On this day six years ago, the boys’ basketball team avenged the loss in the previous year’s County Championship with a 51-50 win over Pierson that gave them sole possession of first place in League VIII. Here is the recap of the game from Cailin Riley of the East Hampton Press.

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First League Loss for Pierson

Buzzer-beating shots are becoming a trend when the Pierson and Stony Brook boys’ basketball teams meet, although in their most recent battle, a last-second three-pointer was decidedly anti-climactic.

The Whalers fell one point short in a 51-50 battle on the road against the Bears on January 15, in a game featuring two undefeated squads fighting for first place in League VIII. Pierson hit a three at the buzzer that provided the final margin, but it was essentially meaningless, thanks to Stony Brook’s Andrew Daniel, who connected on two free throws with five seconds left to give his team a 51-47 lead.

The Whalers had their chances to win the game. Pat Sloane (10 points) hit a shot to put his team up, 47-46, with 40 seconds left in the game, but Stony Brook took the lead back on the next possession, scoring on an offensive putback, to go up, 48-47, with 25 seconds left. Pierson took a time out, then drew up a play, but ended up turning the ball over before getting a shot off. At that point, Pierson was forced to foul. Stony Brook hit two free throws, going up, 50-47, and then Pierson came down the court and missed on a three-point attempt, forcing them to foul again. That’s when Daniel hit two more free throws, essentially sealing the win for his team.

Pierson head coach Dan White said his team simply didn’t do enough in the latter stages of the game to get the win.

“In the third quarter, and early in the fourth, we missed five transition layups,” he said. “We just didn’t execute down the stretch. But I was encouraged, to say the least. We played well and only turned the ball over 11 times, which is pretty good. And they didn’t kill us on the boards.”

White said that rebounding was a concern going into the game because Stony Brook possesses two very tall players in Daniel and Michael Dingammadji.

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The Bears went on to win the League Championship for the second straight year and would further avenge their championship loss to Pierson by winning the first of five consecutive County titles, the first four at Pierson’s expense.

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