Island basketball team stung by Killer Bees

The Bridgehampton Killer Bees welcomed the Islanders into their new gymnasium on Monday, Dec. 13 for a conference game.

For those who remember the old gymnasium, this new facility is a much-improved venue with a regulation high school basketball court. The old gym truly did seem like a “bee hive” for those visiting teams trying to negotiate the much smaller court, and this game became one-sided from the opening tip.

Bridgehampton began the game utilizing a full court man-to-man press and the Islanders struggled to get the ball across the half court line, committing 20 1st-quarter turnovers, resulting in a 36-1 deficit after just 8 minutes. 

It’s difficult to explain and understand why the Killer Bees continued to employ this press throughout the 1st half, running up a 55-5 score by the intermission.

Although the home team played their 2nd team during the 2nd quarter, it seemed to be unnecessary to continue their full-court pressure defense.

To editorialize a bit: In my almost 40 years of coaching varsity boys basketball, I’ve never witnessed this kind of unsportsmanlike behavior. This is not about sour grapes. It’s about fairness, compassion and understanding of what the high school athletic experience should be.

You’re not just a coach, you’re a teacher and a responsible adult who tries to instill sportsmanship in every one of your athletes.

Bridgehampton’s varsity coach did not press in the 2nd half of the game and still outscored the Islanders 31-11.  The final score was 86-16.

On a bright spot, freshman guard Harrison Weslek scored a team-high 11 points. Bridgehampton scoring was led by Alex Davis (18), Scott Viniski (18) and Kristopher Vinski with (15), who combined for 51 total points.