Baymen edged by Red Devils Booth on fire in win over Royals

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The Hampton Bays boys basketball team is off to a 1-1 start in League VII and has shown in its first two games that it has the ability to either beat or compete with all the teams in the league.

The Baymen got past Port Jefferson 64-48 at home on December 15 before taking a 66-59 loss at defending Suffolk County champion Center Moriches on Friday, December 18.

The loss to Center Moriches was bittersweet. On on the one hand, Hampton Bays head coach Pete Meehan was happy just to see his team be competitive from start to finish with one of the best teams in the county. On the other hand, coming close to winning only to fall short was disappointing. With less than four minutes left in the game, the Baymen cut the Red Devils’s lead to one point at 48-47. But Center Moriches responded by scoring the next five points of the game and held on to win.

“We were right where we wanted to be,” Meehan said. “It was a difficult loss in the sense that we had a chance to win and we didn’t take care of it, but there were positives.”

Center Moriches started the game on an 8-0 run, but Hampton Bays cut the score to 20-19 midway through the second quarter. The Red Devils responded by going on a 13-0 run to end the half, but the Baymen battled back again in the third quarter.

Red Devil standout guard Jonathan Ward Adams was in the game after missing the first several weeks of the season due to an injury. Meehan said that Ward Adams wasn’t his usual dominant self, but still was a big asset for his team.

“He didn’t start but he played most of the next three quarters,” Meehan said. “He was definitely hobbled and you could see it more on the defensive end. But he’s such a calming influence for them.”

Center Moriches did a good job at the free throw line, hitting 18 of 23 shots.

Hampton Bays was led by Bruno Cavallo, who had 16 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. He also had eight rebounds and four assists. Ryan Walker finished with a career high 12 points and career high 11 rebounds.

“He had a real solid game down low against some big, strong bodies,” Meehan said. “He’s been a key for us so far early in the year.”

Cameron Booth had 11 points and Luke Mercurio had nine points. James Pace scored eight points in the third quarter to help the Baymen get back in the game.

Meehan said that the Red Devils did a good job on defense as well, which was another factor in their victory.

“I didn’t think we played particularly well, but they obviously had something to do with it,” the coach said. “I thought one of the keys was that their man-to-man defense was better than our man-to-man offense. They did a good job pressuring us and pushing us away from the basket.”

Overall, Meehan thought the game was a positive experience for his team.

“Before the game, it was an unknown whether we could play with them or not and we left no doubt that we can,” he said. “I’ll look forward to the next one at our place.”

The game against Port Jefferson was the Cameron Booth show. The junior guard tallied a career-high 29 points, 17 of which came in the second quarter. Booth hit a total of five three-pointers in the game—three in the second—and was the biggest reason why his team enjoyed a 12-point halftime lead. The Baymen were outscored 13-11 in the first quarter, but thanks to Booth’s hot hand, the team outscored the Royals 23-9 in the second quarter. Port Jeff cut the deficit to seven points early in the second half, but it was as close as they would get. Hampton Bays had a double-digit lead for most of the game and was ahead by as many as 22 points.

Cavallo chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds and Mercurio had a career-high 12 points. The Baymen shot 22 for 52 from two-point range and hit 14 of 29 shots from downtown.

Charity Tournament

The Baymen will host the Hampton Bays Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday Tournament at Hampton Bays High School on Tuesday, December 29, and Wednesday, December 30. The Baymen will take on undefeated East Rockway at 6 p.m. on Tuesday after Southold and Westhampton Beach square off at 4 p.m. The consolation game will take place on December 30 at noon and the championship will follow at 2 p.m. After that, the Baymen will visit Comsewogue—also undefeated—for a non-league game on January 2 at noon and will visit Wyandanch for a League VII game at 6:30 p.m. on January 5.