Heartbreaking loss on senior night for Foxes against rival Quakers

Sebastian Getz scores inside for the Foxes. Janak Bain gets fouled in the lane. Arthur Shevick fires a three-pointer for the Foxes against rival Horace Greeley. Chris Sanchez had the hot hand leading Fox Lane with 19 points on senior night.  Jim MacLean Photos

By JIM MACLEAN 

In front of a packed gym on senior night with 12 seniors on the roster, it was a thrilling night of high school basketball as Fox Lane hosted archrival Horace Greeley on Friday, Feb. 6, in a game that went down to the final whistle.

The only thing missing for Fox Lane was a happy ending as Greeley held on for a 53-51, handing the Foxes a heartbreaking loss.

“That was a tough one, they’re a good team, we’re a good team, just came down to they made a couple more plays than we did,” admitted Fox Lane coach Mike Tomassi. “It was unbelievable, it’s tough that people say this isn’t one of the best rivalries in Section 1, this game is special. Our gym is special and I was lucky to play here and coach here in this rivalry. Our fans showed out, our community, and so did theirs. It was an incredible atmosphere — that’s what high school basketball should be, late in the season, two really good teams playing in front of a packed gym.”

It was standing room only as the two teams took to the court after a pregame ceremony honoring the 12 seniors on the Fox Lane roster.

It took a few minutes for the Fox Lane seniors to put the emotions behind them as Greeley opened up a 4-0 lead, but then senior Chris Sanchez came alive and started hitting shots from all over the court to keep the Foxes in the game.

After Sanchez hit a 3-pointer and then sank three free throws, Ethan Mayers scored for the Foxes to tie it up at 9-9 before the Quakers scored to close out the first quarter with a 12-9 lead.

Sanchez hit another 3-pointer to tie it up again at 14-14 in the second quarter, but the Quakers went on an 11-0 run to open up a 25-14 lead. Once again, it was Sanchez keeping the Foxes in it as he hit a pair of three-pointers, and he scored again in the final seconds to close out the first half with Greeley clinging to a 27-23 lead.

Overall, Sanchez finished with 19 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers, scoring all but four of the Foxes points in the half.

“Chris did a great job keeping us in it, because we did not play a good first half and he carried us,” Tomassi said of Sanchez. “Chris was awesome, he’s been grinding every day and he made some big shots and was great tonight.”

In the second half, senior Arthur Shevick opened up the scoring with his first hoop of the game. Greeley responded with a 7-0 run to take a 34-25 lead, but the Foxes started chipping away. Shevick scored again, and Ethan Mayers came up with a steal and scored and was fouled and sank the free throw for a 3-point play to cut it down to 34-30.

Senior Joe Cerone came up with a couple of offensive rebounds for the Foxes, and Mayers finished off another three-point play, and then Shevick drilled a 3-pointer to tie it up at 37-37.

Shevick sank a pair of free throws to give Fox Lane its first lead of the game at 39-37, but Greeley responded to tie it up and set the stage for a thrilling fourth quarter finish.

It was a nail biter as the lead changed back and forth throughout the fourth quarter. The Quakers took a 45-41 lead, but Janak Bain scored for the Foxes and then Shevick followed with a pair of hoops to give the Foxes the lead at 47-45. Greeley tied it up, and Shevick answered again with a hoop, but the Quakers took the lead at 50-49.

Bain scored again to give the Foxes a 51-50 lead, but Greeley reclaimed the lead at 52-51 with 43 seconds left to play. Shevick had a chance heading to the line for two free throws with four seconds left, but he was unable to convert and the Quakers closed it out with a 53-51 win.

“He’s a great player, he’s had a great career here, every game I’ve coached here with Arthur Shevick in that exact same scenario with him on the line, I’d take that every time,” said Tomassi. “All of our seniors played hard. Janak played hard, Joe Cerone played hard, Sebastian Getz is battling a shoulder injury and gave us everything he had. It was just one of those games, we did a lot of good things and came up short. That’s why I love sports, you do the right things and sometimes it doesn’t happen for you. The true test of character is to see how you practice the next day to show what type of team you are.”

Sanchez led the Foxes with 19 points, and Shevick finished with 17 points all in the second half. Mayers was in double figures with 10 points, and Bain finished with 5 points for the Foxes.

With the loss Fox Lane now stands at 9-9 overall with two games left on the regular season. The Foxes were set to host Walter Panas on Wednesday, Feb. 11, and then close out the regular season on the road at John Jay on Friday, Feb. 13.