Vince Corso and Anderson McMorris help Hills West defeat Eastport-South Manor
Half Hollow Hills West’s Ethan Saintjean scores against Eastport-South Manor on Monday. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
There were two starters missing from the Half Hollow Hills West lineup due to injuries, but the undefeated Colts weren’t hurting. They were sharing the basketball and getting scoring from all over the place.
The unselfishness and the depth were shining through over 32 minutes Monday on their home floor.
Hills West owned five double-figure scorers in an 81-51 victory over Eastport-South Manor.
The words afterward from a couple of players sounded like a winning formula: about trying to improve, about looking for each other on the court and about just concentrating on the day at hand.
“Yesterday is over, tomorrow is not a guarantee and today is what we can control,” senior point guard Ethan Saintjean said. “We have something really special with this group of guys. We’re not looking to the future. We’re looking to control each practice every day.”
The talent plus the buy-in has equaled 11-0 overall and 7-0 in Suffolk IV.
“It’s definitely been enjoyable,” senior forward Vince Corso said, “but we’re just going to keep going. We’re not going to stop. We’re not focused on the record. We’re focused on us, and we’re focused on getting better.”
Corso and Anderson McMorris delivered 16 points apiece. Saintjean added 15. Brian McMichael provided a large boost with 13 off the bench. Christian Jean scored 13, too.
“We are together,” Colts coach Bill Mitaritonna said. “That’s our motto — ‘Together.'
“Right before New Year’s, we had a number of injuries, ankles and shoulders and fingers. ‘Next man up’ has really worked.”
Eastport-South Manor (5-6, 2-5) dropped its fifth straight after a 5-1 start. But the Sharks were right there after one quarter, tied at 15 following a three by Logan Walsh, who finished with five of them and 17 points.
Saintjean then helped Hills West take off in the second quarter, scoring nine in an opening 13-2 run that made it 28-17.
That included a four-point play when he knocked down a corner three while being knocked down, then nailed the free throw.
Brady McGowan, Eastport-South Manor’s all-time leading scorer who had four threes and 19 points, hit two from the line and followed with a three to cut it to six.
“He spaces the floor for everybody else because the other team has to pay so much attention to him,” Sharks coach David Shouler said.
But McMorris converted three layups in an 11-3 run, and it was 39-25 at the break.
“We work to pass the ball,” Corso said. “We work to make our teammates better, not ourselves.”
The Colts extended the advantage to 19 in the third and kept extending it in the fourth.
“The effort was there today,” Shouler said, “but they were just better than us.”
