In their last game before the Christmas break, the boys’ basketball team topped a gritty Port Jeff squad in a 54-44 win on Dec. 15 to move to 3-2 on the season.

After falling to the Bears in their last five match-ups, including a 78-43 drubbing on the Bears’ Senior Night a year ago, the Royals were hungry to oust the Kings of Class C. They came out strong, building an early 10-6 lead after their second 3-pointer of the opening quarter. Harry Zhu responded on the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer of his own while drawing a foul. Though he did not convert the free throw for the four-point play, Zhu’s shot gave the Bears a needed boost in the opening minutes. Mac Bohuny followed with a 3-pointer to give the Brook a short-lived 12-10 lead as a Port Jeff trifecta in the final minute gave the hosts a 13-12 edge after one.

In the second quarter, the Bears’ defense reared its head and the offense found its rhythm as they blitzed the Royals 21-8 in the frame. The Bears opened the quarter with a 16-2 run that started with a Bohuny score and was punctuated by a John Eshirow putback that left the Brook up 28-15. The Royals could only muster a pair of free throws over the stretch. Port Jeff responded with six straight points to cut the lead back to nine, but a Brandon Providence 3-pointer in the waning seconds gave the Blue and White a 33-21 lead at the half.

The Royals trimmed their deficit to seven with five straight points to begin the second half. From that point on both sides played evenly as the Royals closed the quarter down just seven, 42-35. The Bears’ highlight of the frame was Zhu’s third 3-pointer of the night.

Port opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer, their sixth of the game, to cut their deficit to four, but on the ensuing possession Zhu responded with his fourth 3-pointer to hold fast to the game’s momentum. Jyles Etienne followed with an impressive 360-degree layup to put the Brook up by nine early in the frame. Yet another Port Jeff long ball trimmed the Bears’ lead to six, 50-44, but two free throws from Providence with 46 seconds left put the game out of reach en route to a sixth straight win over the Royals.

The Bears had a vary balanced scoring attack as Bohuny, Zhu, and Providence each scored 13 points. Etienne added 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

The Bears return to action on January 4 in a non-league match-up at Babylon.

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