On this day seven years ago, the boys’ basketball team defeated Southold, 66-45, in the Suffolk County semifinals, stemming a furious comeback in the process. The Bears jumped on their east end rivals from the start as they fed off 8 points from Ryan Mealey to take an incredible 22-4 lead after the first quarter. However, as great as the opening frame was, the second quarter was a near disaster as the Blue and White were outscored 2-15 to take a slim five-point lead into the break. Even more troubling than the squandered lead was the condition of captain Steve Harney.

During the first quarter he was shaken up by an inadvertent Southold elbow, however, like he had so many times before, Harney elevated his game when his team needed him the most. He connected on a huge 3-pointer in the third quarter to lead the Brook to a 9-point lead entering the fourth, then poured in 15 of his 26 points in the final frame to seal the victory. Harney dished out 10 assists to go along with his game-high 26 points, which included three 3-pointers, while Mealey and Brendan Penn totaled 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Steven Harney shook off the pain of an elbow to the face and scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for No. 2 Stony Brook, which defeated No. 3 Southold, 66-45, yesterday in a Suffolk Class C boys basketball semifinal.

Harney, who was injured in the first quarter, also had 10 assists. Ryan Mealey added 14 points, including eight in the first quarter, to help Stony Brook (9-9) to a 22-4 lead.

~ Newsday

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