Basketball season is back at Stony Brook and yesterday morning the boys began their quest to defend the Long Island Championship in a scrimmage against League V foe, Rocky Point. With a skeleton crew of six players, including two from the junior varsity squad, the Bears outplayed the Eagles and won handily, capturing five of the seven 10-minute running quarters.

1st Quarter

Right from the start the boys overmatched their opponents in every facet of the game. Both teams looked rusty in the early going as they tried to recover from their turkey dinners two days earlier, but the Bears took control with a quick 4-0 lead on two putbacks by Farqu Taylor and Jerome Washington. After a Stony Brook free throw and a Rocky Point 3-pointer, back-to-back scores by Washington put the blue and white up, 9-3. A flurry of activity followed, allowing the Brook to extend their lead. First, Marco Masakayan snared the Bears’ third steal of the quarter and raced down the floor for a layup (11-3), then Rocky Point hit another from behind the arc (11-6). Stony Brook followed with a turnover, Taylor took a charge, and Washington dropped in his fourth score of the quarter (13-6). | 13-6

2nd Quarter

The second frame began where the first left off. The Brook started with a steal and Richie Armand drilled a 3-pointer after keeping the possession alive with an offensive rebound. Back-to-back scores by Taylor and two free throws by Masakayan put the Bears up 9-4. The last sequence of the quarter aptly illustrated the difference between the two squads over the first twenty minutes of the game. After the Bears’ sixth steal of the game and subsequent missed layup, the Bears fought through their size disadvantage and pulled down four offensive rebounds before Taylor was fouled on a putback attempt. Through two quarters the Brook out-hustled, out-rebounded, outran, and outplayed the Pointers, something that was on full display in the final minute. | 10-4

3rd Quarter

The Rocky Point coach seemed visibly agitated over his team’s play during the opening twenty minutes, and the next ten only gave him more frustration. A putback by Washington, a 3-pointer by junior varsity player Tyler Abrahamsen, a fast break layup by Armand and a runner by Abrahamsen made the score 9-0. Rocky Point did not get on the board until 3:57 remained in the quarter. The boys allowed them to creep back in with several turnovers, but two scores by Washington a layup by Taylor, courtesy of a beautiful penetration and dish by Armand, gave the Blue and White another win at the quarter mark. | 15-9

4th Quarter

The Eagles opened the scoring for the first time, but the Bears tied it up when Taylor found junior varsity player Nick Pizzichillo on a backdoor cut for a layup. The Brook grabbed a 7-2 lead minutes later when Armand kissed a runner off the glass and Abrahamsen used every part of the basket to land his second 3-pointer. The Blue and White defense was on full display as they grabbed four steals in the quarter for a total of 15 through four frames. They also held the Eagles to under ten points for the fourth straight quarter, winning by a combined 45-24 margin. | 7-4

5th & 6th Quarters

Pizzichillo single-handedly kept the Brook in the lead for the first half of the quarter, assisting Washington, then hitting a 3-pointer and a layup in quick succession for a 7-6 edge; however, the boys surrendered their first quarter 9-10. In the sixth, the Brook jumped out to an early lead thanks to two Masakayan 3-pointers, but a 3-pointer as time expired gave the Eagles the 8-9 win. The short Stony Brook bench played a part in these two as the Eagles continued to send out fresh legs from their twelve-man roster. | 9-10 & 8-9

7th Quarter

Both sides fought off fatigued legs and rasping lungs for the final and most exciting quarter. Masakayan took a charge and then tied the game at 2-2 on a drive. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Rocky Point put the Bears down 2-8, but Abrahamsen fired back with a long ball of his own to cut the deficit to 5-8 and ignited a run for the home team. Masakayan followed with a gorgeous spin move in the lane and tough layup to make it 7-8, then led the fast break and dished to Taylor to cap a 7-0 run, giving the Blue and White a 9-8 advantage.

The Eagles’ third 3-pointer of the quarter gave them a 9-11 lead, but a steal and layup by Armand knotted the frame at 11-11 with 2:20 remaining. Coach Mike Hickey yelled from the sideline, “Tie ball game! This is it!” as though it were a playoff game and the boys responded in like fashion. After falling behind 11-13, Abrahamsen came through again, nailing his fourth 3-pointer with 1:40 on the clock. Two Rocky Point free throws gave them the lead back, 14-15, with one minute remaining. After an empty possession, the Brook needed a stop and Abrahamsen’s hustle once again proved valuable. He knocked the ball away from the Eagles’ point guard, then dove on the ground and wrestled it from him before dishing it to Armand for a wide-open layup with nine seconds left. The great defensive play by the young player was the difference as the boys won their fifth of seven quarters. | 16-15

Impressions

The Bears had six players, four of them varsity, were missing two starters and had only a handful of practices, yet clearly outplayed their Class A opponent. They had the edge in their hustle, defense, rebounding and ability to get out on the fast break. Armand and Masakayan penetrated well, Taylor and Washington were a handful inside, despite giving up several inches to their counterparts, and even Pizzichillo and Abrahamsen performed well in their first varsity action. What became clear as the game went on was how well this team could play defense. They stopped penetration well, got their hands in the passing lanes, raced back in transition, and showed great intensity over 70 minutes of basketball. This was a great opening act and is perhaps the first step of another triumphant journey.

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