Varsity boys fall to St. Pius V at home: Seeking first win of young season 

Shelter Island’s varsity boys basketball team now has no wins against three losses, dropping their first two non-league contests, at the Ross School 68-38 and at home against the Mattituck Tuckers Dec. 3, and most recently, their first league game at home against St. Pius V School on Monday, Dec. 8.

Following the Islanders’ showing against the Tuckers the previous week, which after a competitive start, saw the score slowly slipping away from Shelter Island, the Islanders were eager to get back on the floor with a more consistent performance.

The boys did just that. Though they lost the tip, the defense earned three straight stops, then took it down the other end as sophomore guard Ryan Sanwald drove through a contested paint for a layup. 

Evan Weslek followed it up with two made free throws before St. Pius broke through with a baseline layup. A midrange jump shot added two more for St. Pius, which was quickly matched by junior center Ari Waife, who collected an offensive rebound and a quick putback.

Following the competitive start, with three minutes remaining on the clock, Shelter Island was unable to convert a single basket. On offense, St. Pius capitalized in the paint and on 3-pointers, adding 6 points to bring the score to 10-6 in the visitors’ favor at the end of the quarter.

St. Pius struck first in the second quarter, making a free throw, a layup, and a midrange jumper to bring the score to 15–6. On the offensive end, junior guard Nate Sanwald drew his defender to the high wing as Waife cut to the paint, receiving a perfectly timed skip pass from Sanwald for the layup. 

However, St. Pius immediately followed, finding a gap on the baseline and scoring a layup. Following that, senior guard Daniel Hernandez passed to Waife and cut to the basket, where Waife found him on the give-and-go, leaving Hernandez open for the reverse layup to add two more for Shelter Island. Once again, though, Shelter Island was shut down for the remaining minutes of the quarter, while St. Pius added eight, bringing the score to 24–10 at the half.

Historically, the start of the third quarter has been a struggle for the Islanders, whether because of quiet defense, low intensity, or offensive issues. But down 14, the Islanders came firing back. In the first possession, Weslek jumped a pass to grab a steal and a full-court layup. Immediately following, Weslek secured a defensive rebound and took the ball full court, missing the layup but drawing a foul call, knocking down one of his free throws. Another defensive rebound from the Islanders found Weslek dribbling up the court, passing to senior Harry Clark, who cut to the basket for a contested layup to add two more.

Now four minutes through the half, with the score at 24-17, St. Pius finally broke through, finding an open man in the paint for a layup. St. Pius had a defensive steal on the other end, taking it down the court for a layup, stretching their lead to 28- 17. 

Shelter Island came right back on the following play, with Waife taking one dribble and a quick pull-up to get over his defender and finish with a short jumper for 2 more points.

But St. Pius responded again, nailing a deep 3-pointer on the following possession, and once again recovering the ball on defense and finding an open shot in the paint to bring the score to 33–19. 

Following this play, a technical foul was called on Shelter Island, leaving St. Pius with foul shots and the next possession. St. Pius made both shots but failed to score on the inbound due to a travel call.

Now at 35–19, and with three minutes left in the quarter, Shelter Island was once again shut out on offense, leaving St. Pius to add five more with a 3-pointer and a layup, leaving the score at 40–19 entering the fourth.

With a 21-point deficit, Shelter Island implemented a full-court press and significantly capitalized on offense, while St. Pius dribbled the ball out in many of their possessions, running the clock while maintaining the lead. 

Weslek led the Islanders in the fourth with six free throws and 4 points in the paint. Hernandez followed with 4 points, scoring on two perfectly timed basket cuts, leaving his defender behind for open layups. Ryan Sanwald added 2 points to bring the Islanders’ fourth quarter score to 16, while St. Pius scored nine, claiming victory, 49–35.

Following the game, the Reporter met up with Head Coach Michael “Zack” Mundy to discuss his take on the contest. “In the first quarter, our defense looked better than normal. On the very first possession, we had lots of tips, and we had them on the run,” he said. The turning point, however, came after that strong start. Coach Mundy added, “The worst quarter for us was the second. We scored four points. You can’t compete in a basketball game by only scoring four points in a quarter.”

The boys and return home next Thursday, Dec. 18, to take on the Pierson Whalers at 5:45 p.m.