East Dominates Bay Shore On the Road

A win is a win is a win in the eyes of some, and that's just what the Sachem East boys basketball team got after beating Bay Shore (0-1 in League II, 0-4 overall), 66-38, at an away game Tuesday afternoon. 

Bay Shore's aggressive defense, particularly its hustle on steals and blocks to force turnovers, made it a tougher competitor than the final score might suggest. But make no mistake: East was more than up to the task, cautiously going about its business without once going flat, while coordinating its attacks effectively and efficiently in response. 

"They came out very hard," said East head coach John Finta of Bay Shore's effort. "We wanted to do the right thing and set the right tone. And once we got about two minutes in, it was amazing how cohesive we were, especially considering how we practiced only once in four days.  We have a veteran team. Things like this don't faze us."

Fending off many close-range threats from Bay Shore, when he wasn't posing a threat himself, was East starting center Brian Corbett. Setting up shop under both baskets alongside teammate Randall Colson, Corbett led on rebounds with six (four offensive, two defensive), also scoring nine points and adding two assists and two steals and shooting 3-for-5 on free throws. Colson scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds (one offensive, four defensive), added three steals and two assists, while going 3-for-4 from the line.

"It's what you want to do there, and that's my job," said Corbett. "We did our stuff, and that's what allowed us to come out on top."

Corbett struck first within two seconds of the first quarter, breaking fast off the tip-off all the way inside for a layup. The lead began to slip away from East, but Dan Candemeres got it back on a steal and a two-pointer with three and a half minutes to go, bringing the board to 7-6.

After tilting back 8-7 in favor of the Marauders, Corbett snatched it back for good, as three-pointers from Candemeres (1:30 left) and Alec Daniello (:40 left) shored it up 15-11 going into the second quarter, when East pulled further away on another Candemeres three, two back-to-back field goals inside by Randall Colson and a slash into the paint by Candemeres with four and a half minutes left, bucketing the two-pointer just before going out-of-bounds. Drawing a foul from Bay Shore, Candemeres went to the line to convert it into a three-point play. 

Ten seconds later, Colson sent home another two-pointer to lead East by 13 points. The Marauders were able to cut back in for two more field goals and add two foul shots before halftime, but the Arrows never relented, Candemeres, on a pass from Tim Doherty, picked up another three-point play. 

As East's main offensive weapon, Candemeres led the Arrows with 23 game points and went 3-for-4 from the foul line. He also added three rebounds (one offensive, two defensive), three steals and two assists.

Although Bay Shore kept pace on defense with the Arrows in the latter half, East's offense shifted into overdrive, outscoring Bay Shore 21 points to seven points in the third quarter to stretch an 11-point lead (32-21) to a dominating 25 points (53-28).

Candemeres proved Bay Shore just as vulnerable from outside the arc by sinking two of his four three-point field goals mid-period. A dunk by Colson with :17 remaining provided the finishing touch before the final quarter opened up, allowing Conner King, Austin Haynes and D'Andre Smith to join the fray with a two-pointer apiece.

A.J. Tavantzis led in assists with four, adding three defensive rebounds. Daniello totaled seven points and shot 2-for-4 from the line, adding two steals and an assist. Doherty scored four points, adding two assists, two steals, one offensive rebound and one block. Santarpia chipped in three points, all on foul shots (3-for-4), adding one assist and one defensive rebound.

Haynes scored two points and added two defensive rebounds. Smith and King each scored two points. Ryan Morahan added three rebounds (two offensive, one defensive) and two assists. Will Silber grabbed one defensive rebound.

Bay Shore's Jason Wright led the Marauders with seven points.

East will scrimmage Eastport South Manor (0-1 in League IV, 4-1 overall as of December 28) on Friday at 10 a.m. Its next league match will be at William Floyd  (1-0 in League I, 2-0 overall) on January 4 at 4 p.m.