Islanders play last game at Bridgehampton’s Bee Hive
The Shelter Island boys’ varsity basketball team visited Bridgehampton on February 7 for a League VIII game. Fortunately for the Indians, sophomore Lucas Quigley-Dunning returned to the starting line-up after missing five games with an ankle injury.
Unfortunately, starting guard Walter Richards became ill and could not play. This would be the last time that Shelter Island would play in the old gym, better known as the “Bee Hive.” A new gymnasium is being built and should be ready by next year.
The Indians played an outstanding first half, trailing their opponents 20-21 after the first quarter and by a score of 37-36 at halftime. All five starters for the Indians scored in the opening period with Dan Martin (9) and Luke Gilpin (12) combining for 21 of their team’s 36 first half points.
Shelter Island played with confidence, exhibited superb passing and took high percentage shots. Although they committed too many turnovers and got beat on the backboards, they still kept the game close.
The Indians executed a perfect inbounds play to start the third period and took a 1-point lead. But there was little doubt that the Killer Bees finally got the message and picked up their defensive intensity. Suddenly, the Indians went cold from the field, committed a few costly turnovers and found themselves down 57-46 after three quarters.
The Indians managed to eventually find themselves on the offensive end, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter, only to have their opponents post 27-points in the final eight minutes. In the end, Bridgehampton pulled away and recorded an 84-66 win.
The Bees were led by J.P. Harding, who scored a game high 37 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, while his teammate Elijah White added an additional 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, a “triple double”.
Meanwhile, the Islanders were led by senior Luke Gilpin with 28 points, 14 of which came in the 4th quarter. Junior Nico Seddio played a solid game and has continued to show improvement on the court. Seddio had 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Finally, teammates Thilberg (9), Martin (9) and Quigley-Dunning (7) combined for 25 points.
For those Islanders that traveled to Bridgehampton on a very rainy night, they were not disappointed. The game itself was a lot closer than the final score indicated. Overall, the team played hard and competed throughout the 32-minte contest.
The Killer Bees are now 8-3 in League VIII, trailing Greenport, which sports a perfect 11-0 league record.
Coach Jay Card Jr. and his team are hoping to put together their best effort in their last home game against Smithtown Christian on Friday, February 9. The Indians had lost a tough 1-point game at Smithtown Christian in their first meeting.
Coach Card is hoping that his loyal Shelter Island fan base will attend their season finale. Game time is at 5:45 p.m.
