Boys Basketball: Indians fall in fourth quarter nail-biter

The varsity and JV boys basketball squads travelled to Ross looking for wins on January 25, but both came home with notches in their loss columns. The varsity Indians lost 59-53 and the JV fell too, 42-38.

VARSITY HUSTLES, TAKES BRIEF LEAD

The Indians were hoping for a stronger performance than they gave during their last meeting with the Cosmos on December 16, when Shelter Island fell, 77-47. This time around, the Cosmos (formerly the Ravens) had the benefit of a home court packed with especially loud fans, though  Shelter Island supporters made their voices heard, too.

The Indians came out strong and were keeping pace with the Cosmos through the first two quarters. Shelter Island had a slightly smaller roster than normal — Alex Graffagnino was sick and Chandler Olinkiewicz, who is normally a force under the boards, hurt his ankle during the first quarter and had to sit out the rest of the game.

At half time the score was 29-28, Ross. The Indians kept the pressure on in the second half. At one point in the third quarter, senior starter Kyle Johnson was playing such a tight defensive press that the Cosmos’ point guard couldn’t bring the ball up the court and the flustered Cosmos called a time out.

The Indians missed three easy layups in the third quarter, however, and Ross’s scoring leader Brandan Pettaway (with a game-high 20 points) kept drilling shot after shot. He helped bring the Cosmos to a 44-39 lead by the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter got off to a good start when Johnson stole an inbounds pass 14 seconds in and drove for a layup. The Cosmos answered with 7 straight points in the next 1:30, including a demoralizing dunk from  Roosevelt Odidi that increased their lead to 51-41.

It was clear the Indians weren’t ready to call it quits when starter Jimmy Read charged to the net at 5:59 and scored a basket while getting fouled — he then made one of his free throws. Chris Napolitano followed that up with a steal leading to a basket from Andrew BeltCappellino. The Indians earned the lead with 7 straight points of their own with a little over three minutes left.

That Indians’ basket at 3:07 turned out to be the last one they made, however. Shelter Island’s shots just weren’t sinking, and as the clock ticked down, the Cosmos added another 8 points to the score board.

“We played with a lot of heart and a lot of hustle,” Coach Mike Mundy said. “In a game like this, when it comes down to it, it’s whoever makes the most mistakes who’s going to lose. Missing those easy shots killed us.”

“Shelter Island and Ross always play good games, no matter what,” Cosmos Coach Kelly McKey commented. “Shelter Island out-hustled us, they got a lot of loose balls.”

Coach Mundy explained, “Obviously we don’t want to get complacent and settle for losing, but we’ll be happy with improvement, and I think there was some improvement out there tonight.”

Tuesday’s home game against Stony Brook was cancelled due to the inclement weather. The varsity boys play at Bridgehampton Friday at 6 p.m.

JV OUTSCORES ROSS IN SECOND HALF

“I think we probably played one of our best team games,” observed JV Coach Jay Card. “The kids played well together, they worked hard, everybody was in the game and everybody contributed, either on offense or defense.”

The Indians came out a little slow and allowed the Cosmos to earn a 30-22 lead by the end of the first half. The Island squad was plagued by multiple turnovers and missing some easy shots. “We’ll drill layups a little bit more and hopefully we can correct that,” Coach Card said.

The Indians stepped their game up in the second half and held the Cosmos to just 12 points while scoring 16, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their early-game deficit.

Boxing out under the net has been a weak point for the JV Indians in the past, but they did better in this game. “The guys were focusing a little bit more, but we still have room for improvement,” Coach Card said. “When you don’t get every rebound you still have room for improvement.”

Myles Clark played an especially strong game, and led the team with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to tip the score. “It’s a shame,” Coach Card explained, “because the kids are playing good games but it’s not showing up on the scoreboard at the end. But today was an improvement on team play, so that’s a positive step.”

Tuesday’s game against Stony Brook was cancelled due to the weather. The JV team plays at Smithtown Christian tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.