SWR boys basketball make playoffs for first time in five years
It’s been five years since the Shoreham-Wading River boys basketball team last made the playoffs. Each year, there were more struggles than successes. But there was always something building among the youth. There were flashes of what could be.
This year’s team, dominated by experienced seniors, has finally put the program back on the map after winning its seventh game of the season and qualifying for the playoffs during a recent stretch of wins.
After defeating Babylon 78-49 on Saturday afternoon at Shoreham-Wading River High School, the Wildcats have a firm handle on earning one of the top seeds come playoff time with an overall record of 15-3 and a 9-3 record in League VI play.
“It shows that the boys finally bought into what we’ve been preaching all these years,” head coach Kevin Culhane said. “We’ve always excelled at the physical part of the game. We have terrific athletes. What I thought we lacked in years past was the mental game. The ability to overcome a big run, to take your opponent’s best punch and punch back. We’ve done it all year long.”
After winning nine games in a row to start the season, SWR finally hit its first roadblock, losing by a single point to Center Moriches on Jan. 10, followed by a 72-60 loss to Southampton the game after.
“Last year, those two losses sends this team spiraling,” Culhane said. “This year is a different story. We’ve been there. We believe in ourselves. We’ve never been so strong mentally as a group. There isn’t much that will faze us.”
The Wildcats quickly returned to their winning ways, collecting three wins in a row before being tripped up by Bayport-Blue Point for their third loss of the season, and then staring at another Center Moriches-Southampton matchup in successive games immediately after. It was a make-or-break point in the season.
“They were playoff games,” Culhane said. “The atmosphere, the runs, the back and forth, the constant pressure. We had to step up and show that we belong, and to their credit, they did.”
On Jan. 27, Shoreham-Wading River took down Center Moriches 65-55. The team then followed it up with a 54-53 victory at Southampton, handing them their first league play loss of the season. SWR had to fight back from a 20-5 third-quarter run by Southampton to take the lead again in the fourth quarter, which showed the guts of this team.
“Those two wins were huge for us,” senior guard James Cook said. “We had a little slump in the season where I think maybe we got away from playing team basketball. Anyone in the starting lineup is capable of scoring 20 any given night. When we start to play selfishly, that’s when our problems begin.”
The Wildcats have their shooters in Cook, Max Boerum and Zach Makarewicz, but they also have elite slashers in Tyler Lievre and Carter Baumeister. They can get points on the board in a variety of ways that make them dangerous against any opponent. Cook, who led the team in scoring against Babylon with 22 points, has no problem taking a back seat to anyone who has the hot hand that day.
Lievre, the do-it-all sophomore, leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game. He loves to get his teammates involved whenever he can, with both Makarewicz and Boerum averaging over 13 points per game.
“Every day in practice we push each other,” Boerum said. “We’re seeing that it’s translating to games. Our team chemistry is the highest it’s ever been. We’ve grown from every win and every loss. This is the best version of this team I’ve seen in all my time here.”
With the playoffs looming, the lack of experience playing in that atmosphere may be a worry for some coaches, but not Culhane.
“I’m not worried at all,” the coach said. “We’ve been in big games before. We won the summer league championship. Those wins over Center Moriches and Southampton showed us exactly what we needed to see. Our seniors have been amazing. Our coaches have been amazing. I think we have a great chance to be very successful in the playoffs this season. We’re hoping we can earn a home playoff opener.”
