There was a buzz on campus yesterday and it wasn’t just from the prospect of the first snow day in two years. Postseason basketball has returned to The Brook.

Playoff hoops have been a staple of life at SBS for the last two decades with the boys’ and girls’ teams combining for 24 postseason championships since 2006, not to mention the 16 combined regular season titles during that span.

The boys’ team opened the latest season of postseason basketball with a match-up vs. #7 Waldorf in the PSAA quarterfinals that saw the Bears in attack mode right from the start. Orlando Morris stole the ball on the Wolverines’ first possession and fed Dylan Kopp for a fast break layup in a harbinger of the track meet that would ensue, fueled by a frothing defense. The hosts surged to a 12-0 lead by turning defensive rebounds and turnovers into immediate points. As the lead continued to swell over the quarter, Bear guards began to resemble quarterbacks as they reared back for multiple football passes, hitting downcourt receivers for layups. A Nate Small drive and floater in the closing seconds pushed the Blue & White lead to 25-7 by the end of the frame.

The Bears pushed the lead out to 43-22 at the half behind five second-quarter steals, 15 points from Kopp, and some of the best ball movement the team showed all year. The lead continued to grow in a 24-10 third quarter, punctuated by a Kopp slam courtesy of a Small steal and assist.

With the victory firmly in hand the Bears continued to play energetic basketball over the final eight minutes. A bullet pass from Paul Coty fed Kopp for his second slam of the night and a 73-34 lead. Fraysser Torres provided the final highlight of the evening when he crushed a dunk on the head of a Waldorf defender to wake up a crowd that had been lulled to sleep by the substantial lead. The 21-13 quarter closed out the 88-45 win that gave the Bears a place in the PSAA semifinals for the third straight year.

Kopp, Long Island’s leading private school scorer and #3 overall at 22.9 ppg, scored a season-high 31 to etch his name alongside other 30-point playoff performers including Robbie Marvin ’96 and Lou Pizzichillo ’08. Morris and Coty followed up brilliant Friday night performances vs. LuHi with 16 and 11 points, respectively. Small (8), Randolph Logan (8), Torres (6), Andreas Simoni (4), Alvin Zhou (4), and Jack Bunt (3) rounded out an offense that saw nine Bears score.

The Blue & White move on to the PSAA semifinals at home on Wednesday evening where they face #3 Long Island Lutheran in a rematch just five days removed from a memorable Friday night battle that saw the Bears prevail, 85-77.

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