The first half of Sunday’s county Class D high school boys basketball championship game was more akin to football at times, with as many as three or four players splayed out on the floor grappling for possession.
And, as you might guess, the frenetic pace didn’t result in much scoring. Bridgehampton netted only three baskets in its 12 attempts from the field in the first quarter. When Alex Davis made a fast-break layup that broke a 2-2 tie, almost five minutes of helter-skelter play punctuated by sloppy turnovers and blocked shots at both ends of the floor had passed. The good news by quarter’s end — at which point Bridgehampton led 10-2 — was that the other team, St. Pius V of Melville, had made only one shot in its seven attempts, a scooped layup by Dominic Fantz that broke the ice a little more than a minute into the fray.
Things were to get worse for the Bees before they got better: With Jordan Harding on the bench following his third foul, St. Pius outscored Bridgehampton 13-1 in the final three minutes of the second quarter, lifting its fans’ spirits immensely. The teams went into the halftime break with the Bees barely in the lead, at 18-16.
Later, when asked about his young team’s rocky start — Bridgehampton’s starters number two sophomores, two juniors, and a senior — Carl Johnson, the Bees’ coach, attributed it to playoff jitters. Yes, his team, which went undefeated in league play, had beaten St. Pius three times in the regular season — the last time by 30 points, the time before that by 1 — though the 3-0 record was not something he brought up, he said, during the weeks leading up to Sunday’s clash, preferring that his charges leave those league wins in the rearview mirror.
Ultimately, they did. A 3-pointer by Davis, who was to wind up as the game’s high scorer, with 16 points, got them going in the right direction with two and a half minutes to play in the third. Tyler Fitzgerald, who came off the bench when Jordan Harding drew his fourth foul, followed up with two swished free throws that upped the Bees’ lead to 28-24, and a subsequent 3 by Jaylin Harding, who let it go from the perimeter in front of the bleacher section packed with Bridgehampton fans, made it 31-24. But still St. Pius clung on, Peter Kennedy’s 3 in the period’s final seconds limiting the Bees’ lead to 33-30 as the teams entered the fourth quarter.
A basket by Xavier Johnson served notice when the fourth began. Soon after, a nice move to the hoop by Jai Feaster and a layup by Jordan Harding, who had come back into the game, upped the margin to 8. Another basket by Jordan Harding and a spinning drive to the hoop by Davis with about four minutes left treated the Bees to a 43-31 lead that had them and their anxious fans breathing easier. The final score was 53-42.
In the celebratory aftermath, Johnson said “there was so much pressure on them. It’s the playoffs, we were the favorites, we hadn’t played a game in about a month . . . it was a wake-up call. You can’t underestimate anyone at this time of year. Actually, I’m glad we didn’t win by 25.”
Bridgehampton is to play next in a state regional final at Center Moriches High School on March 15 at 4:30. Johnson thinks the opponent may be either Greenburgh-North Castle of Dobbs Ferry or Eldred of Sullivan County. The state Final Four tournaments will be March 21 and 22 at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
