Eagles Basketball Lose To Reigning Suffolk Champs

The Hauppauge boys varsity basketball couldn’t find their way out of an early hole exposed by the Half Hollow Hills West Colts, losing 49-74 Tuesday night at home.

Final Score: Hauppauge 49, Half Hollow Hills West 74

Record: Hauppauge 2-2 (5-5),  Hills West Colts  4-1 (4-2) in League V

Heroes: Reluctant to allow the Colts to get to an early lead, Robbie Scheim worked himself to the bench after two fouls in the opening minutes, before scoring a team high 12 points in quarters 2-4. 

Turning Point: The Eagles attempted to close off the middle, but the Colts brought fast moves around the hoop and ended up with three-point plays after being fouled. On the first four Colt drives, they were sent to the line three times, and by the end of the first half the Eagles had 10 fouls.

At times, Hauppauge seemed to effectively limit the Colts scoring with defensive rebounding from Kyle Sutryk and Dominick Repole, but they weren’t able to produce on the other end of the court. The Colts had quick hands that deflected passes and stripped dribblers, and every few plays the ball would be tossed down court for a fast break dunk.

Quote: “We’re playing against a couple players who are likely to end up in Division I colleges, there’s not much to expect against talent like that. There are other teams we’ll be seeing in the next few weeks. It’d be nice to see the guys a little more assertive and limit the turnovers. Our goals aren’t changingm we’re working towards the playoffs,” Hauppauge’s head coach Dave Masino said after the game.

Bottom Line: The Half Hollow Hills West Colts have had some of the best players in New York over the past couple of seasons including last year’s NYSSWA’s player of the year in Tobias Harris, now at the University of Tennessee, and his younger brother, Tyler, who transferred schools this season to line up a spot at North Carolina State. Their senior point guard Tavon Sledge, who continues to lead the offense, has commited to Iowa State University. This team is one of the best, and they play like it. Their only league loss cam from West Babylon on Jan. 11.

Who’s Next: The Eagles are away for the next two games at Deer Park, 2-1 (6-3) on Friday at 5:45 p.m. , and Huntington, 1-3 (4-5), on Jan. 27 at 6:15 p.m. 

Box Score