Southampton Boys Basketball Gives Center Moriches Good Fight But Eventually Falls Top-Ranked Red Devils

There really aren’t moral victories in sports. A loss is a loss. But some losses give teams at least a measurement of where they stack up against teams that are the supposed “favorites.”

That was the case on Friday night, when the Southampton boys basketball team hosted Center Moriches, the New York State Class B semifinalists last season. The squad is currently the top ranked Class B team in the New York State Sportswriters Association rankings as of January 5, and is led by Bridgehampton alum Nick Thomas.

The Mariners (1-1 League VII, 7-3 overall) led for a good portion of the first half, but fell behind late in the second quarter and eventually succumbed to the undefeated Red Devils, 81-69, ending what was a six-game winning streak.

Southampton played much of the second half without starters LeBron Napier and Zy’Aire Pittman, who fouled out extremely early. Without his second leading scorer in Napier and a key ball handler in Pittman, Mariners head coach Herm Lamison said, despite the loss, there were still a lot of positives to take away from the game.

“When we can play as competitive as we played, knowing that we didn’t play our best, and knowing that I got my second leading scorer on my bench in the third quarter who had no points and fouled out, and then I got my second lead guard in the third quarter that’s out ... I feel good about a lot of things about that game,” he explained. “But one of the things we talked about for us is efficiency. And that’s one of our goals that we didn’t reach. We didn’t play as efficient as we needed to play against a really good team.

“We’re still getting better and better each and every day,” he added. “Our goal is just to be right in the thick of things in the end down the stretch, and we will. We get stronger every day.”

Led by the hard-nosed play of Dakoda Smith, who was clearly amped up by the packed gym that was filled to capacity, the Mariners led Center Moriches at the end of the first quarter and built upon that lead in the second quarter. Smith made a jumper from about 15 feet out, then Artemi Gavalas nailed a three to put Southampton up five, and Smith followed that up by drawing a charge. Not long after that, Smith finished off a fast break with a one-handed dunk that brought the crowd to its feet, and Gavalas followed that up with a three-pointer to give the Mariners their biggest lead of the night at 33-27 nearly halfway through the second quarter.

But from that point forward, Center Moriches clamped down on defense, switching to more of a full court press, which led to the Red Devils closing out the first half on a 15-2 run which they carried over to the second half. Ahkee Anderson, one of a few key transfers for Center Moriches, along with Nae’Jon Ward, hit a three not long after Napier fouled out, and then Pittman fouled out with 3:03 remaining in the third. Southampton cut Center Moriches’s double-digit lead to single digits a few times in the second half, but never really threatened their lead.

Anderson finished with 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds, four blocks and four steals for Center Moriches, while Emond Frazier added 16 points and 11 blocks, and Jaden Kealey chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Smith led Southampton with 19 points, with Sincere Faggins chipping with 18. Gavalas scored all 12 of his points off three-pointers and Lucas Bontempo finished with 11 points.

Thomas said the atmosphere in Southampton on Friday night actually made his team start the game a bit tense and uptight, which led to his team being down early on. But he noted his team’s tough non-league schedule prepared it well for Friday’s game, which in turn prepared it for Sunday’s game against one of the top-ranked Catholic schools in Chaminade, which it came back and defeated as part of the Gary Charles Hoops Classic at Adelphi University.

“That’s one of the tougher places to play in the county,” Thomas said of Southampton. “As a fan of the game, I love that type of energy and atmosphere. You wouldn’t want it any other way. Once we got a grip on our emotions and settled down, we were able to match their intensity and make a run in second quarter.

“We pride ourselves on winning the first three to four minutes of every third quarter. If they lose that, they pay for it in practice, regardless of the final outcome of the game,” Thomas continued. “The adjustment was really about staying in character, picking up our defensive pressure and playing our brand of basketball. In most games, particularly rivalry games and hostile environments, the ones who stay in character generally give themselves the best opportunity to win. Our team is battle-tested. Our non-league schedule keeps us humble to prepare and confident to perform in these games and, more importantly, the playoffs.”

Thomas gave credit to Southampton which, “came to play, as expected,” and called Smith a “warrior and did all he could to will them.” Thomas remarked that his team is nowhere near its final product, which is fine in mid-January. Lamison said the same of his team.

“Two kids fouled out putting players in roles that they typically are not accustomed to being in, but that’s more of a practice and coaching thing on my part, to coach them up to get them ready for those situations, and I will,” he said.

Southampton played at Port Jefferson on Wednesday and then will play at Mattituck this Saturday, January 18, at 1 p.m., which will be another test for the Mariners, but one they’re looking forward to.

“Mattituck is a very good team, but make no mistake about it, we sorely remember how they came in and beat us in the first round of the playoffs last season after beating them twice, so we always take one game at a time, but we’ll be prepared for that.”