After months of uncertainty surrounding the feasibility of conducting “high-risk” high school sports, Section I basketball kicked off in earnest on Feb. 15, as dozens of teams hit the hardwood for their first taste of game action in nearly a year. And even though area hoopsters will need some time to shake off the rust, the chance to return to competition was clearly welcomed by those who had been waiting to play.

There were 12 Section I basketball games on the docket for Monday, beginning with an 11 a.m. tilt between the boys’ teams from Mamaroneck and White Plains and finishing with a 6 p.m. showdown between Harrison and Sleepy Hollow, a packed Presidents Day schedule that would have seemed like a long shot a few months ago.

As of mid-January, winter sports that had been deemed too “high-risk” by state officials had not yet been given permission to participate in interscholastic contests, but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, reversed the state’s position on Jan. 22 and put the decision to return to play in the hands of local administrators. The Section I Athletics Executive Committee officially gave school districts the green light to play on Jan. 27, leading to a Feb. 1 start date and an abbreviated winter season for basketball, ice hockey and cheerleading.

Harrison High School senior Tochi Onwuasoanya—whose Huskies hosted Sleepy Hollow in Monday’s nightcap—said that he and his teammates had mostly resigned themselves to the fact that they would not get the chance to play until the news of Cuomo’s decision was announced.

“It was an extreme shock to be out here today,” Onwuasoanya said. “I thought that with everything that happened in 2020, this winter was just going to be part of the situation that we’ve all been collectively going through.”

Both Harrison and Sleepy Hollow struggled from the field on Monday as the Horsemen escaped with a 39-33 win, but Harrison head coach Gary Chiarella said that he expects to see a lot of uneven play as teams around Section I begin to work themselves back into playing shape.

“It feels good, it basically feels like the first scrimmage of the year since we haven’t played together at all in 11 months,” Chiarella said. “The conditioning, the speed of the game, it caught up to us a bit tonight, but we’ve got another game tomorrow.”

In addition to working themselves back into game shape, another thing that players will have to adjust to this season will be playing in mostly empty gymnasiums. As part of the return-to-play COVID-19 guidelines set forth by Section I officials, no spectators will be allowed to attend contests.

To that end, Onwuasoanya said it will fall to the players on the bench to help approximate the atmosphere of a varsity game.

“It’s tough with no fans here because the gym can get dead and players can sometimes get a little flat like it’s an early morning scrimmage,” he said. “So, it’s important that the guys on the bench stay active because there needs to be a big supporting role from them, just to get that good energy.”

But even if family and classmates won’t be able to take in the basketball games live, Onwuasoanya said that he and his teammates are heartened by the fact that many schools, including Harrison, are able use companies like LocalLive to stream games for those stuck at home.

“I know my mom and my dad are watching at home, probably some of my friends too, which is really nice because they got to see me and my friends play,” he said.  “I wish they hadn’t seen me miss so many shots today, but maybe I’ll make some more tomorrow.”