DePetris’ Versatility Shines In Westhampton Boys Basketball's Win Over West Babylon

Just change his name to Mr. Do-It-All, because 6-foot, 5-inch Westhampton Beach junior guard Cameron DePetris really can.

Forcing turnovers, contesting shots, grabbing rebounds, pushing the ball up the floor, passing, driving the lane, shooting from outside — every single one of his talents was on display in the Hurricanes’ 59-56 win over West Babylon on January 6.

“He’s an unbelievably talented player,” head coach Tim McDermott said of DePetris. “Cameron came off the bench and played outstanding today — he responded. He did everything for us.”

One thing Westhampton (3-3 overall, 1-1 in League IV play) and its players have continued to do well is respond to adversity. While the junior guard wasn’t named a starter for the game, he wanted to prove why he deserves to be one. DePetris put up a game-high 20 points on six field goals and two three-pointers and going perfect from the free-throw line.

“I didn’t start today because some kids were working harder in practice, but I kept my head up and played my game,” he said. “As a team we were moving the ball and getting everyone involved — we have good chemistry — and attacked the basket. We played well.”

DePetris came out in the second quarter and immediately made an impact. His big block on Vaughn Bottex’s attempt and subsequent rebound led to his first three-pointer that put the Hurricanes out front, 17-16. Senior guard Nick Waszkelewicz (13 points) followed with his third make from beyond the arc, junior guard Quinn McCormack (10 points) hit a reversal and senior forward Owen Spizuoco (seven points) finished a layup that forced West Babylon to call timeout. After the break, McCormack capped off the 12-point scoring streak with a steal-and-score to put Westhampton out front by 10, 26-16.

“We’re a threat,” DePetris said, pointing to the team having multiple athletes reaching double-digits and different leading scorers in the last few games. “We have multiple ways to attack the basket and everyone can shoot. I feel like we can go a long way. We just have to keep putting in the work.”

He and Waszkelewicz controlled their first win with the team. Neither was available to start the season, and Waszkelewicz is still recovering from breaking his ankle this past football season.

“It hurt a little, but I felt much better than in other games,” the senior said. “This was the first one where I was feeling good. And after this, I feel like we can beat anybody.”

McDermott said the bounce-back is what he respected most, as the victory snapped a three-game losing streak that ended with an 89-39 stomping by Deer Park (4-0, 1-0).

“They showed a lot of fight and a lot of heart,” the coach said. “We came off a tough loss to Deer Park. It was one of those games where everything they threw up went in. We could have put our heads down and gave up and felt bad for ourselves, but this was a good response. And they didn’t give up.”

After leading 28-20 at halftime West Babylon (3-4, 1-3) went on a scoring streak of its own, an 11-3 run to tie the game 31-all. DePetris wanted to reset the tone, so he tipped the ball on an Eagles throw-in at backcourt and breezed to the basket unmarked before slam-dunking it.

“The crowd provided a lot of energy after that play,” the junior said, “and gave the team the momentum we needed.”

DePetris had a few more steals and rebounds in him he put away for another nine points down the stretch before securing two more off a 1-and-1 opportunity. Another steal was passed in transition to Spizuoco for an easy bucket.

“Watching what he does, it’s great to see,” Waszkelewicz said.

McDermott said the season has been about progression, and is hoping his Hurricanes, now almost at full strength, will hit their stride. Westhampton travels to Comsewogue (5-3, 1-2) January 11 for a 5:45 p.m. matchup before hosting Eastport-South Manor (6-4, 1-2) January 14 at 4 p.m.

“We started the early part of our schedule with what I considered to be the more difficult part,” he said of the team’s recent losses to Southampton, Hauppauge and Deer Park. “Moving forward we’re looking to gain some momentum and show other teams what we can really do.”