Eagles Boarded Up Against Sayville

The Rocky Point-Sayville boys basketball game on Friday afternoon wasn’t pretty. But with two teams sitting at the bottom of their league squaring off, it’s not supposed to be. And when it was over, Sayville’s 46-40 win gave the team its first League V victory, pulling the Golden Flashes even with the Eagles at 1-4.

“We’ve played well enough to win the last several games, so it’s good to get one,” said Sayville coach Lou Lowe.

In its four league losses, Sayville's been beaten by a total of 11 points, so the Golden Flashes will take the win, which they got in large part because of Rocky Point’s inability to defend its own boards and protect the basketball.

Sayville dominated the rebounding category, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds in the first half alone. Add to that 11 first-half turnovers by the Eagles, and Rocky Point coach Jim Jordon knew he was in trouble.

“We didn’t take care of the ball and we got no foul shots in the first half,” Jordon said. “I didn’t think we came out aggressive.”

Sayville led 13-11 after an uneventful first quarter, a lead which it stretched to 30-22 by halftime. Utilizing a half-court trap, the team bottled up Rocky Point’s offense, which was slow to react to backcourt pressure.

“We needed to move the ball better, and play harder early,” said Rocky Point guard Joe Bloom, who led his team with 11 points, nine of those on 3-pointers.

But while Rocky Point held a 12-0 first-half point advantage from 3-point range, Sayville scored its points by moving the ball around the perimeter and working the ball inside. A big benefactor of the half-court offense was Sayville center Rich Geiger. He dominated the inside during the first half, when he scored all of his nine points.

“[Sayville] got a lot of points in the paint,” Rocky Point center Andreas Vouliakis said. “We need to do a better job boxing out and going harder after the ball.”

Poor shooting by the Golden Flashes in the third quarter allowed Rocky Point to get back into the game. The Eagles outscored Sayville 10-4 in the third quarter, closing to within two at 34-32, as Vouliakis (6 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Kodi Lubkeman (5 points) tallied outside jumpers.

Both teams went cold in the early portion of the fourth quarter, as the two teams went nearly over two minutes without a score. Bloom’s running one hander closed the gap to 40-38 with 3:08 remaining, which was one of the few times Jordon saw his team taking the ball inside.

“We struggled [all game] getting to the basket,” Jordon said. “We need to have a post-up presence. We have two big guys. Instead, we’re taking jump shots with defenders in our face.

“In this league, with so many games being competitive, you really need to win your home games.”

For Sayville, a win is a win, home or away, and Lowe not only got one, but got his players to focus on key aspects that he felt needed attention.

“Every game, we focus on two things,” Lowe said. “In this game, it was rebounding and moving the ball. We wanted to keep them to one shot, and create second opportunities on the offensive end.”

That Sayville did. And on many occasions, third chances too, as the Golden Flashes continued to throw up shots, and Rocky Point failed to control its defensive boards.

Next game: Rocky Point travels to Eastport-South Manor on Tuesday.

Scoring by Quarters:

Individual Scorers: