On Saturday afternoon, the boys’ basketball team defeated Pierson, 51-44, for their fourth consecutive Class C County Championship. Here is the recap of the game from Brett Mauser of The East Hampton Press.
Whalers Come Up Short in C Final Against Stony Brook
With each empty possession, the deficit grew wider and wider for the Pierson boys’ basketball team. A Whaler shot was turned away, and the Bears converted a basket on the other end. A turnover did the same. Facing its archrival Stony Brook in the Suffolk County Class C championship game, the Whalers were in position to take home the county title, but in the end, they hit a dry spell when they could least afford it.
Trailing by one point heading into the fourth quarter, the Whalers surrendered the first nine points of the final frame to the Bears, and were unable to keep pace, falling 51-44 in their clash at Suffolk County Community College in Selden. It was an all too familiar taste for these Whalers. Their last county championship came in 2012 when Forrest Loesch drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to topple the Bears, 34-32. Since then, Stony Brook has ended Pierson’s season in four consecutive seasons.
Saturday’s defeat also closed out the careers of four Whalers seniors—Stephen Musnicki, James Schleicher, Andrew James, and Rojuan Patterson.
“I think that we got a lot out of this group,” said Whalers head coach Dan White. “We don’t have a single kid that is 6-2. The kids shoot the ball well, they put time in, they’re unselfish, and they care about their defense. I think everyone’s getting sick and tired of having a good year and losing to Stony Brook in the final, though. It’s better than not being here I guess, but I know everybody’s a little sore right now.”
I think everyone’s getting sick and tired of having a good year and losing to Stony Brook in the final.
Pierson coach, Dan White
The offense’s wheels began to wobble midway through the third quarter. Musnicki sank a 3-pointer at the 3:36 mark to break a 27-all tie. For the next seven minutes, turnovers marred the Pierson attack, while some sharp-shooting allowed Stony Brook to seize and widen the lead. Back-to-back buckets by senior Chester Kayonga gave the Bears a 31-30 advantage heading into the fourth, and Kayonga’s ensuing three and a layup helped make up a 13-0 run that put Stony Brook ahead 40-30 with 4:58 remaining in the game.
Pierson sophomore Will Martin stemmed the tide with a breakaway layup at 4:17, but the Whalers were unable to significantly close the gap thereafter. At the center of Pierson’s problems was Stony Brook’s presence around the rim, namely with juniors Jyles Etienne and Mac Bohuny, who stand at 6-6 and 6-4, respectively.
“Their length took over defensively,” White said. “We probably had four or five good looks at the rim that just got swatted, and that’s deflating as a kid. You could see them start to look around wondering where they were. I knew that was going to be the case, so we really tried to get it to be an up-and-down game, but we turned it over in transition. That’s just something where the moment was a little bit too big and we were excited. I thought my kids did exactly what I wanted them to do defensively and at times we executed well, but ultimately their length just won the game.”
Their length took over defensively. We probably had four or five good looks at the rim that just got swatted, and that’s deflating as a kid. You could see them start to look around wondering where they were.
Pierson coach, Dan White
The game was back-and-forth for the first three quarters, with neither team leading by more than four points at any point. Junior Sean Sloane led the Pierson attack with 12 points in the first half—he had a game-high 23—but was saddled with foul trouble, picking up his third with just over five minutes to play in the second quarter. Pierson weathered the storm, with buckets by Martin and Schleicher, as well as a three from James over the final 2:36 to go into intermission tied at 23-23.
“I thought that we were at a really good place at halftime,” White said. “Sean had three fouls and we went down four but we battled back.”
The Whalers were in a good place for the third, but a poor fourth quarter plagued them against Stony Brook once again. The Bears captured both games in the regular season thanks in part to 10-3 and 19-2 advantages in the final frame. Stony Brook won the fourth quarter battle again Saturday, tallying 13 of its first 15 points en route to a 20-14 edge.
stonybrookbears.org 