Yesterday afternoon, the boys’ basketball team made history, topping Millbrook, 45-27, to win the program’s first Regional Championship and punch their first ticket to the New York State Final Four. Here is the recap of the game from Charlie Cornacchio of the Hudson Valley News Network.

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Stony Brook Stands Tall Over Millbrook in NYS Quarterfinals

It wasn’t a fair fight. The Stony Brook Bears came into the NYS Class C quarterfinals with a much taller team than the Millbrook Blazers. Additionally, the Bears have a future Hoosier on their team. Jyles Etienne signed his letter of intent to go to Indiana University, but not for basketball.

The 6′ 6″ Etienne is currently the New York State champion in the high jump and will attend Indiana as part of the Track & Field team. His size alone, was a huge advantage for the Bears. Etienne can clear a high jump bar set at 6′ 11″, so stuffing the basketball on an opposing player that averages 5’ 9″ is not that big a deal. He did that early and often in this one (13 Pts, 12 Reb, 5 Blocks).

Besides Etienne, Stony Brook also has one of the smallest players on the court, Brandon Providence. But don’t underestimate his game, because Providence was killing Millbrook with his outside range and penetration to the basket (16 points).

Aside from an early three pointer from Patrick Kyle, and a couple of scattered points from Humberto Cabrera, Colby Whalen, and Shane Sinon, the Blazers were outmatched at both ends of the court.

Millbrook hung tough through the first half, but Stony Brook threw down the hammer in the third quarter, going on a 15-1 run and outscoring the Blazers 20-9, and that pretty much sealed the deal. Stony Brook won the game 45-27 and will move on to the New York State Final Four tournament this weekend in Binghamton.

Upside to the great season the Millbrook Blazers had is that all of their starters will be back again next year, with the taste of this postseason, and what “could” be next season. Start the AAU season, and we’ll see next year.

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