Phantoms Overcome Slow Start for League Win

When the Bayport-Blue Point boys basketball team faces an opponent with a star offensive weapon, it's usually Andrew Ptacek that's called upon to defend against him. So as the Phantoms prepared for Tuesday's game against Tony McGee and the John Glenn Knights, Ptacek was again the go-to guy.

Only McGee never showed up. But Ptacek sure did.

The senior guard scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Bayport to a 67 – 38 win over John Glenn. The victory upped Bayport's League VI record to 2-1 (7-1 overall), while John Glenn dropped to 0-3 (0-7).

As for McGee, he was not dressed for what Knights coach Kevin Carpenter explained was a non-injury-related reason. Without their lone senior starter, the Knights hung in early, but by midway through the second quarter, Bayport had built a commanding lead, which it never relinquished.

"In the first quarter, we missed a lot of easy lay ups and I started to get frustrated," Phantom coach Kyle Black said. "But I wanted to stay positive. I knew we could work our shots and get back into our game."

In a low-scoring first quarter, Bayport found themselves trailing 9 – 7. But when Ross Drzal  (19 points) drilled one of his game-high four 3-pointers, the Phantoms took their first lead with 2:43 gone in the second quarter. A lead they would build on as the Knights began to fade.

"We had high intensity on defense [early]," said Knight's coach Kevin Carpenter. "Later on, our intensity dropped."

Without having to focus in on defending McGee, Ptacek took the ball to the basket. Often.

"I'm more of a driver than an [outside] shooter," he said. "I saw a lot of opportunities to drive. Their defense was so open."

John Glenn used a zone in an attempt to slow down Bayport's fast-break offense. But they played a loose zone, leaving opportunities for penetration moves to the basket, as well as outside shots.

"We adjusted to their zone," Drzal said, noting that Black trusts his shooters to take the long-range shots when it's a good shot selection. "[Taking 3-pointers] depends on the situation. We always want to look for the high-percentage shot."

Black has been talking regularly about balancing his team's inside and outside game. So while Ptacek was driving inside and Drzal was firing from outside, center Gary Farley (a game-high nine rebounds) added eight points, and guard Adam Berlin had seven to go along with 10 assists and five steals.

"If any team is focusing in on one of our guys, I'm totally fine with that," Black said.

Without McGee, Carpenter was further handcuffed when point guard Brandon Taylor was injured with 2:40 left in the third quarter. The sophomore guard flipped over a Bayport player while trying to defend an inside play and fell hard on the court. Play was stopped for more than 30 minutes before Taylor was taken by ambulance to Stony Brook University Medical Center.

"When [Taylor] when out, it definitely affected our team," Carpenter said. "But Bayport is a very good team. They have intensity. They worked and did what they needed to do to win."

Bayport will have to work hard in its next game on Thursday. The Phantoms will travel to Shoreham-Wading River to go up against the 2-0 Wildcats.