Shelter Island varsity boys rolling with three wins in row

The Shelter Island School boys varsity basketball team posted their third straight victory and first league win with a solid 69-55 victory over Greenport Tuesday night on the Porters’ home floor.

Tristan Wissemann scored 35 points and had a team high 11 rebounds, with Billy Boeklen contributing 17 points and handing out a team-high six assists. Senior Jack Kimmelmann played a strong game, scoring 6 points, collecting four assists and gathering in six rebounds.

But it was Luke Gilpin, coming off the bench, who provided a significant lift for his team. Gilpin had a season high eight rebounds, four assists and four points.

The game was close at the close of the first quarter with the Indians holding on for a 13-12 point advantage. They extended that lead to 7 points at halftime (31-24). But it was the decisive third quarter, with the Indians scoring 27 points, which enabled them to build a 58-41 lead. Coach Jay Card’s only concern was several of his key players were in foul trouble, but the bench came through after both Peter Kropf and Semaj Lawrence fouled out during the 4th quarter.

Coach Card was proud of his team and felt that they demonstrated a lot determination and heart.

It was an unusually warm night for December 11 when the Island basketball fans gathered in the school gym for the first boys varsity home game of the season against East Rockaway.

Appropriately, the Island boys kept the heat on the visitors for the whole game and won 74-53.

The boys’ junior varsity game started the night with the big hometown crowd watching and cheering on the team. The JV team lost to East Rockaway but the team showed offensive skills and defensive quickness during the game. Coach Ian Kanarvogel has a young squad and the contest provided him with direction for aspects of the game to focus on in future practices.

During warm ups for the varsity game, East Rockaway, in orange and black, looked poised, and the Islanders in traditional blue and gray were relaxed but focused on their home court.

Lawrence won the tip at center court and Wissemann hit a quick three from the corner to open the game. Boeklen stole a ball for a layup and East Rockaway called a time out with the Island up 5-2. The visitors kept the score close, hitting some big threes, with the first quarter ending in an East Rockaway lead of 17-15.

Max Moroz opened the scoring of the second quarter with a two pointer to tie the game at 17. The Blue and Gray built a small lead when Wissemann put in a layup to make the score 27-23. Lawrence made a nice play off a hard, crisp pass in the lane to pad to the lead. Another 3- pointer by Wissemann gave the Islanders a 36-29 lead at the half.

East Rockaway came out on fire after the intermission, quickly scoring 7 points to tie the game at 36. A nervous murmur could be heard in the stands as an important timeout was called by the coaches. The Islanders refocused with Kropf putting up a big 3-point shot. Boeklen also hit a trey and the Islander’s lead was 48-37. During the scoring surge, Boeklen made a nice play diving for a ball heading out of bounds. A neat pass to Jack Kimmelman who dished the ball to Wissemann cashed in 2 points.

The quarter ended with the Islanders up 56- 42.

The fourth quarter started with five seniors on the floor and the Island with a comfortable lead of 60-44.
Wissemann led the team with 31 points, Boeklen had 17, and Lawrence finished with 10. The Islanders showed offensive balance with nine players scoring during the game.

The next day the varsity traveled to Hampton Bays for a non-league game and won again 56-47.

The Blue and Gray were down 33-29 at halftime but decided to change their defensive scheme, playing a more up-tempo 1-3-1 alignment in the second half. The Islanders out-scored their opponents 27-14 in the closing two quarters.

The team was led by Wissemann with 24 points, including a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line. He also grabbed a team high twelve rebounds. Boeklen added an additional 18 points and Kropf scored 6 points.

Junior transfer Luke Gilpin came off the bench and played superbly on defense, putting lots of pressure on the top of the zone.

The Islanders shot a sizzling 22 of 28 from the free throw line.

The next league game is on Tuesday, December 22nd at 6:15 p.m. at Pierson.