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Westhampton vs North Babylon 12/16/97
Westhampton 78 North Babylon 51
Dale Menendez walked off the North Babylon gym floor last night with a
look of satisfaction. The senior point guard had just helped Westhampton
dismantle its first League IV boys basketball opponent - and a worthy
one at that - in the opener for both teams.
Menendez finished with 14 points, 8 assists and 5 steals as
Westhampton lived up to its nickname - the Hurricanes - in blowing
away North Babylon, 78-51, before a packed house of 600.
"It's just the first stop on a long road," Menendez said. "We made a
statement, that we want to win every game this year - and not lose the
last one."
Forward Bronson Martin, who scored 21 points, opened the game with a
long three-pointer and six players scored in the first 3:21 as
Westhampton took a 14-0 lead. The Hurricanes scored three of their first
five baskets on offensive rebounds and used a suffocating defense to
force four early turnovers.
"I thought we were prepared for the game," North Babylon coach Jack
Loth said. "What we saw was a veteran team against a very young team.
And their defense did a nice job."
While North Babylon continues to search for the right mix, it looked
like the Hurricanes were in midseason form. Menendez did a wonderful job
distributing the ball and center Jermaine Hollman (12 points) was
unstoppable in the paint.
"We boxed them out and didn't allow any second chances," Hollman
said. "They have extreme athletes and they can jump out of the building.
We never took the pressure off and forced them into some poor shots."
Westhampton (3-0 overall) used a half-court press and an up-tempo
offense to create wide-open shots. The Hurricanes led 19-5 after the
first quarter as forward Dwayne Sanders and guard Jeremy Liggon had four
points apiece.
"We create off the defensive pressure," Westhampton coach Rich Wrase
said. "Our defense is the key."
It was more of the same in the second quarter as North Babylon (0-3)
forced passes and double-clutched on open shots. The Bulldogs fell
behind 36-14 at the half after Menendez made a steal and a driving layup
before time expired.
"We executed really well and shot the ball well," Menendez said. "It
was a team effort - everyone contributed."
The cohesiveness Wrase wanted early in the season from his Hurricanes
is there. Menendez was hitting on all cylinders in transition and his
forwards were knocking down the 8and 10-foot jump shots. North Babylon
never made a serious run throughout the second half.
"It was one of those games where you fall behind by so much and then
you start doing all the wrong things to try and catch up," North
Babylon's Barry Baker said. "We're a young team and we're only going to
get better as the season goes along. We came apart defensively and we
turned the ball over too much."
North Babylon started three juniors and two sophomores against the
veteran-oriented Hurricanes, who had four seniors in the lineup. Jonelle
Jones led the Bulldogs with 22 points.
Westhampton reached the Suffolk Class B final last year, where it
lost in the final seconds to Amityville.
"That was a tough loss and it gives us something to work toward this
year," Menendez said. "Our goal is to win every game and then win the
county title."
Westhampton is on its way. Just ask North Babylon.
Box Score
Team | First QT | Second QT | Third QT | Fouth QT | Total |
Westhampton | 19 | 17 | 23 | 19 | 78 |
North Babylon | 5 | 9 | 19 | 18 | 51 |
Westhampton:
Hollman 5-2-12, Menendez 7-0-14, Ford 1-2-4, Ritchie 5-0-11,
Martin 8-1-21, Sanders 5-0-10, Liggon 1-2-4, Ferrari 1-0-2. Total:
33-7-78.
North Babylon: Baker 4-0-9, Toney 1-0-3, Jones 9-3-22, Washington 1-3-5,
Hodgson 1-0-2, Slater 1-0-3, Simmons 2-0-4, Gubitosi 1-0-3. Total:
20-6-51.
Three-point goals: Westhampton 5 (Martin 4, Ritchie); North Babylon 5 (Baker,
Toney, Jones, Slater, Gubitosi).
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