For the last three seasons only two teams have mattered in Suffolk County’s Class C: Stony Brook and Pierson.

The squads split the regular season match-ups each year during that stretch and our boys have won the last two County Championships over Pierson after dropping the 2012 title to the Whalers. This afternoon the rivalry was renewed in Sag Harbor.

The Bears jumped out to a 19-15 lead after the first quarter, then poured in 27 points in the second to build a 13-point halftime lead. Harry Zhu’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, one of five for the Bears in the second frame, gave them a firm grasp of the momentum heading into the break.

Pierson’s patented grit brought them back to within seven entering the fourth quarter. During a tightly contested final period, the Whalers fought back to within a basket, 54-57, when Chester Kayonga made, in Coach Mike Hickey’s words, “The greatest high school pass I’ve ever seen.” Kayonga had the ball on the block as Robbie Colarusso cut through the lane. Colarusso was open, but Kayonga missed the opportunity. Undaunted, Kayonga bent over and rolled the ball between both his and his defenders legs, right to Colarusso for a reverse layup that proved to be a huge basket with just over four minutes remaining. Pierson remained unrelenting, cutting their deficit to three points with 14 seconds left, but Luke Meyer drained two free throws to give the Brook just enough of a cushion for a 68-65 win.

Meyer finished with a game-high 23 points, drilling four 3-pointers in the process. Chester Kayonga added 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. Jyles Etienne and Robbie Colarusso contributed 12 points and 11 points, respectively, to round out a balanced scoring attack.

The Bears currently stand at 3-0 in the league and remained the #6 ranked Class C team in New York State in today’s New York State Sportswriters Association poll. The Bears hit the court again this Thursday for a match-up at Southold who has surged to a 5-0 start in League VIII.

Notes

Six different Bears connected from 3-point range for a total of 10 on the night… the win was the Bears’ first at Pierson in two years… with the win Coach Hickey’s all-time record against the Whalers is 32-13… The Bears have now won three in a row over Pierson by a combined margin of 51 points… This is the Bears’ 17th consecutive win over League opponents, with their last loss coming at the hands of Pierson on December 18, 2013.

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