Cougars Send Pirates Overboard

When Mepham's Mike Woolfson nailed a three-pointer to start Friday's battle against Kennedy, it looked like the game would be an interesting contest. But that was not the case on this night, as that would be the only lead the Pirates would have on the night.

Kennedy's boys basketball team was bigger, quicker and smoother on the court, and the Cougars cruised to an easy 57-29 win.

"We knew we needed to come out and rebound," Kennedy's Mike Teich said. "Along with solid rebounding, defense is the key. We were able to outplay them in both parts of the game, and that's why we won." Teich was valuable with his ball handling, and he also contributed seven points off of the bench.

This game got out of hand pretty early. After Woolfson nailed the opening three-pointer for Mepham, the Cougars went on a 19-2 run to end the quarter. Kennedy was passing fluidly, getting second chances, making their baskets and most importantly, they were playing shutdown defense.

That's usually a formula that leads to victory.

Mepham (0-5), on the other hand, was not executing its game. Second year Head Coach Richard Wojcieski knows that his team has plenty of room to improve.

"We showed some good hustle tonight," Wojcieski said. "We need to put the ball in the basket. It's that simple. That is something that we are going to need to work on in the off season."

Mepham got a lot of open looks, but their shots were well off the mark, and Kennedy took advantage. The Cougars' transition game was in top form as they turned plenty of Mepham's misses into easy hoops.

One player who dominated the game throughout was Brendan Mills, who wasted no time establishing a presence down low. Mills led the Cougars with 32 points, and Wojcieski was very impressed with the physical forward.

"He is a solid player," Wojcieski said when referring to Mills. "When you have a presence like that down low, and then you have guys like Karo and Kruter nailing shots from the outside, it's tough to beat them."

Kennedy (6-3) had a 37-11 lead at the half, and that allowed coach Rory Block to give action to some guys that normally play sparingly.

"I am very happy to get an extended look at guys like Jason Champagne, Andrew Hirsch and Will Colon," Block said. "Those guys all played well."

The third quarter was much of the same story, with Kennedy continuing to bury their shots and show stifling defense, and Will Colon, who added five points off of the bench, was proud of the way his team executed its plans.

"We need to be tough on defense," Colon said. "We need to keep playing at our tempo, and good things are going to come to us."

When all was said and done, the Cougars ended up with a 57-29 victory, and Block was pleased with his team's performance.

"It all starts with rebounding and defense," Block said. "We executed tonight. When you do that, you win."

Along with Brendan Mills' team leading 32 points, Joey Karo and Andrew Kruter contributed 11 points apiece to the effort.

Kennedy will have a big mountain to climb when they visit unbeaten Plainview on Monday night.  The Pirates try to rebound today as they host Syosset.