Good morning. 🪜🏀🐈‍⬛ It’s Friday the 13th. Tonight, Rye’s boys basketball team looks to conclude their early-February gauntlet with lucky win No. 7. With seven games scheduled in the first 13 days of the month, the Garnets are 6-for-6 entering their regular-season finale.

Hockey also aims to push its unbeaten streak to seven tonight against defending state champion Suffern, a team the Garnets rallied to beat just 10 days ago.

Meanwhile, girls basketball (16-3) lost to a Class AA opponent for the first time this season Wednesday. The Garnets won’t wait long for revenge, traveling to Ossining for a rematch Monday morning in the teams’ final game before the playoffs.

Let’s look “Between the Lines” at the winter season’s home stretch.

“Between the Lines” is curated by sports editor Chris Marshall.

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Garnet Boys Looking for Lucky No. 7

The hardest part of Rye’s jam-packed February schedule was that it appeared to be back-loaded. Facing Clarkstown North, winners of 15 straight games, would have provided a challenge at any point this season.

A confluence of factors made the test even tougher for Rye. First, it was the Garnets’ sixth game in 10 days. It also happened to be the Vikings’ senior night, and if that wasn’t enough, their head coach’s birthday.

Rye brought a swift end to the celebration, taking a 15-point first-quarter lead on the way to a 69-48 road win Wednesday.

The most daunting matchup of the month, on paper, wound up being the most lopsided. Rye’s 69 points were its second-highest total all season. It was also the most points allowed by Clarkstown North since a 73-70 win on Dec. 29, the first of the Vikings’ 15 consecutive victories.

A trio of upperclassmen accounted for most of the Garnets’ scoring, led by senior Carson Miller’s 26 points, junior Ben Hudson’s 16, and senior Henry Shoemaker’s 15.

Riding a six-game win streak, their longest of the season, the Garnets (15-4) go on the road once more tonight against another talented opponent in Iona Prep (14-7).

Thanks to a logjam in the Section 1 Class AA standings, postseason seeding is still up in the air. Rye is currently tied for fourth with Horace Greeley, which also plays its final game tonight. Following close behind is Poughkeepsie (14-4), which has two games remaining.

As with all basketball seasons, the campaign’s success will be determined by how deep the team advances in the playoffs. But securing the fourth seed could be the difference in hosting one postseason game or several.

Win or lose, Rye has already secured a league title, and after playing a seventh game in 11 days, the team will be happy to rest up over winter break before the section tournament tips off Feb. 21.

Weather Report: Check out the weekend weather forecast for Rye here.

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Performer of the Week: Wilson Redd

🏊🏻‍♂️ Congrats to Wilson Redd — winner of the Sportech Performer of the Week.

The junior set two personal bests this week at the Section 1 championships, the Rye/Rye Neck/Blind Brook swim team’s final competition of the season.

Redd finished sixth in the 50 free and 13^th in the 100 free, making him a strong contender to vie for section titles in his senior year.

He also helped the team claim its two best relay finishes. The 200 free relay team finished ninth, with Redd joined by Nick Stocks, Filip Glitterstam, and Charlie Thigpen. The 200 medley relay took 11^th , with Redd, Thigpen, Glitterstam, and George Papaioannou.

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Game of the Week: Rye Hockey Tames Tigers

🏒 With two regular-season games remaining, Rye is the top-ranked team in New York’s Division 2 hockey rankings. But on Wednesday at Playland, the Garnets had their hands full against a Mamaroneck team that’s had its ups and downs.

The score was tied in the third period before Rye (13-2-3) finished strong for a 7-5 win, their second victory in two weeks against the Tigers (8-11).

After Mamaroneck pulled even at 4-4, sophomore Max Niejadlik restored Rye’s lead, sophomore Colin Nigro completed another hat trick, and senior Jamie Morris scored again for a two-goal margin of victory.

Rye will try for a sweep of Suffern tonight, then host Rye Country Day in a make-up game Thursday to conclude the regular season.

“We’ve been playing good hockey for the last month or so,” said Rye coach Peter Thomas. “When we play our game and do the things that make us successful, we’re a tough team to skate with.”

— By Steven Kearney

This Week’s Rye Record: 6-1

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