Hampton Bays Boys Basketball Drops Close Playoff Opener at Amityville

A 6-0 run, big blocks, multiple rebounds and a clutch-three pointer kept No. 10 Hampton Bays in it, but the boys basketball team’s efforts fell just short in a 56-53 first-round playoff loss to No. 7-seeded Amityville on the road Monday night.

Despite that, the Baymen (15-6 overall, 10-4 in League IV) have a lot to look back on and be proud of, especially after earning the school’s first postseason berth since 2011.

“I felt like we could have gone further, but it felt amazing getting to the playoffs with this special team — it will be one of the highlights of my life,” senior Gianni Scotto said. “This team had been the best team I’ve ever played on. We had so much talent. It makes me proud to be a Bayman.”

Scotto scored all of his seven points in the second half as Hampton Bays pressured to get back in the game. He hit a long field goal early in the third quarter to regain the lead for the Baymen, and followed it up with a rebound that junior Pat Donahue (20 points) scored on for a 33-32 advantage.

“I was feeling good,” Donahue said. “I was ready coming into the game — excited to play — and I think my speed helped. They had their big guy on me, and he had trouble guarding me running down the court. ”

Junior Isaiah Lattanzio (five points) came down with a block soon after, but Amityville regained possession and with it, tacked on two to retake the lead. That didn’t last long, as Donahue moved around the defense for an open look and easy bucket, putting the Baymen out front, 35-34.

“You see 20 points in the box score, but what you don’t see is him working relentlessly at the top of the 1-3-1 defense. He is bouncing all over the court disrupting the Amityville guards defensively, but also knocking down a couple of threes and coming away with a key fast break layup which gave us a late lead,” head coach Noah Brown said. “Patrick has blossomed into a legitimate, great high school basketball player.”

The Warriors hit back-to-back-to-back free throws for a 37-35 edge, but Scotto stifled the momentum with a three-point shot from way beyond the arc. Unfortunately, Amityville, as it had all throughout the first half, had an answer, as Christian Smiley, who finished with a game-high 27 points, nailed a trifecta of his own, and teammate Josh Garrett followed it up with one of his own for a 43-38 lead. Junior James Powers (four points) found Lattanzio under the basket, but the shot was knocked away as many from around the rim were for Hampton Bays all across the contest, and Amityville capitalized on another opportunity for a 45-38 extension.

“We were all hitting clutch buckets down the stretch, and I thought we did great not letting the pressure get to us, but I think what hurt us was Amityville going up to make us fight back again,” Scotto said. “I also think that we shouldn’t have dropped into a 2-3 defense because they made a few shots from the outside.”

Senior Kazmin Pensa-Johnson (17 points), who entered the game as Suffolk County’s second leading scorer, took his first rebound all the way for a score to make it 45-40, and ended the third and opened the fourth with four more grabs off the boards, but Hampton Bays struggled to find the basket while Amityville played tight defense and used quick passes to get easy opportunities. Down 48-41, Lattanzio drew a foul and tacked on a free throw, and Donahue secured the ball on a bounce off the basket on the other side and floated it in to make it 48-44. Hampton Bays continued to fight back with Powers hitting both 1-and-1 chances, Lattanzio grabbing his seventh rebound, Donahue scoring on an open break off that pass and Hampton Bays forcing an Amityville shot clock violation before Pensa-Johnson drew a foul and sank both free throws to give his team a 52-51 lead. Powers came away with a steal soon after, one of many for Hampton Bays on the evening, but Amityville did the same, and Smiley drew a foul of his own with 37.3 seconds left, sinking both 1-and-1 chances to put a stop to the 6-0 run.

“Most teams drop back and sit in a zone against Amityville, but I felt we could use our 1-3-1 half-court press to disrupt their game and force turnovers for our transition,” Brown said. “Amityville is a super athletic team that likes to full-court press and attack the basket offensively. Our first objective was to manage their press — accept it, and have patience when they were able to set it up, always looking to avoid the turnover. After that, we focused on our defensive strategy, which was to actually pressure them, but the reality is it’s a lot for five-to-six kids to do the entire 32-minute game.”

But Smiley picked off an inbounds pass, and Powers fouled Justin Thornton, who tacked on a point from the charity stripe, as Hampton Bays tried to get another chance at it. Pensa-Johnson was fouled shooting three on that ensuing possession, but sandwiched one make with two misses. Lattanzio grabbed the rebound, but Smiley forced a turnover and was fouled, hitting his two chances with 22.3 seconds left to give the game its final score. Two Baymen had opportunities at game-tying three-pointers, but both attempts just fell wide.

“Our defense definitely kept us in the game,” said Pensa-Johnson, who averaged 25.2 points per game and sits at third in Suffolk County in scoring with 146. “We knew we had to fight for every rebound and pack the middle and force them to shoot more, but our offense was a little slow. It felt great to make it here, but it really hurts not being able to go further.”

Amityville moves on to face No. 2 East Hampton Thursday night, February 16, on the road at 5 p.m.

Though they won’t be there, the Hampton Bays head coach said he can’t thank his seniors enough for what they did for the program.

“These guys helped grow a culture of winning,” Brown said. “I can honestly say every minute of every contest they worked their tails off to win. We have some legit players, obviously, but they don’t achieve what they did this year without heart, desire and the willingness to leave it all out there.”