23 Photos
Senior Jack Dickinson moves the ball. RON ESPOSITO
Senior Finn Byrnes muscles his way to the basket. RON ESPOSITO
Junior Liam Fowkes drives to the basket. RON ESPOSITO
Senior Jack Dickinson shoots. RON ESPOSITO
Junior Liam Fowkes makes his way around a defender. RON ESPOSITO
Senior Luke Reese with a one-handed jump shot. RON ESPOSITO
Freshman Toby Foster sends the ball toward the basket. RON ESPOSITO
Senior Finn Byrnes scores on a layup. RON ESPOSITO
Senior Luke Reese moves a defender out of his path. RON ESPOSITO
Junior Mike Locascio passes the ball out of traffic. RON ESPOSITO
Junior Mike Locascio shoots. RON ESPOSITO
Freshman Toby Foster moves the ball around the outside as he looks for the play. RON ESPOSITO
Senior Jack Dickinson finished with a game-high 23 points. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Junior Liam Fowkes and senior Finn Byrnes react to East Hampton's win. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Luke Reese drives around Bayport-Blue Point's Tully Campbell. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Jack Dickinson shoots and scores over blockers. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Junior Liam Fowkes catches a pass. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Luke Reese calls a play. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Jack Dickinson fakes a shot before no-look passing the ball out of traffic. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Luke Reese finished with 14 points, scoring 13 of them in the second half. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Luke Reese dishes the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Freshman Toby Foster plants to shoot. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior Jack Dickinson passes the ball outside. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
It was another grind, but this time, East Hampton came out on top.
Behind a complete game by Jack Dickinson, the Bonackers boys basketball team was able to bounce back from a tough loss to Mt. Sinai with a 60-57 victory at Bayport-Blue Point Friday.
“It’s a big win for us,” said Dickinson (27 points, seven rebounds and a steal). “These are two of the top teams in the league, so to be able to play both of them close and succeed against one of them is great for us going forward.”
It was Dickinson’s steadiness at the free-throw line that helped seal the deal for East Hampton (8-4 overall, 7-1 in League IV). He swished both 1-and-1 opportunities inside the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter to put the Bonackers out front, 48-46, and give his team a lead it would not relinquish.
He also came away with several key three-point plays — one gave East Hampton a 19-15 lead in the second quarter and another knotted the game at 41-41 in the third.
“I felt good. My shots were dropping,” Dickinson said. “I was just being patient with myself — didn’t want to force anything — and when my teammates are also knocking down shots, it’s easy for me to get going. We came together and we won as a team.”
Staying calm and composed was the way to victory. Luke Reese (12 points, seven rebounds and a steal), who scored the opening points of the final stanza, tacked on a free-throw before swishing a three-pointer at 4:20 for a 52-50 lead.
“We weren’t executing in the first half because we were rushing and trying to force things,” Reese said. “The little things weren’t there like getting to the loose balls, rebounding; and we couldn’t put the ball in the bucket. It’s all about your mindset. We just had to play basketball.”
Head coach Dan White called timeout right after Reese’s make to work on a way to maintain the momentum. They did just that.
A Dickinson steal-and-score and Reese forced opening for a layup sandwiched a Bayport-Blue Point free-throw to give the Bonackers a five-point advantage, up 56-51. Dickinson’s tip-in off a rebound provided East Hampton, ahead 59-55 at that time, with crucial padding and deflated the Phantoms (9-3, 7-3) with 25.1 seconds left. Reese tacked on a final free-throw to ice it.
“They grew up tonight,” White said. “I wasn’t talking to them at half-court defensively — I kind of let them figure it out on their own. It was risky, but they need to learn how to do it. We got the shot clock down late and Jack and Luke made shots at the rim, and that’s all you can ask for. We weren’t out of control like we were against Mt. Sinai.”
Both games were a tale of two halves, but this time, roles were reversed as the Bonackers gained steam in the second half after being down, 12-9, at the end of the first and 30-26 by halftime. Finn Byrnes was big under the basket over that stretch, knocking down nine points to go along with six rebounds and a steal to keep the game close. Freshman Toby Foster (seven points) also provided a boost with a clutch three-pointer and some solid defense against a strong Phantoms team laden with seniors.
“Last game we had a good first half, but got away from our basics. This game was kind of the opposite,” Dickinson said. “It’s tough coming into an opponent’s gym and trying to shoot as well as you do in your home gym, but coach did a great job of calling the plays for us, and we did what we had to do, which was execute.”
Reese said the goal was to move on from the loss to Mt. Sinai (9-3 overall, 5-1 in League IV) because his Bonackers know they have what it takes to beat any opponent. East Hampton continued to show that with a 65-45 win over Eastport-South Manor (4-9, 1-7) Monday. Reese finished with a game-high 19 points, while Fowkes added 15 and Dickinson tacked on 12.
Reese said the timing of the recent games was important — just over midway through the regular season.
“It’s good to see where we’re at and see what we’ve got to work on,” the senior said. “We’re strong, and we’re only getting stronger. We’re getting better every day, and that’s what we’re worried about the most — that’s what our focus is.”
