Schools
Royals Win Big at Home, 69-45, against Pierson
The boys led at half time 35-12 before making changes with the line-up.
The Port Jefferson boys’ varsity basketball Royals, 2-1 (3-4), were just too big and on-point for the Pierson Whalers, 0-4 (0-7), as they won 69-45 in the League VII match up Thursday night at home.
Heroes: With a game high 18 points, Terrell Rose made sure the Whalers had no chance at a comeback. About halfway through the first quarter, he scored ten consecutive points putting the ball back in his own hands after a block and a steal on the following play. Rose scored a total of 13 points in the first half.
Turning Point: After losing the tip, the Royals fought back and started off with a 6-0 run. From there on, the Royals continued to force turnovers and sank a high percentage of shots from around the floor, including eight 3-pointers. In the second half the Whalers found a level of comfort, and matched up against some of the Royals bench, the Whalers scored 33 of their 45 points in quarters three and four.
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Bottom Line: The Royals had a big advantage of confidence that only seemed to grow throughout the game. They tried alley-oops from out-of-bounds pass-ins and left room for the Whalers to shoot, sure that a couple of baskets wouldn’t make much of a difference, but head coach Michael Riley was on them all game making sure integrity was in-tact.
Pierson’s a small team, they showed 10 players, with most shorter than any member of the Royals starting line-up. But, it was more than just their size; the Whalers weren’t given many open looks at the basket, and even when they did have a shot, not many found the bottom of the hoop.
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Quote: “We came into this game after a loss from Greenport, we weren’t too upset about it, we kind of needed a humility check. This turned out to be one of the best games these guys have played together as a team all season. Collectively, it was a great game for the team more so than a couple of guys showing off. Hopefully we don’t get spoiled, because there are some tough games ahead of us,” Riley said after the game.
Who’s Next: Shelter Island at home Tuesday, Jan 18 at 6:15 p.m.
Key Statistics:
Terrell Rose- 18 pts.
Greg Nielson- 12 pts.
Port Jefferson.24..11..19..15..69
Pierson……7…5…13…20…45
