Hickey's 20 points key Smithtown West win
Smithtown West guard Ryan Hickey drives down the court guarded by Stony Brook's Richard Armand. (Jan. 24, 2012) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
When Smithtown West dials up Ryan Hickey's number, it's a long-distance call.
Hickey, a 5-10 guard, nailed four three-pointers and scored 20 points to lead the Bulls to a 66-52 win over host Stony Brook Tuesday in a non-league boys basketball game.
Hickey has a Long-Island best 46 threes on the season.
"Usually, when I hit the first couple of shots, that opens up the offense," said Hickey, who did just that, sinking treys from each side of the court on his first two long-range attempts. "Everyone else gets better looks. Our offense revolves around ball movement."
Hickey had 15 points at halftime as the Bulls (6-6) led 37-31. He became more of a distributor in the second half, with five of his seven assists and West outscored Stony Brook 16-7 in the third quarter.
"Coach wants us to rebound, so we can fast break," said forward Mike Baiardi, who had 18 points and six rebounds. "We cut without the ball a lot and whoever is open can shoot it."
Baiardi scored two inside baskets sandwiched around Hickey's last three-pointer as the Bulls opened the fourth with seven straight points. But Stony Brook (5-4) showed its own long-distance firepower with nine threes, three in a row by Brandon Odom to make it 61-47 with 3:45 left. But West made some stops and took control. Odom and Marco Masakayan scored 14 points apiece for Stony Brook.
"We looked for more ball movement and ratcheted up the defense in the second half," Smithtown West coach Mike Massa said. "We always want our defense to be our offense."
Eric Joseph helped the Bulls on both ends and had 13 points and nine rebounds. "Three guys in double figures -- that's what we're trying to do," Massa said. "Ryan draws a lot of attention. If he gets other guys the ball, we're a better team."
Hickey solved Stony Brook's diamond-and-one defense to start the game -- a four-man zone with one player assigned to harass Hickey -- with nonstop motion. "He's always moving without the ball," Massa said. "We found him."
And Hickey made them pay for those roaming charges.
