Slow but steady progress for boys basketball team
Luke Gilpin hitting teammate Kal Lewis with a pass in Shelter Island’s February 1 home loss to Greenport.
Shelter Island boys basketball hosted the Greenport Porters on February 1, resulting in a 95-58 loss. But more than wins and losses, this year has been about improvement and making progress as a team.
The Porters are a much-improved team, even handing a strong Bridgehampton team a decisive defeat. The Porters had five players in double figures and solid performances off the bench. There’s no doubt, that Greenport has a fine team and should do well in the post season.
On the positive side for the Islanders, the team continues to improve offensively, with three starters in double figures against Greenport. Once again, junior Luke Gilpin led the Indians with 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots and two steals. Gilpin is establishing a consistency in his performances on the court, much to the delight of his teammates and Coach Jay Card Jr.
Sophomore Eric Thilberg is back stronger than ever, scoring 14 points, shooting seven of 12 from the floor, and playing solid defense. Freshman starters Kal Lewis and Dan Martin combined for 19 points, shooting seen of 11 from 2-point range but just one of six from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Nico Seddio has gotten more playing time and has made steady progress on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.
Coach Card wants his players to exploit the lane on a more consistent basis, combining 15-foot jump shots with lay up opportunities. Overall, this year’s team is not a good 3-point shooting team. Coach Card is coaching his players to set more screens, move without the ball and attack the rim on a more consistent basis.
On Friday, February 3, the Indians took the long drive to the Stony Brook School. The host school was celebrating senior night, honoring their players in front of a big home crowd.
Here’s a quiz: What does China, the Bahamas, the Bronx, Brooklyn and New Jersey have in common? Answer:
These five places are the homes of the starting five players for Stony Brook. Having been around high school athletics for more than 43 years, it’s difficult to comprehend how this team is allowed to compete in League VIII.
Not only is its enrollment four-to-five times larger than that of Shelter Island, the school can recruit from the four corners of the earth! This may sound like sour grapes, but it’s definitely not a level playing field — not even close.
For the first time this year, the Indians went scoreless in the second quarter, scoring a mere 7 points in the first half (34-7). Fortunately, the Indians got it going in the second half, scoring 34 points. Although Gilpin struggled in the first half, he finished strong. The same can be said for Eric Thilberg with both players combining for 27 points. Evan Thilberg came off the bench to score 6 points in the second half.
The Indians shot a dismal two for 17 in the first half and committed 14 turnovers. But in the second half, they were 13 for 26 from inside the arc (0 for 5 from 3-point range), but they had just four turnovers.
Stony Brook posted an impressive 83-40 win on their court and once again, will be headed to the playoffs. Seamus Scanlon, who came off the bench, had a game high 19 points for his team.
Interesting to note: Coach Card told me that senior Stony Brook standout Jyles Etienne from the Bahamas, is a high jumper who has cleared 6’11. The world record of 6’11 ¾ was set by American Walt Davis in 1953. The record now stands at over 8 feet.
On the basketball court, Etienne is a tremendous defensive player who specializes in shot blocking and intimidating his opponents as they drive down the lane.
The Indians close out their season this week with a home game on Wednesday, February 8 against Southold and travel to Pierson on Friday, February 10.
