Patriots Come Out on Top in Cross-Town Rivalry

The Stony Brook School (1-1) outscored Ward Melville (1-0) in three quarters, but Ward Melville came out on top, 45-40, to win its first game of the season Friday night. Aside from the second quarter, the teams battled with the Patriots' strong rebounding and the Bears' spread offense.

Heroes: Ward Melville's John Edmonds scored 12 points while Tyler Hegarty totaled eight points and 11 rebounds. Stony Brook's Jerome Washington scored 11 points with six rebounds, and both Kai Strachan and Marco Masayakan scored 1o points each.

Turning Point: The first quarter started off slow before the Bears set up their offense. Once comfortable, they were moving the ball around the perimeter and drawing the defense away for open looks from the outside. The first quarter ended with the Bears leading 13-9. At the start of the second, the Patriots went on a 15-0 scoring run. The Patriots were tough in the post and picked off the backboard after every missed shot, on either offense or defense. The Patriots were playing so aggressively that the only points they did let up came from free throws. The half ended with the Patriots leading 27-15. The Bears came out of the half more aggressive under the boards, but there wasn't enough they could do to get past that deficit from the second quarter.

Quotable: "This was our first game, and we're all glad to finally play and execute against a good team," Ward Melville head Coach Jessie Smith said. "We wanted to give our entire offense opportunity to work, and they changed things up enough to allow that. But that's just about as narrow of a win as we can be comfortable with."

Bottom Line: The Stony Brook School follows a program that makes it difficult to compete against the public schools. The long breaks without practice are a disadvantage against those teams with players who grow up in the gym together, but the Bears certainly have talent to make up for their scheduling and distance.  Stony Brook is the defending League VIII champion and they schedule these preseason games with the intention of a challenge, and Ward Melville, from League I, gave them what they wanted. Stony Brook head coach Mike Hickey said, "There was some miscommunication on defense. We knew their top shooter and tried to get a match on him, but our guys don't have a lot of court experience, so it's definitely a process."

Who's Next? Ward Melville @ Brentwood, Dec. 21, 6:15 p.m. Shelter Island @ Stony Brook, Jan. 5, 4:30p.m.

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