On Friday night, the boys’ basketball team delighted a packed Swanson Gymnasium with an electric 64-61 victory over Knox on the 7th Annual Silent Night, an annual tradition where our Christmas-clad crowd remains completely silent until the Bears’ 10th point.

Both match-ups with the Falcons were taut last year as the Bears pulled out a last-second 51-49 victory at home and a four-point win on the road. The latest installment of the crosstown rivalry did not disappoint.

The Brook opened with a pair of layups from Dylan Kopp before Knox took a narrow edge on a 3-pointer and layup. It was the first of four lead changes in the frame as both teams jockeyed for control. The Bears took a 6-5 lead on a Nate Small jumper before Paul Coty became the latest Bear to break the crowd’s silence on a steal and layup that gave the Bears a 10-7 advantage. Knox retook an 11-10 lead on a fastbreak layup and expanded their margin to 17-13 before the Bears closed the quarter on a 9-0 spurt. Kopp began the run with a 3-pointer, Randolph Logan connected on three free throws, and Small brought the crowd to its feet with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that gave the Bears a 22-17 advantage heading into the second period.

The Bears extended their scoring streak to 16-0 when they scored the first seven points of the frame in what became a 21-11 quarter. Jeremiah Coty began the quarter with a putback, then a Small steal fed Kopp for a layup before Kopp splashed a 3-pointer to extend the Bear lead to 29-17. The Bears ramped up their defensive pressure, leading to seven steals in the frame, and battled on the glass, fueling numerous second-chance buckets and closed defensive possessions.

A Knox dunk pulled them back within 10, but a technical foul for hanging on the rim negated the score when Kopp sank a pair of free throws. The Brook continued to edge out the lead from there. Kopp and Logan scored following offensive rebounds to expand the lead to 35-21. Small drove into the lane, spun, and drilled a fadeaway jumper to push it to 37-21. A 3-pointer and alley-oop layup lessened the Falcons’ deficit to 11, but the Bears closed with a flurry in a final minute that included a pair of Michael Xiang steals, an alley-oop layup from Small to Kopp, and a Kopp layup in the waning seconds to give the Bears a 43-28 lead at the half. Kopp was the catalyst in the period, scoring 15 of the Bears’ 21 second-quarter points.

The momentum the Bears stockpiled at the close of the first half seemed to evaporate during the 10-minute intermission as Knox came out and scored the first eight points of the half to pull within 36-43. Small stemmed the rising tide with a steal and coast-to-coast floater and Kopp followed with an and-1 on a falling-down floater to nudge the lead back to 48-36. Those buckets began an 11-0 surge that left the Bears ahead by their largest margin, 54-36, but at the very moment it felt like The Brook would seize control for good, Knox closed the quarter with a 13-2 spurt to to trail 47-56 heading into the final frame..

Kopp began the fourth with a rebound and coast-to-coast layup. Knox then pulled within 52-58 following a 3-pointer, the closest they’d been since the first quarter, but Kopp finished another baseline-to-baseline score to expand the lead back to eight. As the fourth quarter rolled on, it was clear that Knox was not going away and that the Bears were tightening up despite having the lead, clock, and crowd on their side. The Bears had dominated the Falcons over several stretches, but decision-making and carelessness with the ball kept the door open for the visitors. A steal and layup pulled Knox back within 58-61, then a free throw edged them within 59-61 with 1:15 remaining, but Logan came up with a big steal with one minute remaining to keep Knox from tying the game.

Following an empty possession for the Bears, Small blocked a 3-point attempt, and Logan hit a layup after cutting through the lane that left the Brook up 63-59 with 22 seconds left. The Bears then stole the ball on the ensuing possession with 17.5 seconds left, a scenario that gave them a win probability of 99.2% according to the NBA Win Probability Calculator, but the Bears would find a way to make the closing seconds interesting for the Swanson faithful.

Up by four with possession and 17.5 seconds on the clock, the Bears could have held the ball and waited for a foul and tow free throw attempts. Instead, they attempted to throw a pass for a fastbreak layup, which was stolen and led to a Knox layup with 4.5 seconds left. Small received the ensuing in-bounds pass and was fouled with 3.7 seconds remaining. He made both free throws, but the second was waved off due to a lane violation, giving Knox a final opportunity to tie the game. The Falcons got a good look at a game-tying 3-pointer, but the shot mercifully found the back of the iron, giving the Bears a victory that was as much a relief as it was a thrill.

Kopp, who is currently #2 on the Long Island private school scoring list at 24.5 points per game, led all scorers with 29. Small (15), Logan (12), Paul Coty (4), Jeremiah Coty (2), and Alvin Zhou (2) completed the scoring effort for the Bears.

The victory improved the Bears’ league record to 4-1 entering tonight’s key match-up at home vs. Portledge, a rematch of last year’s PSAA Championship game.

---

Silent Night History

Dec. 8, 2023	vs. Knox	W 64-61	Paul Coty layup
Dec. 9, 2022	vs. Portledge	L 40-43
Dec. 6, 2019	vs. Shelter Island	W 72-55	Colin Scanlon 3-Pointer
Dec. 15, 2018	vs. Smithtown Christian	W 52-23	Seamus Scanlon FT
Dec. 2, 2017	vs. Shelter Island	W 68-46	Emil Vaughn 3-pointer
Dec. 9, 2016	vs. Ross School	W 50-26	Seamus Scanlon 3-pointer
Dec. 5, 2015	vs. Rocky Point	W 76-60	Luke O’Connor layup