Championship quest ends for SWR boys basketball team
The Shoreham-Wading River boys’ basketball team’s quest for its first Suffolk County championship in school history ended in the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday, Feb. 18, against No. 7 Sayville, 42-37.
The No. 2-seeded Wildcats had high expectations heading into the postseason after posting a 17-3 record this season. Led by a group of seniors that single-handedly spearheaded the renaissance of the boys’ basketball program, shots just didn’t fall when they needed them to.
After jumping out to a strong lead in the first quarter, behind the play of Zach Makarewicz, who hit two threes in the opening minutes, the Wildcats went ice cold in the second and third quarters, only scoring 15 points in total in front of their home crowd.
“I thought we got some great looks that whole stretch,” SWR head coach Kevin Culhane said following the loss. “It’s just one of those days that the ball didn’t roll our way. I think there were some other factors at play as well but our kids fought their hearts out.”
But even trailing as much as 10 points at one point, Shoreham-Wading River didn’t give up. They fought all the way back to tie it at 37-37 with just one minute and 14 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter. Senior James Cook, who finished with nine points, had his biggest buckets in that fourth quarter.
“We gave everything we had,” Cook said. “We had trouble with their size, but that didn’t stop us from fighting and trying to play our game.”
“This has been us all year long,” Culhane said. “We never quit. We fight till the finish. We never go away. That’s why this loss stings so much. We were so close.”
With the game tied still, Tyler Lievre came away with a steal and took it full speed down court and attempted a layup. The ball rimmed off, but Lievre seemingly fouled as he hit the floor so hard it echoed and stayed down. The game wasn’t stopped and Sayville, after getting a few second-chance opportunities, got fouled and hit a pair of free throws to take the lead.
“There were a few calls I felt like we should have had,” Culhane said. “That was one of them, but what are you going to do? It’s playoff basketball.”
Sayville would go back to the free throw line in their next possession to seal the deal and punch their ticket to the Suffolk County Class A semifinals against Kings Park.
“Great group of kids,” Culhane said. “That’s something we talked about afterward, about how we truly have quality kids — especially our seniors. They dragged the program from the doldrums to a 17-3 record. I told them, ‘Yeah it was a tough loss today, but we have to hold onto the fact that it was a great season.’ They did everything I asked of them.”
In a matter of three years, this group of seniors took the team’s record from 4-16, to 10-10 and now 17-3. It’s impressive to say the least.
“Hopefully the program can keep the momentum going,” Cook said. “We laid the foundation, and the guys behind us now have that playoff experience, and I think they can go far. I’m going to miss this. But I think we as seniors can finally say the program’s in a great spot now.”
