East Hampton Boys Basketball Falls 68-50 in Opening Round of SYS Tournament

Not entirely sure of what to expect against the visiting Dalton Tigers from New York City, the Bonackers varsity boys basketball team slowly slipped and eventually fell 68-50 in the first round of the second-annual Southampton Youth Services Holiday Classic basketball tournament on Friday evening.

The Bonackers will now face Bridgehampton in the consolation game at 6 p.m. Saturday, prior to the Southampton vs. Dalton championship game slated for 8 p.m.

East Hampton head coach Bill McKee said the team struggled on scoring despite its best efforts.

"Every time we made a mistake, they took advantage," he added.

Tying the scoreboard at the outset from a Cameron Yusko three-pointer, the Bonackers converted this to a five-point lead by the end of the first quarter, as teammates Steven Bahns and Thomas King slashed away inside. Yusko bucketed another 3 for East Hampton's 13th point, taking back control at 1:30 left. A second-quarter seesaw ensued as Dalton edged up by two on its 23rd point with 5:13 to go, tying for the last time 26-26 before the Tigers' two-pointer with :35 to go tipped it back for the final time.

The Bonacker's thirteen points in the third quarter included three three-pointers, two trips to the line (3-for-5) and a two-point last word by Bahns just before the buzzer, but the rally ultimately failed to do much damage as the Tigers roared ahead to an eight-point lead.

East Hampton was held to 40 points for the first three minutes of the last quarter. King's 2 broke the deadlock to trail by fifteen points, but the writing was on the wall - East Hampton shot eight more points through the end, as the Tigers stretched their lead by eleven more. 

Bahns led East Hampton in scoring, putting up 16 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. King totaled 15 points. Yusko racked up nine points. Teammates John Nolan scored six points and Patrick McGuirk picked up four points - McGuirk also grabbed nine rebounds. Bahns and Yusko fared equally strong on outside shots - each made three three-pointers. 

Henry Lowe led the Tigers with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Connor Jacobson scored 16 points. Michael Salik added 12 points, and Parker Lalonde added six points.

The Holiday Classic raises money for SYS's scholarship fund - last year's event raised nearly $2,000, according to SYS executive director Scott Johnson. 

Junior Varsity Boys Basketball

A junior varsity game between Southampton and East Hampton was held before the tournament: The Bonackers fell 42-37 to the Mariners. Donte Donegal led East Hampton on the scoreboard with 10 points. Joe Sandoval added seven points, shooting 3-for-4 from the line. Donya Davis and Keaton Crozier each put up six points. 

John Kraus led Southampton with 17 points, and teammates Scott Ricca and Nitauke Williams both added nine points apiece. Kraus, Ricca and Williams all went 2-for-4 on free throws.

This story will be updated Sunday morning with new information from Saturday's game.