Bridgehampton boys basketball's Jordyn Turner hits go-ahead layup, lifts team to tournament title game
Jordyn Turner of Bridgehampton splits the defense to hit the winner in the first round of the Southampton Christmas Tournament against East Hampton on Friday, Dec. 19 in Southampton. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
It is hard to begin winter recess any better than with a game-winner against a crosstown rival.
With 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, junior forward Jordyn Turner hit a layup through traffic to break a tie and ultimately win it for Bridgehampton in a 63-61 final over East Hampton in the Mariners Athletic Club Holiday Tournament at Southampton High School in boys basketball action on Friday. Bridgehampton (5-1) plays Westhampton (4-2) Saturday at 3 p.m. in the championship game.
With the score tied at 61 , Turner caught a pass on the right wing and noticed a soft spot in the defense. Turner drove the right lane, met East Hampton center Miles Menu in the low post, scooped the ball underhand with his right and laid it in through contact to go back in front. East Hampton (3-2) had one more chance , but its final shot glanced off the rim and Bridgehampton freshman Jackson Harding pulled down his eighth rebound to secure the win.
“I was just happy that it went in,” Turner said. “I started the game missing a lot of layups. I was getting the looks I wanted, but I just wasn’t finishing. I saw that I had an opening and I just took it, and I’m just glad that the most important one went in.”
The Killer Bees led the tournament’s opener for more than 31 minutes.They made six three-pointers within the first four minutes and went up 22-12, but East Hampton made an adjustment and took the three-point line away. East Hampton came all the way back, tying it at 61-61 on a fast-break layup by Menu with 25 seconds left in the fourth. Toby Foster scored 29 points for East Hampton.
The two teams met last Friday in a tournament hosted by East Hampton — the Kendall Madison Tournament — with the Killer Bees falling, 47-45. Turner refused to lose to the same crosstown rival again, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds (three offensive) and three assists .
Turner’s go-ahead shot was witnessed by more than just the East Hampton and Bridgehampton faithful, as the parents and players from Westhampton and Southampton were also watching from the stands, waiting for their game to start. Being able to make an impression on much of the Hamptons region is something that Turner will always remember.
“That was a great feeling,” Turner said. “It was cool seeing everybody altogether. I know people from all four towns. Looking back on it, it’s a really nice moment.”
Senior guard Alex Davis led Bridgehampton with 18 points, including five three-pointers. He also totaled seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Davis forms a strong backcourt tandem with classmate Jai Feaster — who had 13 points and three assists — but he believes it is Turner’s nightly efforts that make the Killer Bees a complete force.
“He’s a hustle player,” Davis said. “He’ll get you points when you need, he’s going to get you rebounds, he’s going to move the ball and he’s going to play crazy defense. Put him on anybody. Anybody on the whole Island, I’m taking him over them.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
