huskies’ top two scorers, Rinaldi and perimeter threat Jared Hodes. Using Nagle to front Rinaldi (who finished with 17 points)—and weakside help on the big man, Brian Pickup served as something of a shadow for the Huskies outside shooter.

“Brian did a good job as a chaser,” says DiCintio. “If you leave [Hodes] alone, he’s going to torch you for 20-something points.”

When the Garnets finally picked up the scoring in the second half, it was a testament to their balance. Pickup, Conor Smith and Chris Twyman all netted 13 points. It is this newfound balance, says DiCintio, that has helped the Garnets turn the corner this season.

“We’ve said all along that once we define the roles of the players; we have the athleticism and a lot of guys who can put the ball in the bucket. We’ve started to play unselfish basketball, and because of it, we’ve got balanced scorebooks.”

Both Rye and Harrison are surefire playoff teams and with the season series at 1-1, the chance for a sectional matchup has area fans excited. Who will take that hypothetical third game, though, is anyone’s guess.

 “I told the kids that if we prepare ourselves, and play with the intensity we did in the second half we’ll be a dangerous team in the playoffs,” explains DiCintio. “But if we rely more on individual basketball, than we can just as soon lose in the first round.”