Bonac Boys Bang Boards, Burn Nets
The East Hampton High School boys basketball team, which has in the past two years often suffered disappointing defeats in the waning minutes of games, prevailed 60-58 in overtime at Bayport-Blue Point last Thursday, a night in which Bayport-Blue Point’s girls defeated their Bonac counterparts here 47-35.
East Hampton’s girls had their moments, but they came in the first quarter, and, as time wore on, the fact that Kaelyn Ward, the team’s star point guard, got into early foul trouble, was to hurt.
Indrea Stephens sparked an 8-0 run in the first frame when she converted a steal to tie the score at 4-4. Moments later, Ward fed her fellow guard, who made another fast-break layup, after which, following a Bayport turnover, Sarah Johnson, playing around the basket, passed out to Ward, whose jump shot swished through the nets for 8-4. After Bayport turned the ball over again, the result of a shot-clock violation, Stephens, assisted by Jackie Messemer, upped East Hampton’s lead to 10-4.
That delightful streak gave Bonac fans reason to think it would be a ballgame, but the visitors, who enjoyed increasing success with a defense that clamped on when Bonackers picked up their dribble, pulled to 10-9 by the end of the first quarter and outscored the home team 12-3 in the second quarter for a 21-13 lead at the halftime break.
Ward had to sit when she was called for her third foul with about two minutes left to play in the second quarter, by which time the score was tied at 13-13. Bayport immediately took advantage, setting off on an 8-0 run of its own, sparked by Paige Faherty, who was to finish with a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds.
As for the boys game, Bill McKee, the team’s coach, said, “It was a good win for us, especially since it was in their gym. . . . We did a nice job on the boards even though Bayport was taller, and our shot selection was really good. We had 20 assists as a team, which is the most we’ve had in a while.”
Bayport, said McKee, “tied the score at 53-53 with about eight seconds left in regulation. We got a shot off after that, but it didn’t go in. Cameron [Yusko] hit a 3 on our first possession in overtime, and then Thomas [Nelson] hit a 3 of his own and made one of two foul shots for the 60-58 final.”
“It was one of our better games — we hope to build on that. Thomas King had 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Thomas Nelson had 10 rebounds. Bayport pressed us the whole game, but we handled it. Four of our starters [King, with 18 points, Danny McKee, with 11, and Juan Cuevas and Nelson, each with 10] finished in double figures, andCameron had 9. . . . Bayport was a big team . . . they had kids who were 6-5, 6-4, 6-3 . . . but we had 12 offensive rebounds to their 5. That was a big difference right there.”
Going into Tuesday’s game here with Shoreham-Wading River, East Hampton’s boys were 2-1 in league play.
Other Sports
In other high school athletic action, Lucas Escobar, at 106 pounds, and Mike Peralta, at 145, were winners in Friday’s wrestling meet at highly ranked Islip. In other matches, Sawyer Bushman lost 4-2 to Brad Wade at 126 pounds; Colton Kalbacher lost 7-2 to John Theo at 132; Kevin Heine lost 7-3 to Craig Hinrichs at 182, and Jacob Hands lost 4-3 to Ryan Hughes at 220. East Hampton, which lost 65-6, forfeited at 99 and 160 pounds.
In a 55-16 loss to Bellport on Jan. 4, Escobar, at 106, Bushman, at 126, James Budd, at 170, and Heine, at 182, were winners.
Chris Reich, who coaches East Hampton’s boys track team, reported Monday that Deilyn Guzman won the 55-meter dash in a crossover meet at Suffolk Community College-Brentwood last Thursday in 6.94 seconds.
“He is our greatest chance for scoring points in the league meet this season,” said Reich, who added that Adam Cebulski ran a personal-best 2:59 in the 1,000-meter race and that Alex Osbourne had run a personal-best 1:40 in the 600-meter race at the freshman-sophomore championships Sunday.
Otherwise, he said, there wasn’t much else worth mentioning. “Christmas vacation has proved to consume the best of the athletes.”