Varsity basketball boys win a barn burner

The Shelter Island boys varsity basketball team earned a hard-fought 63-59 win in overtime at Greenport to notch an early season league victory. A nail-biter start to finish, it provided 200 spectators with an exciting contest.

Greenport started out quickly behind the impressive 3-point shooting of Ev Corwin and Josh Santacroce, who helped the Porters open up an 11-5 lead with 2:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Porters then took a 16-10 advantage into the second quarter, eventually building a 25-16 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. That’s when Islander Junior Gil came off the bench to hit two big 3-point shots and a lay-up. Lucas Quigley-Dunning connected on a 3-point shot and suddenly the Indians had cut the lead to 3-points, trailing 30-27 by the intermission.

The third quarter belonged to Quigley-Dunning, who scored 7 consecutive points, giving his team the lead 37-34. Walter Richards hit some big shots and grabbed numerous rebounds and setting screens for his teammates. But the Porters were not going away; they hustled, gathered numerous offensive rebounds and fought back to tie the score at 40-40 at the end of the third quarter.

Both teams battled throughout the fourth, exchanging the lead several times. The Indians trailed 48-46 late in the game when Dan Martin delivered a nice bounce pass to Richards cutting to the basket, tying the score at 48. With just over a minute remaining in the game, Richards was fouled and hit both free throws, giving his team a commanding 52-48 advantage.

But the Porters came back, scoring 5 unanswered points for a 53-52 lead, as Santacroce hit a 3-point shot with just seconds remaining. After a missed shot, the Indians dove on the floor, creating a jump ball, as the arrow was pointing to the Indians. After inbounding the ball, Gil missed a long 3-pointer, but Richards got the rebound and was fouled with .3 seconds left in regulation.

Richards missed the first of a two-shot foul, but hit the second, tying the game at 53.
Martin opened the overtime by hitting a 3-point shot, giving the Indians a 56-53 lead.

The Porters then scored on an in-bound play under their own basket. In the following possession, Richards got an offensive rebound and easy lay-up to give the Indians a 58-55 lead.

Greenport regained the lead in the closing minute, after Santacroce got fouled and made both free throws, giving Greenport the lead 59-58. Once again, Richards grabbed an offensive rebound and scored another easy bucket inside the lane. The Indians now led 60-59 with just 4.5 seconds remaining in the overtime.

They got a steal and the Porters fouled Quigley-Dunning, who made two more free throws. Brandon Velasquez, who played well down the stretch, added another free throw with less than 1 second remaining, securing the victory, 63-59.

Senior Quigley-Dunning had a game high 26 points, including four 3-pointers. Junior Gil contributed 14 points and Walter Richards added another 13 points and a game high 14 rebounds.

The Indians travel to Sag Harbor for a league game against Pierson on Friday, Dec. 13 at 6:15 p.m. The team welcomes your support.