Varsity shoots down Ravens

Phil McEnroe encounters some resistance from a Ross defender as he drives to the net.


It was a game of records for the varsity boys in their match-upagainst Ross. The Indians conquered the Ravens with a season-high68 points, with help from Dustin Mulcahy’s career-high 23rebounds.

After a heartbreaking 3-point loss at the Ravens’ home courtduring their first contest on December 17, the Indians were readyto redeem themselves on their home court last Friday.

After the tip-off, the Indians jumped out to an early lead,scoring 16 points while keeping Ross to just 9 at the end of thefirst quarter. Strong scoring from Mike Mundy, who had a team-hightotal of 20 points, and Mulcahy, right behind with 19 points of hisown, gave Shelter Island an edge from the start.

But Ross rallied during the second quarter and ended the halftrailing 29-27. Coach Michael Mundy was concerned with some earlyfoul trouble, which landed son Mike Mundy on the bench for twominutes in the first half and threatened to sideline AndrewBeltCappellino as well.

Coach Mundy said that other than players fouling out, his onlyconcern was a meltdown similar to the one the Indians experiencedduring their game against Stony Brook on January 6: the Indianskept it to a 5-point game until they gave up 12 points in the last2:30 of the game.

The boys avoided any sign of such a meltdown through the thirdquarter but faltered during the fourth, when repeated fouls putBeltCappellino on the bench and gave Ross some easy points. Thefinal quarter began with a Ross lead, 46-44. Solid rebounds fromMundy and Mulcahy added up to a Shelter Island lead, 51-48.

The referee called a foul on Mulcahy that got Coach Mundy workedup. Fans could hear Rebecca Mundy, from the top of the stands,reminding the coach to “breathe.

Ross scored its foul shots, bringing the score to 51-50. KyleJohnson scored twice, and Connor Needham snuck one in from behindthe board for a 57-50 SI lead. Ross scored but in the nextpossession Mundy faked out Ross defenders, looking like he wassetting up a play but suddenly broke for the hoop and rolled in thelayup – 59-52. The ball changed hands and eventually an Islandersteal and pass to Mulcahy got them a 61-52 lead. An Indian foulresulted in a Ross free throw, 61-53.

After a time out, Mundy broke for another layup to give thesquad a nice 63-53 lead with just 1:22 left.

But as the clock wound down, so did the Indians’ lead. Fans werecalling for the team to slow down the game, but they pushed aheadand got foul after foul, including a technical that resulted in astring of free shots.

Ross scored five unanswered free throws to bring the score to63-58. Then Needham drew a foul and got his second shot in. Thenext play put him on the free throw line; his first shot went inand Doug Binder got the rebound on the second, which missed. Binderwas fouled and swished two shots from the line.

Ross wasn’t done yet, and made a 3-pointer. The score was 67-61with 8 seconds left. Mundy was fouled, and his second shot went in;68-61.

Ross drew a traveling call with 4 seconds left. As soon as SIthrew the ball in, Ross fouled, sending Binder to the line. Neithershot made it but it didn’t matter – time was up and the Indians hadbeaten their rival.

The boys faced some fierce shooting opposition throughout thematch: Ross’s Brendan Pettaway led the game in scoring with 33points, sinking 18 of his 25 free throws. That’s only slightlyfewer than the entire Shelter Island team, which scored 21 of its36 free throw attempts.

What they lacked in accuracy at the line, the boys more thanmade up for with rebounds and strong shooting, which were essentialto their victory. Coach Mundy said Mulcahy in particular”controlled the boards immensely.

The Indians’ shooting percentage has improved significantly,especially from the outside, commented Coach Mundy. The boys arebeginning to take more attempts at the net, which seems to havepaid.

They’ve refined their defensive game, too. “We play a muchbetter man defense, said Coach Mundy. “Last time [on December 17],they beat us by 3, and we played a lot of zone on them last time. Ithink that kept them in the game.

No such luck for the Ravens this time, as this man-to-mandefense, combined with a powerful presence beneath the boards,squashed any chance for a Ravens comeback as the boys kept up thepressure.

The JV team had a tough time in their contest with Ross. Despitestrong performances from the team’s leading scorers, ChandlerOlinkiewicz (10 points), Jimmy Read (9 points) and Lennon Sarfati(8 points), the Indians ultimately lost 43-33.

The boys play again at Stony Brook home court tomorrow. JV tipsoff at 5 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m.