T-Birds Downed by Arrows 71-64

The boys basketball team had defeated the Sachem North Arrows 54-51 at their last meeting on January 4, but they were unable to do it again yesterday, although the T-Birds never were lacking for energy.

They have learned that wins can be incredibly elusive - energy, depth and a versatile offense notwithstanding. Although 10 of its players managed to score, the team struggled to find the right five-man combo that would lock up a lead.

North (5-4 in League II, 8-5 overall), on the other hand, was just the opposite: Setting a frenetic tempo from tip-off and making quick work of Hills East (3-6 in League II, 6-6 overall) on early possessions, it routinely broke presses, scored from both inside and out and recovered smoothly from minor passing and ball-handling errors. The spread tightened up in the fourth quarter, and despite its inability to stretch the lead further on its 11 trips to the stripe, North's more well-balanced approach did finally guide the way to its 71-64 win.

"The effort was real good, I can't fault that," said Hills East head coach Peter Basel. "But they had good shooters, and we knew they would run the pick-and-roll. Give credit to Sachem North, they spotted up and knocked down the long-range shots. The threes were real backbreakers."

North shot six three-pointers in the game, half of which were delivered by lead scorer Vinny Vacanti. Racking up 25 points total, including 10 in the first quarter alone, he also led on foul shooting with a 10-for-12 or 83% effort from the line.

As North wrested control of the board early on, Vacanti fired off two of them in the fifth minute of the first quarter to swell the Arrows' lead to 10, before and after Hills East's lead scorer Chris Corso (18 points) sunk his first of all three three-pointers for the Colts. North's Anthony Buettner (seven points), subbed in for Brian Ford (five points), launched another three for the team's final score of the first quarter, as Hills East trailed 26-17.

"We were getting shooters in great spots, getting great looks," said North head coach Tom Mullee. "That allowed us to build up a nice little cushion for ourselves."

The even-keeled second quarter preserved North's nine-point lead but the game grew more physical in the latter half, as did the number of foul calls which narrowly favored North, allowing it to climb ahead by 12 points going into the final quarter, when Hills East made the most trouble for North, scoring 23 points between six players.

Corso drained a two-pointer in the fifth minute. Robby Reiser (two points) intercepted a missed pass and scored a wide-open two, then Corso took it back to the hole for two more, trimming North's lead to six points. Keyran Lawrence (four points) shrunk it to five on another two-pointer, but Vacanti hit a pair of free throws after drawing a foul from Reiser, right before North called a time-out. 

The lead was cut to five again (69-64) after several more foul calls, when Corso bucketed his final three and Hills East called its final time-out with just 18.6 seconds left. Jimmy Reiser (three points) fouled North's David Brown (20 points), allowing Brown to go 1-for-2. A final foul call let North's Nick Gallina (five points, eight assists) shut the door, where he also went 1-for-2.

North totaled 19-for-39 (49%) on free throws, and its spottier 9-for-22 (41%) effort in the fourth quarter failed to help the team re-expand its lead, relying mostly on defensive pressure and strategic time-outs to halt momentum.

Hills East totaled 41% for the game, going 7-for-17 from the line.

"That's been our Achilles' heel all season," admitted Basel. "They're like free points, if you can cash in."

North center Brown (20 points) put in most of the work from the post, scoring all of his field goals from down low where he also grabbed three offensive rebounds, adding a 4-for-9 (44%) effort on free throws. He loomed as North's biggest threat on defense, grabbing seven boards downcourt and making six blocks. Also scoring for North were Doug Wirth (eight points) and John Shannon (one point).

In addition to Corso's contributions, Tyler McKenzie scored 11 points for Hills East. Mike Chemtob, Matt Garziano and Billy Wesnofske each chipped in six points. Ryan Nitti added five points. Nate Schwartz scored three points apiece.

Further stats for Hills East were unavailable at this time. This article will be updated when stats are made available.