Despite Valiant Fourth-Quarter Comeback, Bridgehampton Loses to Panama in State Championship

Trailing Panama by 27 points with 48 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the New York State Class D Championship at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton on Saturday evening — 10 years and a day since their last state championship in 2015 — the Bridgehampton boys basketball team could have packed things in and called it a great season either way.

But that’s not how this program has been built, evident in its nine state titles.

Through their tough full-court, man-to-man press and instinctual rebounding ability, the Killer Bees clawed their way back in the fourth quarter to only trail the Panthers by five points. But that early hole proved to be too much to dig out of and Panama, out of Section VI in Western New York, located south of Buffalo on the western tip of the state near the Pennsylvania border, went on to win its first-ever state title, 78-69.

The look on the Bridgehampton players’ faces after the game said it all, with many of them trying to hold back the tears as best they could. But they had just gone through a battle and they weren’t ready to accept defeat just yet.

Bridgies head coach Carl Johnson was extremely proud of his team and the way they were able to mount a comeback the way they did.

“We spoke about it and we said, you know what? No matter what happens, win or lose, we leave everything on the court,” he said after the game. “I couldn’t be any prouder than what they did because they left everything on the court. The hole was just a little too deep for us … but to cut it down to five, a break here and there, who knows? But in my eyes, they’re champions.”

Jai Feaster, the junior who scored a team-high 31 points — which included going 17 for 20 from the free throw line a day after the team did not shoot well from the line in its semifinal victory over Loudonville Christian — was named to the All-Tournament Team along with senior teammate Jaylen Harding, who finished with 15 points, eight of which came in that fourth quarter.

“We gave it all we had,” an emotional Feaster said after the game. “I think maybe we should have came out a little bit harder in the beginning, but we fought. We’ll be back next year.”

There were a few things that sparked that comeback in the fourth. As Johnson noted, “we went back to what we did all season,” which was the aforementioned full-court, man-to-man defense that the players, Johnson said, hadn’t done in the beginning of the game for one reason or another. Couple that with the fact that numerous Bridgehampton players, from Feaster, to Jaylen Harding, his younger brother Jordan Harding, and fellow sophomore Xavier Johnson, started attacking the basket more from in the paint.

“We thought coming in, whoever is going to get the most points in the paint is probably going to win the game,” Johnson said. “I thought in the first three quarters they were getting points in the paint and we weren’t. And then all of sudden we stopped shooting threes, started going to the basket and attacking, and that was the part where the game changed around a bit. They probably ended up with more touches in the paint game and that was probably the game right there.”

With 2:35 remaining in the game, junior Alex Davis, who committed his third foul just two minutes into the second quarter, fouled out of the game. He finished with 10 points.

With just over a minute remaining in the game, Panama, led by senior Carter Brink, who finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, worked the ball around the court, killing as much time as it could, sensing Bridgehampton’s comeback. Brink converted on a pair of layups late to increase the Panther’s lead, and with 15.6 seconds left, both teams emptied their benches.

“It’s our last ride, this is the last chance we got,” Feaster said in what fueled the team down the stretch. “We’ve got 16 minutes to change this game around so we know we have to put it all out there. When we step on the court in the third quarter, that’s what we tried to do. Sometimes it just doesn’t go our way and we just have to deal with that.”

Dealing with a lot of emotions from his players after the game, Johnson said he told his players to remember the moment, as hard as it may be right now.

“This will humble you and keep you hungry,” he said. “If you don’t like this taste, you’ll do something about it, individually. Not just for me, but for yourselves.

“I think they’re going to be more hungry and humble coming into next year,” Johnson added. “Nothing is guaranteed, but you might see a different team next year, barring any injury or something.”

Speaking of next season, Bridgehampton, which had its 18-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night, finishes the season 22-2, with its only other loss this season to East Hampton at the very beginning of the season in the Kendall Madison Tip-Off Classic. They will start the process off once again vying for their 10th state title, and they’ll do so with what is expected to be the majority of the team back, with just Jaylen Harding and Miczar Garcia set to graduate in June.

Jaylen, along with his two brothers, Jordan and Jackson, transferred back to Bridgehampton this year after spending the past few years in Riverhead. Coach Johnson said he is going to miss having the elder Harding.

“His senior year, he just gave it all,” he said. “I think he was the spark in the second half that got us going and he left his heart out there. He’s in tears right now — if you’re not crying right now that means you don’t love it, you’re not hurting — and it meant a lot to him. He’s hurting right now but he has to be proud of himself. I’m very proud of him for leaving it on the court the way he did.”

Feaster said bringing a state title back to Bridgehampton will be his sole mission from now until next season.

“We’ll be in the gym tomorrow. Our season starts today,” he said. “This won’t happen again. I won’t let it.

“Bringing it back home to all the fans — if you were looking up in the stands tonight, seeing everybody that came out to support us — letting them down, it hurts me in a different way,” Feaster added. “I just want to give it to them even more. There’s nothing more that I want, and this won’t stop me. I promise you, it won’t stop me.”

But Coach Johnson said his team has nothing to be ashamed of whatsoever.

“There’s not one fan or supporter that’s leaving here disappointed,” he said. “It’s not always about winning that championship, it’s that fight.”