On a frigid night in East Hampton, with the mercury level hovering in the teens, Tim Pandolfi heated up the Ross School gym, torching the Cosmos for 27 points in a 72-41 victory. Jerome Washington was also a force inside, scoring a career-high 20 points to go along with 14 boards.

1st Quarter

The opening frame was very evenly played as both squads tried to snare control of the game. Ross jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but as is customary with our team, their defense led to offense and five steals helped them build a 19-14 edge after the first eight minutes. Washington scored 8 in the quarter to galvanize the Blue and White. | 19-14

2nd Quarter

If the Cosmos fans and players felt like this could be their night, the second frame put those hopes to bed. The Bears’ offense caught fire, led by the smooth play of Pandolfi, as they took the period, 24-10. Pandolfi scored 14 in the quarter, hitting two 3-pointers in the process, Marco Masakayan spearheaded the defense with two steals, and Richie Armand ably controlled the ball to help the Brook grasp the game’s momentum.  | 43-24

3rd & 4th Quarter

Masakayan began the third frame with his fourth steal and Pandolfi and Washington scored the Bears’ first ten points of the quarter to help them build an insurmountable lead. Midway through the third, Pandolfi drilled a third 3-pointer after shredding his defender with a silky move, to give him 27 on the night, leaving him tantalizingly close to 1,000 career points. He sat the rest of the game along with most of the starters as Forrest Hull, Spencer Cannon, Anuraag Sah, and Alex Zhang received some well-deserved minutes. | 72-41

Impressions

This is not the Ross School of old. The Cosmos have continued to improve and possess quite a solid core of players; however, they were still no match for the Bears. The Brook was a bit sloppy in the early going, but settled in on both sides of the ball to coast to another win. The biggest number on the stat sheet has to be Washington’s 20 points. For this team to get where it wants to this year, he is going to have to be a big part of it. The Brook improves to 5-1 in the league, setting up a big game Wednesday, January 26 at Port Jeff (4-1) @ 5:45pm.

Notes

The win was the 229th win of coach Mike Hickey’s career as he remained undefeated (19-0) vs. the Ross School… Pandolfi, Long Island’s leading scorer, is just five points away from 1,000… Richie Armand is ranked 1st on Long Island in assists per game with 6.2… The junior varsity also defeated Ross, 64-32. 

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