Riverhead upended Centereach Thursday night, 64-30 to end an eight-game losing skid, posting their first league win of the season. As the players waited for Coach John Rossetti to arrive to the conference room from the court, a celebration ensued — cheers were all around.
But as Rossetti approached, players hushed down to a silence.
“This is how it’s supposed to be,” Rossetti said. “We’re supposed to feel like this after games.”
Players, coaches and fans have waited for this moment all season.
“We finally got that monkey off our back,” Rossetti said.
Perhaps tonight’s win on their home court can spur some momentum for the Waves entering the second half of the season. Maybe the team just needed to get that first victory out of the way.
“We’ve been saying that for seven games,” Rossetti said, laughing. “They played like they were expected to play — four quarters of hard-nose basketball.”
There wasn’t one player who stood out and carried the squad; it was truly a team effort. Charles Manning put in seven points, Ethan Greenidge eight, Deon Shorter eight, Ryun Moore six and Lintell Brown seven. All players but one scored a point. But if you were to pick one guy that made a huge difference, it would surely be sophomore Tyrese Kerr.
After a slow start to the season, Kerr has picked it up and secured a spot in the starting lineup with his sound play offensively and defensively.
“I think Tyrese is helping set the tone for the team,” Rossetti said. “He comes out with great energy and hustle and it helps everyone else fall in line. You can’t say enough about Tyrese. He started off the season a little slow because of football but now you see how he’s playing, it’s tough to take him off the court.”
Kerr finished with 11 points, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
“Last year I didn’t get much playing time,” Kerr said. “This year is supposed to be my year so I worked hard in practice and this is what it gives you.”
But above all, Kerr is ecstatic that they finally got that victory.
“I gotta be honest with you,” Kerr said. “It’s like going to the LIC again even though it’s just one win. It feels great.”
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