Yesterday evening, in an absolutely electric Swanson Gymnasium, the boys’ basketball team prevailed over Long Island Lutheran, 62-61, to book a trip to the PSAA Championship for a second straight year.
Last night’s game came on the heels of a thrilling Friday night match-up that saw the Bears edge LuHi 85-77 to clinch the tournament’s #2 seed. With that game fresh on their minds, LuHi came out on a mission, building an 11-3 lead that included an emphatic alley-oop dunk. Paul Coty gave the Bears a huge lift early with a four-point play to close within four, but LuHi responded by stretching the lead to 10. The Bears trimmed their deficit back to six following a steal and layup from Nate Small, but a 3-pointer in the closing seconds gave LuHi a 24-15 advantage after one.
The Bears opened the second quarter with five quick points to get within 20-24 before Luhi answered with a jumper and layup that pushed their margin back to eight. LuHi was playing with a different energy than five nights earlier and seemed to have an answer every time the Bears lunged for the momentum, which is what made the Bears’ ensuing 12-0 so impressive. Orlando Morris began the run with a layup off of an offensive rebound. He scored seconds later when he intercepted the inbound pass and scored a tough layup in traffic. An alley-oop layup to Dylan Kopp closed the Bears within 26-28 before a pair of Kopp free throws tied the game. Layups from Fraysser Torres and Small gave the Bears their first lead at 32-28 before a LuHi layup ended the surge. The key run powered The Brook to a 34-31 advantage at the half.
LuHi immediately grabbed the lead back with a floater and a 3-pointer. The visitors led for most of the frame before Morris used a beautiful Andreas Simoni screen to connect on a floater that gave the Bears a 41-40 lead. A baseline pull-up from Small and a Kopp and-1 extended the lead to 46-40 and charged up the Swanson faithful. Following a LuHi jumper, Kopp stole the ball at midcourt and finished a thunderous slam on the other end, but the crowd’s roar was shortlived as LuHi answered with a 3-pointer on the other end that left the Bears ahead 48-45 entering the final frame.
The fourth was one to remember with four lead changes and two ties as both teams scratched, clawed, and fought for every rebound and loose ball with victory hanging in the balance. LuHi tied the game at 48-48 with a free throw and layup before the Bears pushed the lead back to 52-48 following layups from Torres and Small. LuHi answered on consecutive possessions with a pair of 3-pointers, the second while being fouled, giving them a 7-0 spurt in a blink that left the Bears behind 52-55. Kopp sent another charge through Swanson when he again stole the ball and slammed it home to bring the Bears back within one with 3:36 left, but LuHi again answered a dunk with a 3-pointer to keep their lead at four. Kopp and Morris followed with layups to knot the game at 58-58 with 2:15 left as the game entered its tensest moments.
Kopp gave the Bears a slight edge with 1:06 remaining when he fouled out LuHi’s big man and hit 1-of-2 free throws for a 59-58 lead. A pair of LuHi free throws gave the visitors the lead back with 56.7 seconds left, but Torres responded with a huge layup that gave the Bears a 61-60 lead with 44 seconds left. As “De-Fence!” cheers shook Swanson, Kopp swiped the ball at midcourt and was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Bears a 62-60 lead.
Following a LuHi timeout, Small came up with a massive steal with just 10.2 remaining. LuHi fouled to stop the clock with 5.5 remaining, but the Bears missed both free throws to keep the door open for a comeback. LuHi inbounded and drew a foul with 2.3 seconds left with a chance to knot the game in the waning seconds. After LuHi hit the first, the noise in Swanson reached a crescendo as the second shot caromed off the rim, setting off a mad scramble for the ball. It was deflected out of bounds with just 0.5 seconds remaining. The referee gave possession to the Bears as the crowd roared. A deep inbounds pass to Kopp ran off the remaining fractions of time as the students spilled out of the stands to celebrate an exhilarating win.
Kopp, Long Island’s leading private school scorer at 22.9 ppg, led the Bears with 22 points. He showed time and again that he’s built for the big moments with huge shots and key defensive stops. Small scored 13 points and displayed his full offensive repertoire. His steal with 10 seconds left was monumental. Morris was the third Bear in double-figures with 10 points, including a huge bucket that knotted the game with 2:15 left. Torres scored 6, including the layup that gave the Bears the lead for good. His defense was critical in preventing LuHi from stretching their lead midway through the quarter. Simoni scored 4 points and was a huge presence down the stretch for the Bears, pulling down key rebounds through contact and making life difficult when LuHi tried to attack the rim. Coty scored 4 points and brought his energy and athleticism to both sides of the ball. Randolph Logan scored 3 points, giving The Brook a lift despite not being 100%.
The Bears move on to the PSAA Championship vs. #1 Lawrence Woodmere on Friday @ 5:00pm at Stony Brook University’s Pritchard Gymnasium. The Bears and Tigers split their regular season match-ups and are set for a titanic third tilt for the crown.
Notes
This is the Bears’ 13th championship berth in the last 18 years, dating back to 2006… the Bears and LuHi have been neck-and-neck the last three years. They split their two regular season match-ups each of the last three seasons. In their only other postseason match-up, the Bears prevailed in the 2022 PSAA quarterfinals, 51-47… the Bears finish undefeated at home this season at 12-0.
stonybrookbears.org 