Smithtown West knocks off Stony Brook
SMITHTOWN, NY - Our season is officially underway as we got a chance to check out two exciting Suffolk programs. The Stony Brook School traveled to Smithtown West in a big-time non-league matchup. Each of these teams feature intriguing Senior Forwards who are both projected to have big years.
When the game began both teams showed some rust with turnovers and missed shots. Smithtown West was able to connect on some threes and got a nice inside basket from 6’7” F Pat Burke ‘23. The Adelphi commit was the focal point of their offense against the zone getting several interior passes and cashing in. Stony Brook called a timeout down 9-2 and then found some late offense but still found themselves down 17-9 after the first.
The Bulls dug in defensively but were given all they could handle from 6’7” F Charlie Onana Awana ‘23 who kept the Bears close. Awana had a beautiful inside finish, blocked a shot on THE other end then nailed a corner three. Stony Brook seemed ready to make a run when Smithtown West started connecting on more threes. Burke was able to find teammates when the zone collapsed and 6’1” G Jack Melore ‘24 hit back-to-back threes to stretch the lead.
West went into halftime leading 34-24 but Burke picked up his third foul just before the half ended causing some concern. When the buzzer sounded for third quarter the Bulls immediately jumped all over the Bears getting multiple baskets from Burke. He was able to get to the line, grab rebounds and convert some easy baskets. While Melore and Burke focused on the offense the rest of the team really stepped up defensively limiting Stony Brook to only one shot per possession.
Awana knocked down a deep three to end a long drought, but the score was getting out of hand. West won the quarter 19-6 extending their lead to 23. The Bears pushed hard the next couple minutes to make a run, but the Bulls were too much.
Smithtown West showed toughness, chemistry and played terrific off their big man. Burke had a game high 22 points along with 18 rebounds while Melore had 20 including 4 threes. Awana had 17 points, showed some incredible flash and potential plus had a few highlight blocks. Expect the Bulls to make another deep playoff run and it wouldn’t surprise us to see Stony Brook bounce back after some adjustments.