Morris in action vs. Schechter (PC: Jed Lazzeri)
When the boys' basketball team tangled with Lawrence Woodmere on December 5, they were without several key players in a 90-58 loss that was close early but got away from them in the second half. Yesterday, the pair clashed in Swanson Gymnasium in a highly-anticipated rematch that saw the Bears win 50-43 to send a message to the PSAA that the title may just run through Stony Brook.
The 39-point turnaround between December's loss and yesterday's victory is the greatest point differential between a loss and a win against the same opponent in the same season since the Bears engineered a 40-point swing against Knox in 2020.
The New York State Class A #24 Tigers opened the game on a 6-2 run, with a Nate Small jumper representing the Bears' only offense for the first three minutes of the game. A Randolph Logan 3-pointer pulled The Brook back within 5-6, but a quick 6-0 run gave Woodmere a 12-5 advantage. In the closing seconds of the quarter, Small connected on a 3-pointer to pull the Bears within 8-12 after one. Despite trailing, the Bears gained the upper hand in a key battle early on as Fraysser Torres matched the Tigers' bruising 6' 10" center. The junior stuffed his counterpart twice in the quarter, setting a tone that neutralized the big man for much of the game.
In the second, Small opened the scoring with a jumper before the Tigers hit their first 3-pointer to go up 15-10. The Bears would answer by erasing their five-point deficit on a single possession to take a lead they would not give back.
The decisive possession happened when Orlando Morris drove and was fouled by the Tigers' big who threw the ball down out of frustration to incur a technical foul and give the Bears two additional foul shots and the ball back. Morris connected on all four free throws, and Small scored a putback on the ensuing possession to give the Bears a 16-15 edge and energize the crowd. Paul Coty followed with a tough up-and-under layup to push the Bears lead to 18-15. Woodmere answered with a bucket, but Logan countered with a 3-pointer for a 21-17 margin. Two free throws pulled the Tigers back within 19-21 before Andreas Simoni scored on a beautiful spin move in the lane in the closing seconds to give The Brook a 23-19 lead at the break.
Woodmere scored on their first possession of the third quarter to cut their deficit to 21-23 as the Swanson faithful settled in for what they thought would be a taut second half. But the Bears responded with a 12-0 run to build a double-digit lead they would hold for most of the rest of the game. Morris ignited the game-breaking surge with a deep 3-pointer. Torres followed with a dunk, set up by a gorgeous pass from Logan, before Morris hit another three to build the Bears' largest lead at 31-21. Morris followed with an offensive rebound and a floater then a jumper to cap the 12-point spurt, of which he scored 10. Woodmere finally broke the streak with a jumper, but Morris answered by burying his third 3-pointer of the frame, while being fouled, to push the Bears' advantage to 38-23. Woodmere scored the last five points of the quarter, including a last-second 3-pointer to pull within 28-38 entering the fourth. Morris had 13 of the Bears' 15 points in a spectacular third quarter, but he wasn't done yet.
Woodmere opened with a big 3-pointer to cut their deficit to seven, but Morris drilled yet another 3-pointer to push the lead back to 41-31 and give him 16 of the Bears' last 18 points. It was the first of numerous answers the Bears had every time the Tigers tried to spur a comeback. A Woodmere layup was answered by a Small 3-pointer. 44-33. A Tiger putback was answered by--checks notes--another Morris 3-pointer. 47-35. Woodmere scored another putback and hit a three to edge back within seven, but a Logan steal and a Michael Xiang free throw with 46.1 seconds left all but finished off the visitors.
Morris led all scorers with a season-high 25 points that included 5 three-pointers. Small (12), Logan (6), Coty (2), Simoni (2), Torres (2), and Xiang (1) also scored for the Bears. The most impressive part of the win was the Blue & White defense, which limited Woodmere, who came into the game undefeated in league play and averaging 75.5 ppg, to their second-lowest point total of the season. The win was all the more stunning because the Bears were without senior Dylan Kopp, who is currently #2 on the Long Island private school scoring list and #6 overall at 23.3 ppg.
The Bears are back in action on Monday in a PSAA match-up with Martin Luther.
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