It was a tough week in the paint for Bonac basketball. The boys dropped two games in a row, a close 53-56 loss to Harborfields on Jan. 14 followed by a winnable battle they couldn’t hold onto against Half Hollow Hills West on Saturday. They lost that one 55-69, dropping their record to 5-6 in the league and 6-7 overall.
But the biggest loss of the week was Miles Menu. The junior forward hyperextended his knee in the first minute of the game against Harborfields and will be out for several weeks. Scans showed he didn’t do any additional damage.
“So far it looks like everything is good. I don’t think there are any long-term issues that he’s going to face. So that’s the most important thing,” Dave Conlon, the head coach, said. “In regards to him coming back, that’s still a big mystery. I don’t think any of us know.”
Without Menu, the Bonackers are missing their tallest player and strongest rebounder, who creates all kinds of action under the hoop and can catch just about anything thrown his way.
“Miles, when he rolls, he pulls the defense with him and he sets really good screens up high,” Conlon said. “He can catch even a bad pass and somehow manage to secure the catch and get a shot at the rim. Those are all things we’re going to have to try to work through.”
Rebounding was one of East Hampton’s biggest problems against Half Hollow Hills West, who were undefeated until Jan. 14, when Westhampton Beach beat them 72-59. A combination of turnovers, missed layups, and perimeter pressure cost the Bonackers the game, though they played a strong third quarter and were in striking distance until the fourth.
“The ball was moving. We were getting dribble penetration,” Conlon said. “We were getting good shots at the rim or a good kickout for a good open shot, so I think when the ball moves like that and it doesn’t get sticky and stale, then I think we’re pretty good.”
With Menu out, Tyler Persan is stepping in. Persan was sidelined with an ankle injury until this week and is still getting back into game condition, but Coach Conlon hopes once the team adjusts to its new starting lineup, the boys will be competitive in the second half of the season.
“We’ve got to make do with what we have, and I still think we have enough here to certainly be a playoff team,” Conlon said. “But it’s going to require us really buckling down and everybody doing a little bit more to make up for the loss of Miles.”
While the varsity basketball team lost to Hills West, the junior varsity won a thriller, 73-68. It was the team’s second win of the week, having beaten Harborfields just a few days earlier.
