In what has become a December tradition at the Brook, the boys’ basketball team welcomed Hjemly Idrætsefterskole of Denmark to campus for an early season scrimmage. For the fifth straight year the Bears beat the Danes on aggregate in winning three of the six quarters.

In the first quarter, the Bear pressure led to layups by Owen Sobel, Jai Narain, and Rex Eshirow as the Brook took an early 6-2 lead. A Hjemly 3-pointer carved the lead back to 7-5, but another Eshirow layup and a buzzer-beating floater from Sobel gave the Bears the quarter, 11-5.

The Bears built an early 5-0 lead in the second quarter behind a bank shot from Christian Bunn-Livingstone and a 3-pointer from Narain. A Colin Scanlon steal and layup pushed the lead to 7-4 before he added a 3-pointer that gave the Brook a 12-8 cushion. But the Danes closed with an 8-0 run, sandwiching 3-pointers around a layup, to take the quarter, 16-12 (Stony Brook +2 on aggregate).

The Bears bounced back with a productive third quarter, spurred by their defense. The Danes followed a Seamus Scanlon layup with a 3-pointer as they took an early 5-2 lead. A Narain layup cut it to 4-5 before CJ Edwards grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the bucket for a 6-5 lead. Narain and Peter Simone had consecutive steals and scores for a 10-5 advantage, then a turnover forced by the press led to a Seamus Scanlon floater. 12-5. An Edwards finger roll gave the Brook a 14-5 lead before Hjemly closed with two straight buckets as the Bears took the frame, 14-9 (Stony Brook +7 on aggregate).

Jerry Li and Sobel opened the fourth frame with buckets, but consecutive 3-pointers gave Hjemly a 4-7 lead they would not relinquish in the period. Sobel added a putback, but the Bears dropped the quarter, 6-7 (Stony Brook +6 on aggregate).

In quarter #5, Seamus Scanlon and Narain gave the Bears a 4-0 lead with a pair of layups. Antonio Rizzo followed a Danish 3-pointer with a steal and layup before the Danes added two more trifectas for a 9-6 lead. Colin Scanlon’s 3-pointer knotted the period at 9-9, but the Danes retook the lead with consecutive baskets. Colin Scanlon stole a ball under the Danes’ basket and scored at the buzzer, but the Brook dropped the frame, 11-13 (Stony Brook +4 on aggregate).

A Narain 3-pointer and baskets from Sam Hou and Josh Aduba gave the Brook a 7-2 lead in the sixth and final frame. Hjemly closed to within 7-5, but Narain connected on another trifecta and followed with a steal and score as the Brook won the final frame, 12-7 (Stony Brook +9 on aggregate).

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