Pensa-Johnson’s 27 Points, Team’s Defense and Rebounding Lift Hampton Bays To Win Over Bayport-Blue Point

There were many motivating factors for Kazmin Pensa-Johnson to be at his best Friday night.

First, it was the Hampton Bays star guard’s senior night. Second, his boys basketball team wanted to knock its Bayport-Blue Point opponent down a notch after its upset win over Mt. Sinai just days prior. And also, his Baymen hoped the win would help their team secure a home playoff spot — when they appear in the postseason for the first time in over a decade next week.

Pensa-Johnson was the catalyst and then some, helping stifle his challengers as part of a 1-3-1 defense, and posting a double-double on a game-high 27 points and 16 rebounds in Hampton Bays’ 70-55 victory.

“Kazmin is an incredible athlete who doesn’t like to lose, and I can appreciate that,” head coach Noah Brown said. “He plays with heart and gives 100 percent every game. When the team needs a score, an assist, a block, Kazmin is there. He has been a great leader and teammate, and he has grown beyond my expectations in maturity this season. He does whatever it takes for the team to succeed.”

The senior does admit, though, that there were some nerves, especially with tons of family and friends in the stands. That didn’t seem to last, as he scored the opening points of the contest. Despite Bayport-Blue Point coming away with three three-pointers in the first, Hampton Bays (15-4 overall, 10-3 in Division IV) did the same with senior guard Gianni Scotto, junior small forward Pat Donahue and junior guard James Powers each swishing shots from beyond the arc for a 17-14 Hampton Bays lead at the end of eight minutes.

“We knew we had to keep calm and get out on their shooters,” Pensa-Johnson said. “I just played my game like I usually do, and always get my teammates involved, which takes the other team’s focus off of me a little bit.”

Scotto opened the second stanza with a steal-and-score, and junior forward Isaiah Lattanzio and Pensa-Johnson, who is his cousin, each knocked down three-pointers, but the Phantoms (13-6, 9-4) countered those makes with trifectas of their own, and tacked on another after a Scotto layup to get within a score, 27-25. A Pensa-Johnson jumper, a Donahue put-in and a Donahue score off a Powers steal helped the Baymen reextend their advantage, to 33-26, by halftime.

“We all have been playing together for a long time — since kindergarten — and we love playing with Kaz,” Donahue said. “He supports the team a lot, but not just in games. He also helps us get better by competing against him in practice.”

After a Pensa-Johnson field goal, Donahue kicked the ball out from under the hoop to Powers for an easy score, and Pensa-Johnson pushed his way through traffic for a bucket that gave the Baymen their first 10-point lead of the game, out front, 39-28. It was also part of a 16-1 run for Hampton Bays that was filled with assisted plays. Pensa-Johnson hurled a cross-court pass to Donahue for points off a rebound, before his cousin found him at the side of the basket for an open layup. Pensa-Johnson also dished the ball to senior forward Noah Thompson, who scored to give Hampton Bays a 20-point lead, up 49-29.

“We had a much different game plan in this one than we did our first game at Bayport earlier in the season,” Brown said. “The boys stuck to the plan and executed great on both ends of the court — they played tremendous defense and coupled determination with old-fashioned scrappy play. This game in particular, Kazmin made some clutch shots to repel Bayport each time they looked to make a comeback, and in addition to a few great transitions drives to the hoop and baseline jumpers, made a number of beautiful assists on pick-and-rolls with Isaiah, long outlet passes to Pat and crucial late-game passes, like to Noah, for an easy layup.”

The Phantoms struggled to get their shots to fall in the third, which they exited, down 49-35, but began to hit their mark midway through the fourth, eventually charging back with multiple three-pointers to once again make it a 10-point game, down 65-55, with 1:28 left on the clock.

This is where fouls came into play. Pensa-Johnson hit both of his 1-and-1 shots out of a timeout, came down with a big block and took advantage of two more chances from the charity stripe before Donahue’s free-throw gave the game its final score.

“It feels great helping my team win tough battles,” Pensa-Johnson said. “They are my very close friends, so it feels great winning with them.”

They’re also all at the top of the scoring sheet, with three players finishing in the double digits. Lattanzio also recorded a double-double on 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Donahue tacked on 14 points and four rebounds. Scotto ended with seven points and nine rebounds, and Powers also contributed seven points and had four rebounds.

Donahue said his team’s 93-66 loss to Bayport-Blue Point on the road back at the end of December was also a motivating factor in this more recent matchup.

“We had to show everyone that we are way better than how we looked in that first game, and I think we did just that,” the junior said. “We played very well all-around, on offense and defense, but we played good team basketball. We got everyone involved in the plays, which made it tough for Bayport to defend.”

Hampton Bays followed the win with a regular season finale on the road at Mt. Sinai (15-4, 11-2) Tuesday, results of which were not available by press time.

“The seedings will be tough,” Brown said of the brackets, which will be released this Friday. “Still, this win is absolutely crucial going into the postseason — the confidence factor is there. The boys and coaches have believed in each other all season, but do so now more than ever.”

The top of the Class A standings still remains tight, with East Hampton ahead of Mt. Sinai at 15-4 and 13-1, and Comsewogue sitting above Hampton Bays at 14-5 and 11-3.

Lattanzio said after a 12-year playoff drought, his Baymen are looking to make this season even more special.

“We have had a great year and we have developed so much, so to achieve something like this is great,” Lattanzio said. “But we have worked too hard all year for this, and we aren’t going to give up.”