Islanders basketball team stung by Killer Bees: Coaches say team fought hard, never gave up
The Shelter Island Schoolboys varsity basketball team faced the Bridgehampton Killer Bees on Friday, Dec. 20.
Following the team’s first win against the Ross School the previous Saturday, the Islanders dropped two games: Southold on Monday, Dec. 16, and Saint Pius V School at home on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
The Killer Bees opened the scoring with a kick-out pass for a 3-pointer and quickly set up a full-court press. Bridgehampton extended their lead with an additional 10 points before Shelter Island broke through.
A bounce pass from sophomore Harry Clark led senior Harrison Weslek into a layup, scoring Shelter Island’s first 2 points. Despite adding 4 more points, the Islanders gave up another 12, ending the first quarter behind 24-6.
Shelter Island started the second quarter strong, as sophomore Evan Weslek drove past his defender for a baseline jump shot. On the next play, freshman Ryan Sanwald found senior Harrison Weslek cutting through the elbow for an open layup. Three Island free throws brought the Islanders to 26 with six minutes remaining in the half, but turnovers and missed rebounds allowed Bridgehampton to dominate offensively, scoring 12 unanswered points and ending the half at 38-13.
Bridgehampton’s momentum carried into the third quarter, beginning with a layup. Sophomore Evan Weslek responded with a drive and layup, followed by a pull-up jumper. Senior Harrison Weslek added an open layup in transition, but Shelter Island was shut out for the rest of the quarter as Bridgehampton scored 26 points, widening the gap to 64-19.
In the fourth quarter, both teams went to their bench, and Shelter Island’s offense found a better rhythm, adding 7 points while Bridgehampton added 11. The final score was 75-28.
After the game, the Reporter spoke with Head Coach Michael Mundy and Assistant Coach Matthew Dunning about the match up and the season so far.
Bridgehampton’s defensive pressure was evident. “They’re fast, strong, smart, and extremely well-coached. Their defensive intensity is something our guys haven’t seen yet, and it was a struggle for them,” Coach Dunning said.
Coach Mundy added, “We were not ready for their pressure defense at all.”
Despite the tough loss, there were positive takeaways. “We never gave up,” Coach Dunning noted. “It took us a while to get comfortable against their full-court press, but once we did, we were able to consistently beat it and get across half-court.” Coach Mundy said, “In the 4th quarter, we ran our offensive sets and got good looks. The guys in the game late fought hard, and it showed.”
The team has shown significant improvement since last season. Compared to last year, the Islanders’ games are much more competitive, with a 1-point win and several close losses by less than 15 points.
“Our ability to handle full-court pressure is getting there,” Coach Dunning said. “We still have a ton of work to do, but we’re figuring out how to slow things down and simplify the game.”
The Islanders are on a 17-day break before facing the Ross School at Ross on Jan. 7.
During the break, the team is focusing on shoring up their defensive game. “We’re giving up way too many second chances by not getting rebounds,” Coach Mundy said. “We’ll be doing a lot of rebounding work over the break.”
Coach Dunning added, “We’re also working on ball pressure defense, help defense, defending screens, setting good screens, boxing out, fighting for rebounds, running our offenses fully, ball handling, and general shooting—but our main focus is rebounding.”
The team will face the Greenport Porters at home on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 4:30 p.m.
