Boys Basketball: Wildcats go cold when Rocky Point heats up

Thirteen turned out to be a very unlucky number for the Shoreham-Wading River High School boys basketball team on Wednesday afternoon.

The Wildcats allowed a 6-point, third-quarter lead dissipate as host Rocky Point went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter en route to a 69-54 non-league win.

Enjoying a 38-32 lead with 4 minutes 9 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Shoreham (3-4, 0-3 Suffolk County League VI) suddenly went cold and the Eagles turned red hot to turn the game upside down.

Rocky Point (4-4, 2-1 League V) sank three consecutive treys. Senior guard Alec Rinaldi (11 points) and Harry Lynch hit (11 points) hit their 3-point shots to knot things up at 38-38 before senior forward Ben Collesidis (11 points) put in another long-range basket, giving the Eagles a 41-38 advantage they would never relinquish.

After reserve forward David Apperson added 4 more points on a rebound shot and two foul shots, Shoreham’s Ken DeGolyer finally stopped the bleeding by converting a layup with one second left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 45-40.

DeGolyer sank a shot 15 seconds into the fourth quarter to close within 45-42, but that was the closest the visitors would get as Rocky Point continued its hot shooting to pull away.

While the Wildcats regained their shooting touch in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were even hotter, outscoring them, 22-14. In fact, the Eagles were nearly perfect during that span, sinking 9 of 12 attempts from the field, including a trey.

For the game, the Wildcats converted 36.5 percent (23 of 63) of their shots, compared to the Eagles’ 52.8 percent (28 of 53).

Doug DeMaio paced Shoreham with 17 points, while Kevin Curran added 16.

Mason Cline led Rocky Point with 14 points.

Photo credit: Shoreham-Wading River’s Jason Curran hitting a jump shot during his team’s non-league loss at Rocky Point. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)