Aiden Swinson and Iliyaas Blair lift Bay Shore to victory over Brentwood
Aiden Swinson, one of four Bay Shore players in double figures, dribbles the ball upcourt against Brentwood on Thursday. Credit: Bob Sorensen
In what Bay Shore coach Ken Parham described as a “playoff atmosphere” inside the Brentwood gymnasium on Thursday night, Brentwood’s student section chanted “Overrated” to Parham’s team as they took the floor.
Parham’s Marauders earned a 71-62 win over Brentwood, their sixth straight, and proved they are anything but.
“I think it’s good for the young men to play in that situation where they had a great crowd, great energy,” Parham said. “When you come here, you have to really play your best game to win.”
Aiden Swinson and Iliyaas Blair each scored 19 points to lead Bay Shore (15-3, 13-2), second in the Suffolk I standings. The Marauders hit eight three-pointers and reached 70 points for the fourth time this season.
Bay Shore led by nine points at halftime but scored 28 points in the third quarter and carried a 20-point lead into the final frame.
“We came out of the locker room hard, we came out intense and wanted to win,” Swinson said. “When the crowd is loud, we ignore that. Basketball is a mental game.”
Bay Shore turned the ball over three times early in the first quarter, and Brentwood turned those mistakes into six points. Terrell Adderley maneuvered an acrobatic reverse layup to give Bay Shore its first lead with 3:15 remaining in the first quarter, and the Marauders didn’t trail after that.
Still, Brentwood’s Josh Ramos, who finished with a team-high 16 points, scored eight first-half points and kept Bay Shore within 10 points at halftime. The Bay Shore offense slowed as Brentwood increased its full-court press, and the game was three Brentwood deep shots away from being tied.
But Swinson and the Marauders entered the second half with intensity. Bay Shore’s center, Xavier Juarez, knocked down two three-pointers early in the third quarter and grabbed the momentum.
“I just refocused them,” Parham said about his halftime message to his team. “There were some things that we wanted to try and do to begin the game, and as the game went on we kind of got away from that a little bit. So I just wanted to lock them back in.”
Four Bay Shore players finished in double figures, as Michael Samuda and Adderley each finished with 11 points. After starting the season with five straight wins, the Marauders are riding their longest win streak of the season with two regular-season games remaining.
