Island boys varsity basketball team drops one to Stony Brook

The Shelter Island boys varsity basketball team traveled to Stony Brook on Friday, Dec. 6, losing to the Bears 72-57 in a non-league game.

The game was closely contested in the first half, with the Bears leading 34-29 at halftime. Junior Wyatt Congdon came off the bench scoring 10 of his game high 17 points in the first half, totaling five 3-point shots in the game. Shelter Island had totaled 21 field goals in the game, 10 of which were from behind the 3-point line.

Both Lucas Quigley-Dunning (14) and Walter Richards (10) were in double figures, with Dan Martin contributing an additional 8 points. Senior Walter Richards had a season high 15 rebounds, 11 of which were off the offensive glass. Martin (5) and Brandon Velasquez (5) combined for an additional 10 rebounds.

Dunning led the Indians with six assists and Velasquez had a team high three steals.
The difference in the game was a result of too many Indian turnovers, 27 over the course of 32 minutes. It is extremely difficult to beat a good team — and Stony Brook is traditionally a very good team — when a team commits that many turnovers. These are lost scoring opportunities and the Bears took advantage of the situation, scoring off transition for some easy baskets.

The Bears had four players in double digits, led by Colin Scanlon (17) and Owen Sobel (17) who combined for 34 points.

Coach Jay Card Jr. thought his team played a good game overall, except for the 27 turnovers, which is about 12-15 too many, especially if the Indians were looking to earn a road win over a tough team.

Nevertheless, there were some positives and Coach Card wanted his team to be challenged during the non-league season.