Indians battle to the buzzer, fall to Porters

The boys varsity basketball team traveled to Greenport Friday, December 12 for their 2014-15 season opener. Coach Jay Card wanted his team to be competitive in every game this year and he wasn’t disappointed by his team’s effort.

But the Indians fell in a nail-biter to the Porters, 65-62, with a three point attempt missing at the buzzer.

The Porters were coming off a loss in their first league game against Bridgehampton and came out strong against the Indians in the first quarter, hitting seven field goals on their way to a 15-10 score.

The Porters did an excellent job mixing up their defenses and focusing their attention at holding junior standout Tristan Wissemann, the only returning starter for the Indians this year and Billy Boeklen, another of the Island’s scoring threats, in check. Wissemann (7) and Boeklen (3) combined for all of their team’s first quarter points.

Both teams played a fairly up tempo game, each scoring 16 points in the second quarter, with the Indians trailing 31-26 at halftime. Greenport’s Timmy Stevens had the hot hand, scoring 14 first half points, on his way to a team high 19 points.

Nevertheless, Coach Card was pleased with his team’s effort and stressed the importance of keeping turnovers to a minimum, as well as focusing on good ball movement on the offensive end.

During the third quarter, the Porters continued to change their defenses, sometimes going to a triangle and two, then a 1-2-2 zone, then to a box and one. They continued to work at shutting down Wissemann.

Fortunately, Sawyer Clark and Johnny Sturges picked up their game, combining for 22 points. Clark played extremely hard on both ends of the court but picked up his fourth foul, as did Boeklen, in the fourth quarter, with the result that both players had to play carefully throughout the fourth, limiting their ability to operate aggressively on the perimeter.

The Indians trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but fought their way back, trailing 49-45 as time expired. The same scenario happened in the fourth quarter, with the Indians coming back from a 10 point deficit, to take the lead at 61-60.

Once again, Wissemann, who had a game high 24 points, shooting a combined 8 for 12 from the floor, as well as connecting on seven of seven from the foul line, was a major factor. In addition, he had a team high 14 rebounds and four steals. Boeklen led the team with four assists and scored nine points. Semaj Lawrence, playing in his first varsity game, scored four points and grabbed five rebounds. Both Peter Kropf (three points) and Jack Kimmelmann did a nice job coming off the bench.

Unfortunately, the Indians were unable to stop the Porters during their last two possessions, missed some free throws and committed a turnover. But they battled to the end.

Looking on the bright side, the team shot 56 percent from two point range and put forth a solid effort for 32 minutes. As Coach Card said, “it’s a learning experience and it’s our first game.” He was pleased with the offensive effort but will focus on improving defensively, limiting turnovers, as well as recognizing and adapting to special defenses, like the box and one or the triangle and two.

The Indians will travel to Southold on Friday, December 19th, for their second league game tipping off at 6:15 p.m..

The team always appreciates your support and would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday.
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