Sanchez, Salas Pace Hampton Bays Boys Basketball In Strong Showing This Week

Chris Sanchez stepped into the locker room after his team’s game on January 11 and immediately began crying tears of joy. Hampton Bays had just come off its first League VI win of the season — a 55-51 overtime victory over Miller Place — and for the senior co-captain, the road to victory was sweet.

That’s because with time about to expire, the point guard found himself standing beyond the arc with the Baymen down by three points and the ball in his hands. Sanchez swished a buzzer-beater that tied the game, and Hampton Bays outscored the Panthers, 9-5, in overtime to take it home.

“We all have so much love for the sport and wanted the win more than anything, so I just wanted to put us in a position to do so,” said Sanchez. “I was able to create enough space to draw my defender away, and as I released the ball, I knew it was going in. From then on, we knew we had all the momentum.”

The point guard paced Hampton Bays (now 2-9 overall, 1-4 in League IV), which never led until overtime, with 17 points. Sophomore guard Patrick Donahue led all scorers with 21 points, and senior James Salas added 10 points in the win.

“He played his heart out,” head coach Noah Brown said of Sanchez. “He was spent.”

Salas, another captain who also shined in a strong showing for the Baymen last week, grew up playing basketball with Sanchez, and said he was so proud of his friend, and was especially pleased seeing all his hard work pay off.

“When I realized we were a three-pointer away from overtime I knew Chris was going to take the shot because of his clutch gene,” Salas said. “I just moved out of the way when I saw him sprint down the court and somehow get open for the shot. I ran to get a possible rebound, but saw it hit nothing but net. I just felt pure excitement rushing through my body. Chris Sanchez showed his true leadership by maintaining focus and taking over when we needed him to.”

The senior said his team played even better in the extra session, and added it was great to see how the Baymen were able to handle the pressure, even more so without leading scorer Kazmin Johnson, who has been in quarantine.

The thrill of the win carried into the team’s home game Thursday against top-seeded Bayport-Blue Point.

“We knew they are a very talented team, but that didn’t scare us away,” Salas said. “Instead, we came out with heart and pushed to the final whistle.”

Sanchez, who the coach said was still banged up, was forced out of the January 13 game early, but Salas was solid on defense in the 69-34 loss to the Phantoms (9-2, 6-0), holding top scorer Jack Baron to just three points. The senior guard hit a layup off the opening tipoff and was fouled, completing a three-point play to open the game.

“James did an absolutely unbelievable job. He’s our shut-down defender,” Brown said. “We asked him to take care of a job and he took care of it. Baron never scored the rest of the game. So, the game-plan worked on the defensive side of things, but their full-court press and the pressure they put on our young guards – it was a little overwhelming.”

Salas said working on the defensive side of the ball has been a goal of his since his head coach gave him that role when he took over the helm two years ago.

“Coach told me to not let [Jack Baron] touch the ball, so I told myself every time he gets the ball, I failed my task,” Salas said. “Being able to keep him out of the game was a personal win.”

Sanchez said while sitting out the second half and without Kazmin, his teammates knew they needed to take on bigger roles, citing that “next-man-up” mentality. Junior point guard Tristan Goleski came off the bench to score a team-high eight points, sophomore forward Isaiah Lattanzio added six, junior forward William Mendel tacked on five and sophomore guard James Powers secured four.

“The way the team has evolved, with the return of Kazmin, gives me a lot of confidence,” Salas said. “I think these games were a huge turning point in our season.”

Sanchez said what Hampton Bays has done this past week is only a glimpse of what’s to come. The Baymen host Shoreham-Wading River Thursday, January 20, at 6:30 p.m. in a rematch of what was one of the team’s other close games of the season, a 51-49 road loss back in the beginning of December. Hampton Bays follows it up with a game at Mt. Sinai Saturday at 10 a.m. and hosts Elwood-John Glenn at 7 p.m. January 25.

“If there’s one thing I’m proud of, it’s knowing we don’t quit. The team leaves everything on the court with the intention of only getting better,” Sanchez said. “With facing bigger teams, we continue to fight hard and stay composed, and the most important thing is we keep our heads up, because we know what we can do. We can shock a lot of people.”