When it took its home court on the evening of Jan. 24, the East Hampton High School boys basketball team hadn't played a game in about a month — a Covid-caused layoff. For its star shooting guard, Luke Reese, who suffered what was thought to have been a season-ending knee injury in a 72-50 loss here to Kings Park on Dec. 9, the layoff had even been longer.
Reese was not at 100 percent on the 24th, though he was perfect from the foul line at the end of the fourth quarter, when it counted. The fifth of his free throws in that final minute and a half of play, sunk with no time left on the clock, was the one that ate Islip's dreams and made Bonac a 52-51 winner.
The visitors, who entered the game still looking for their first win in league play, pressed Dan White's team from the get-go, and the pressure, while not quite as suffocating as Southampton's, produced a considerable number of turnovers.
East Hampton's defense was tight too. The Buccaneers were 0-for-10 from the 3-point arc before their long-range shots started to fall in the fourth quarter, which began with the Bonackers leading 39-33.
With three minutes to go, a converted East Hampton turnover brought the visitors to within 3 points, at 45-42, after which Finn Byrnes, at the other end of the court, was called for a foul after spinning around — and sending a defender toppling — for a close-in basket that the foul annulled.
Islip brought the ball up, and, with 2:30 remaining, its point guard, Vinny Roselli, much to the delight of the visiting team's bench and fans, drained a 3 that tied the game at 45-45.
Seconds later, the visitors were given another chance by way of a jump-ball call, the inbounded ball going out to Dandrew Valgean beyond the arc, but his aim was off. Likewise, Liam Fowkes missed once the Bonackers had brought the ball down the court, but they retained possession, and, following a timeout, Reese put back a Jack Dickinson miss for 47-45.
Valgean came up empty again from 3-point range, after which he fouled Reese, who, with 1:26 left, made both ends of the one-and-one, putting East Hampton up by 4 points. Roselli then answered with another resounding 3, paring Bonac's lead to 49-48 going into the final minute of play.
East Hampton's Cash Muse sent up an errant midrange jumper with 47.5 seconds to go, but, following an Islip timeout, Reese was fouled in going for a defensive rebound, and again made both ends of the one-and-one for a 51-48 lead — a lead, however, that was quickly to be wiped out by another Roselli bomb, which tied the score at 51-51.
Five seconds were on the clock when the inbounded ball went to Reese. He took two dribbles, and, in the act of offering up a Hail Mary from midcourt, was fouled. With everyone looking on, Reese calmly swished the free throw that averted overtime and won the game for East Hampton.
In the aftermath, Coach White hugged Reese, who was wearing an ice pack on his right knee as he walked off the court, and, following the team meeting, said that he had moved his star guard in and out of the game throughout the night because Reese's knee had been one of his concerns. Another was Islip's full-court press. "We could do better at handling it, but we're improving," he said.
The win improved East Hampton's league record to 2-3 and to 5-5 over all. Because of the Covid layoff, the team as of that night was scheduled to play 10 games in 15 days — something that couldn't be helped, East Hampton's athletic director, Joe Vas, said.