Hills West Boys Basketball Defeats ESM

The boys basketball team defeated ESM (Eastport South Manor) on Saturday morning with a 64-49 victory.  They will face Central Islip on Thursday, February 24th.

Hills West's all-star player, Tavon Sledge, scored a team high 36 points, followed by Chrix Cox, who had 12 points. From the start, Hills West took control of the game with their powerful defense, and fast paced rushing to the basket.  ESM all-star, Curtis Smith, guarded Sledge, and vice versa.

Both teams seemed evenly matched for the first few minutes, and then Hills West started to take a hold.  Sledge dunked his first shot at the 3:35 mark, making the score 10-8.  By the 1:00 mark, HS West was leading 18-8, and they stayed in the lead until the end.  Going into the second quarter with a 10-point lead, Hills West started off well.

In the second quarter, Hills West started to use a double-team defense.  This held back ESM even further. ESM unfortunately did not amp up their defense, and they suffered because of it.  At the 3:00 mark, the score was 26-27.  At the 1:00 mark, the score was 35-20, the deepest deficit ESM had had so far.  Now in a hole 15 points, the game did not look promising for ESM.  With only seconds to go until halftime, Sledge ran down the clock to the 4-second mark, charged his way into the paint and slammed the ball into the hoop with a one-handed dunk.  With the crowd cheering and the score 39-24, Hills West had a reason to celebrate.

The third quarter didn't see much of a change from the previous two.  By the 4:00 mark, ESM was down by 18 points, 48-30.  At the 1:00 mark, they were down by 20. Hills West simply moved the ball faster, and played heavier defense than ESM the entire game.  ESM cut the deficit down to 17 points by the end, going into the final quarter up 54-37.  

The fourth quarter saw a slight chance of a comeback for ESM, as they cut the lead down to 9 points at the 3:00 mark.  However, they couldn't keep up with Hills West's speed and strength.  Toward the end of the fourth quarter, Hills West had 13-point lead, and put in their second string.  Everyone knew the game was over, it was just a matter of time before the buzzer was heard.  Ending 63-49, both teams walked up and down the court slapping hands.

After the game, Sledge signed autographs for his fans. Hills West head coach, Bill Mitaritonna, commented on the game:  "ESM is a good team, very well coached.  They came out hard today and gave us a challenge.  I think we came out a bit flat today, but we'll be fine."