Island varsity notches big win over East Rockaway

On Saturday, December 9, the Shelter Island School varsity boys basketball team broke a 25-game losing streak against East Rockaway, beating the visitors in a thriller, 60-59.

The junior varsity team did not fair as well, losing 48 to 23. The JV game was well played, especially by freshman Wyatt Congdon, who scored 18 of Shelter Island total points.

Junior Nico Seddio tipped off to start the varsity game, marking the beginning of a riveting contest from the start to the final buzzer. Sophomore Walter Richards was back on the court serving as point guard after being sidelined in the previous home game Wednesday with a sprained ankle. Richards and Seddio were indispensable on defense throughout the game.

Highlights of the match included a deep, 3-point shot by junior Nick Young with seven seconds left in the first half, earning him a standing ovation from the home-town crowd. The Shelter Island fans and varsity teammates relied on junior Erik Thilberg and sophomore Lucas Quigley-Dunning to keep the score tilted in the Islanders’ favor, plus sophomore Dan Martin’s free throws throughout the game were crucial to the victory.

Going into the second half, the Islanders were still firmly in the lead with the scoreboard reading 37 to East Rockaway’s 25. But the third quarter began to look grim as East Rockaway crept up steadily. As the margin separating the teams slimmed, the volume of the crowd grew.

The atmosphere was tense with the score tied at 39. But Quigley-Dunning, one of the varsity’s top scorers, buried a basket, putting the Islanders in the lead going down to the wire for the win by the single point.