BOYS BASKETBALL: Shelter Island boys feel the sting

TED HILLS | STAFF REPORTER

After losing to Bridgehampton on January 8 in a brutal 73-40 loss, Tuesday's rematch gave the Indians a chance to redeem themselves. And they seemed determined to, right from the start.

"We started off real strong," said Coach Michael Mundy. "That's the way we are capable of playing." The Indians kept the ball moving fluidly across the court in the first quarter, and quick passes kept the Bridgehampton defense guessing.

At 2:43 in the first quarter, senior Mike Mundy drove the ball to the paint, then passed it out to Connor Needham who hit a 3-pointer that got the crowd on its feet. But Cesar Banados of Bridgehampton answered back with a jump shot to put 2 points on the board for the Bees.

A minute later, Andrew BeltCappellino hooked a bounce pass around a Bridgehampton defender to Mundy, who sank a 3-pointer of his own. With strong offensive pressure and good rebounding from Dustin Mulcahy, things were looking good for the Indians as they closed out the first quarter with a 17-14 lead.

But two consecutive Bridgehampton 3-pointers midway through the second quarter allowed the Bees to jump ahead and seemed to take the wind out of the Indians' sails. Despite a beautiful pass from Mundy that allowed BeltCappellino to sink a jumper, and a quick steal by Doug Binder that turned into 2 points, it looked like the tide had turned in the Bee's favor as they began to rack up the points. The Bees sank a total of four 3-pointers that quarter and scored 18 points. They ended the half with a 32-26 lead.

As the game wore on, Shelter Island 's passes started to lose their edge, and Bridgehampton made steal after steal to set themselves up for easy layups.

The Indians remained scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter, until Mundy sank a free throw after stealing a ball and getting fouled on his fast break to the net. The Indians' only points that quarter were four foul shots from Mundy and a jump shot from James Michael Cogan.

The Bees put up 19 points and ended the third quarter with a 51-35 lead.

During the fourth quarter, the Bees effectively wound down the clock, squashing any hope of an Indian comeback. The Bees' Ainsley Wyche was able to dribble the ball around the court for almost 30 seconds before taking a shot. The Indians also started to get into foul trouble and gave the Bees 10 free throw opportunities in the second half.

Despite their foul difficulties, the Indians made an impressive showing at the line, sinking 10 of their 14 free throws.

Mundy led the team in scoring with 15 points, followed closely behind by Binder, who put up 10. "Doug came out real strong for us," said Coach Mundy. Binder and Mundy both had a few steals that turned into extra points for the Indians. "Connor [Needham] looked good in the first half," he added.

Still, Coach Mundy was on the whole unsatisfied with the team's performance: "We're capable of much more than this," he said after the game.

It was their second loss in a row after they fell to Stony Brook, 73-48, last Friday.

The boys' next game is today, at Southold . JV tips off at 4 p.m., varsity at 5:45.