Photos by Jed Lazzeri
Yesterday evening, Swanson Gymnasium hosted another in a long line of classics as the boys’ basketball team topped Holy Trinity, 70-67, in a non-league thriller.
Coming into the game, the Titans were ranked #20 in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association and moved up to #16 in this morning’s updated poll that accounted for games played through Sunday. Based on Holy Trinity’s rank alone, it will go down as one of the program’s most impressive victories, but the belief, grit, and tenacity the Bears displayed ensures this game will be remembered for years to come.
The contest opened with a brisk pace that didn’t let up for the full 32 minutes. The Bears and Titans were locked at 6-6 following a Dylan Kopp 3-pointer, but Trinity showed their depth and execution on a 14-2 run, during which they buried four 3-pointers and built a 20-8 lead in a blink. A Kopp putback brought the Bears back to 10-20 before another trifecta, two free throws, and a layup gave the Titans a commanding 27-10 margin. Nate Small hit a three in the waning moments before Kopp slammed home what could have been a momentum-steering dunk, but it was waved off after the buzzer, and the Bears walked into the huddle trailing 27-13.
The Bears battled in the second quarter, chipping their deficit under 10 on four occasions and inching as close as three points at 29-32 following an Orlando Morris 3-pointer, but the Titans had an answer every time and took a 43-32 lead into the break following a layup at the buzzer.
When trailing by 11 points, the first four minutes of the third quarter often decide whether the game will remain close or turn into a blowout, and the Bears came out of the half looking to stay in the fight. A Kopp 3-pointer preceded an and-1 from Randolph Logan to pull the Bears back within 43-47. Following a Trinity layup, Kopp hit another 3-pointer that edged the Bears within 46-49. The Titans answered with a three of their own, but Michael Xiang connected on an and-1 to bring the crowd to their feet and keep The Brook within striking distance at 49-52. From there, the Titans scored the last six points of the frame to take a 58-49 lead into the final eight minutes.
Despite facing a healthy deficit entering the fourth quarter, the Bears had all the energy in the opening minutes of the fourth as they scored the quarter’s first eight points by way of the fastbreak. Logan stole the ball on the opening Titan possession and fed Kopp for a two-handed slam (that counted this time). Small then scored a fastbreak layup and a jumper before feeding Kopp ahead of the pack for a layup to pull within 57-58. The most impressive part of the spurt was that the Bears simply ran past the Titans, who should have been the more rested team with a deep bench that subbed often.
Trinity stemmed the tide with a pair of layups to push their lead back to 62-57, but Jeremiah Coty poked the ball away and dove on the floor to maintain a key possession for the Bears. The play summed up the fight the Bears were prepared to wage until the final buzzer and ushered in a game-changing run. Small, who was a catalyst on both sides of the ball in the fourth, hit a runner, then picked off a pass and took it in for a layup as the Bears chipped back within 61-62. Following another Logan steal, Kopp raced ahead of the pack and scored a layup to give the Bears their first lead of the game, 63-62. It would be the first of five lead changes in the frame as two excellent teams continued to battle in the game’s biggest moments.
Trinity retook a 64-63 lead on a layup, Kopp gave the Bears a 66-65 edge on a fastbreak layup, and Trinity answered with another lay-in to take their final lead at 67-66. With just over a minute left, Morris charged toward the basket on a fastbreak and converted what appeared to be a lead-changing layup, but the basket was waved off on a charge, and the Bears had to dig in for a key defensive possession. They came up with the stop they needed and once again looked to turn a defensive rebound into a fastbreak layup, but the offering rimmed out. The Bears snagged the offensive rebound to maintain possession with 22 seconds left and as the final seconds ticked down, Morris drove, drew a defender, and found Small on the right wing for a deep 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left that brought a roar from the Swanson faithful and gave The Brook the lead for good at 69-67.
Out of a timeout, Trinity got the look they wanted but missed a corner 3-pointer that fell safely into the hands of Logan. Trinity fouled to stop the clock with one second left and Logan hit the front end of a one-and-one before rebounding his own miss on the second to seal the win.
Kopp led all scorers with 26 points and used his speed and tenacity to get the Bears key buckets all game. Small, who played perhaps the most impressive game of his Bear career, scored 18 points, including 11 in the fourth, and was the heart and soul for The Brook on both sides of the ball. Logan finished with 10 points and 3 steals and made key plays down the stretch. Morris had 7 points, but can you put a number on his ability to knife through the Titans’ pressure and find open teammates? His surehandedness was vital to the Bears’ yesterday. Xiang (3), Coty (3), and Fraysser Torres (2) each came up with huge plays.
The Bears return to PSAA action tomorrow afternoon against Waldorf at Island Garden, kicking off a key stretch of six straight away games that includes match-ups with Long Island Lutheran, Chaminade (NL), Martin Luther, and Knox.
Big win for the Bears program. It looks like they are one of the teams to beat in the PSAA, along with LWA and LuHi Regional.
~ LongIslandBasketball.com
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