10 Photos
Junior guard Jack Dickinson scores with a layup. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior guard Hector Montanaldo jumps for the layup ahead of East Islip's Kenny Rodriguez. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Sophomore guard Liam Fowkes drives the lane around East Islip's John Talt. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Mike Locascio looks to make a play. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Junior guard Jack Dickinson bulls his way around blocks by East Islip's Jared Kelly (far back left), Gavin Veltman (4) and Brandon Kearney (33). DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Sophomore guard Liam Fowkes scores a field goal between East Islip's Gavin Veltman (4) and Brandon Kearney. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Senior guard Hector Montanaldo carries the ball between East Islip's Gavin Veltman and Peterson Lowman. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Ben Zazula shoots from the outside above East Islip's John Talt. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Junior guard Jack Dickinson passes the ball under the basket with East Islip's John Talt racing from behind. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Sophomore guard Liam Fowkes reaches for a layup. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Jack Dickinson understood a new tone needed to be set for the rest of the season.
So, the East Hampton junior guard stepped out onto East Islip’s court on Saturday, December 18, and forced turnovers, leapt for rebounds, muscled his way to the rim and put away a game-high 23 points in a 51-44 nonleague win. It follows defeats at the hands of Kings Park, Half Hollow Hills West and Sayville, and the loss of standout junior guard Luke Reese to a torn meniscus suffered during the 72-50 loss to the Kingsmen on December 9.
“Luke’s one of the best players on the Island, and it’s tough not having him, but, as a team, we’ve known we all need to be better,” Dickinson said. “I haven’t played the best the past few games, so it was great to get back out there and help get the ‘W.’”
Dickinson delivered seven points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer that put the Bonackers (0-3 League V, 2-3 overall) out front, 10-2, and a field goal that made it 12-4 with 2:14 left, but East Islip scored three of the last four buckets to close the gap to 14-8 at the end of the eight minutes.
“Coming off a few tough losses, we executed as a team … I was really proud of everyone,” Dickinson said. “We haven’t executed the way we’ve practiced, and today we stuck to ourselves, played our basketball and trusted our coach.”
But East Islip extended its scoring streak into the top of the second with seven straight points to go ahead, 15-14, for the first time since the game-opening field goal. That’s where East Hampton sophomore guard Liam Fowkes (12 points) came in to swish his first of two threes in the quarter to give East Hampton a lead it would not relinquish. His second brought the score to 26-17, but an East Islip field goal with 24.1 seconds and a putback at the buzzer made it a little closer heading into halftime.
“We still have a lot of things we can do better, but we executed well down the stretch, and I’m hoping we’re starting to find our identity without Luke Reese,” head coach Dan White said. “I thought defensively, we were strong in the full-court. We generated some offense out of our three-quarter court defense. Against Sayville, we panicked against that same defense when they trapped, and today, we worked our way through it. I think this is big for us, confidence-wise.”
The coach said only having four practices without Reese has made it tough for the team to work through the needed reshuffle, but the junior guard said he thinks his team is improving every day.
“I think they played great. They’ve been playing better than they have before,” Reese said. “They got out there in transition, stopped the ball on defense during the full-court press. This team is strong, and they’re confident.”
He did admit, though, that’s it’s been difficult just watching from the sideline — especially as East Islip closed the gap to four, 40-36, before two Fowkes free throws with 4:41 left to play, and 48-44, before two Dickinson free throws on a 1-and-1 opportunity with 15.5 seconds left — and added that his teammates feel the same without their “comfort player” out on the court.
“Of course, I wish I could be out there with them, but they’ve been grinding,” Reese said. “They’ve been telling me they’ve been playing for me, and I just want them to go out there and have fun; to have a good season whether I come back or not. They’ve all got heart. They all want to win. They’re here for a reason.”
Still, Dickinson said the Bonackers are looking to get a few more wins under their belts with the hope of making a playoff push with the team back at full strength. East Hampton hosted Rocky Point on Tuesday before the holiday break, then it will compete in the Mariner Athletic Club Holiday Classic at Southampton, playing against the host Mariners on December 27 at 7 p.m. and will play the following day as well.
“We all know we need to be better, and Luke’s been a great supporter. We just want to get a few ‘Ws’ in case he comes back,” Dicksinson said. “We’re still confident. We know we can win. We just have to go into every game with a good mindset, a good plan and we’ll do just that.”
