LI takes bronze in men's basketball after two OTs
BUFFALO - Time and time again throughout the Empire State Games, the Long Island open men's basketball team showed its mettle.
It didn't come home with the gold, but it took every opponent to the limit.
The team's resilience was rewarded Sunday as Stony Brook's David Coley scored 23 points and Hofstra's Cornelius Vines 16 to lead L.I. to a bronze medal with an 85-80 double-overtime win over Adirondack.
"It was a great weekend of basketball," L.I. coach Dan Rickard said. "We were a little shorthanded, but they kept going at it hard."
L.I. needed two big plays to stay in it and received them from Vines and Stony Brook's Chris Martin.
Martin connected on a layup with eight seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Vines drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to force the second OT.
"We lost J.J. Walsh to an injury and had to play with eight guys the rest of the way," Rickard said. "Three of our guys fouled out today and we had just five guys available in the overtimes."
Vines was especially effective for Long Island late.
"Cornelius scored all [16] of his points in the second half and overtime," Rickard said.
Rickard lauded the play of the entire roster, including Central Connecticut State's Robby Ptacek (Bayport-Blue Point), who led the team in scoring over the first three days.
"Robby was our top scorer, but he got into a little foul trouble," Rickard said. "But everyone else picked up the slack when they had to."
Scholastic women win bronze. Harborfields' Bridgit Ryan scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half and overtime, including a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to force OT, as Long Island topped Western, 48-43, for the bronze medal.
Tiara Goode (Brentwood) had 11 points and Colleen Walker (Commack) finished with seven points.
It wasn't the easiest game as L.I. had to overcome a 12-point second-half deficit. It was the team's first medal since winning the gold in 2004.
Scholastic men lose bronze game. They were shorthanded and banged up. But they kept coming.
L.I.'s scholastic men's basketball team stayed in the fight despite losing its best player, Center Moriches' Jonathan Ward-Adams.
That fight took the squad all the way to the bronze-medal game Sunday, but it wasn't enough for a win as Western topped L.I., 75-64.
Rather than dwell on what could've been, L.I. coach Rich Wrase lauded his team's effort. "They hustled all the time," Wrase said. "Even when we only had eight guys against Central."
Ward Melville's Curtis Williams scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to keep L.I. close and Amityville's Darien Croft added 17.
"We definitely got a little tired, but that's not really an excuse," Williams said. "We're supposed to come up here in shape and ready. But even though we didn't get the bronze, it was a great experience for us."
