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Lynch scored nine straight points to open the third quarter, and the Bobcats never looked back in a 66-47 win over the No. 5 Red Devils on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Section 1 Class A tournament at the Westchester County Center.
“I thought we needed a jump-start. I obviously was ice cold (in the) first half,” Lynch said. “Once I hit my first one, I felt confident to just do it some more, I guess. Peekskill really came out tough with their press. I guess I wasn’t ready for it, and it took me a whole half to kind of get adjusted to it.”
Lynch finished with 21 points and six assists in the win.
The game grew increasingly hostile, especially in the fourth quarter as tempers flared on both sides. Early in the fourth quarter, Brian Skelly went down at half court and said Peekskill’s Ramon Searight had kicked him. Officials separated the two teams as the Byram Hills students, players and coaches yelled in anger.
Later, Searight and Lynch were tied up for the ball and Searight threw Lynch to the ground after the whistle. He received a technical foul.
The fans got into it at one point as security guards swarmed the section across from the Byram Hills bench to break up an altercation as the Byram Hills cheerleaders left their courtside seats and retreated to a corner.
“They don’t want to lose. I understand where they’re coming from,” Skelly said. “They were putting everything down on the line. They’re frustrated. We came out on fire in the third. I see where they’re coming from. They’re a good team and it just shows that they want to win just as much as us.”
Peekskill coach Lou Panzanaro offered his take on the physical play.
“I think it was kids trying to make plays, trying to win,” Panzanaro said. “Sometimes when you play hard and you don’t get the ball, you hit somebody. It looks like a chippy. I don’t think we were trying to play chippy. I don’t think they were. I think it was just two teams that competed hard.”
Last season, Jeff Lynch was injured and could not play in the postseason. But this year, he has a chance to earn another gold ball when the Bobcats face No. 3 Poughkeepsie on Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Class A championship game.
“Last time he was here at the County Center, he was a spectator,” said Byram Hills coach Ted Repa. “Two years ago, he won a gold ball. So we’re going to do everything we can to get another one, but obviously Poughkeepsie is going to be very tough.”
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