Riverhead upsets no.1 Newfield, 48-46

Riverhead boys basketball coach John Rossetti has told his team all season long: believe in yourself, believe in your teammates and believe in your coaches. He knew they would turn things around as soon as the inexperience started to fade away.

And boy did they turn things around.

The Blue Waves (3-6 League III, 4-9 overall) played their best game of the season Thursday night following the snowstorm that cancelled their practice the day before. They came into the game on absolute fire from the field, knocking shots down left and right. They played phenomenal hounding defense against first-place Newfield, which came to Riverhead with a nearly spotless overall record of 10-1.

After the game however, they were 10-2.

That’s right. The Blue Waves just beat the best team in the league, 48-46. How’s that for turning things around? And they did it in front of their home fans.

“No practice today, no practice yesterday but it didn’t matter,” sophomore forward Tyrese Kerr said after the game. “We came out and got that victory.”

The Blue Waves led by as much as nine points in the game and didn’t relinquish their lead after jumping ahead early in the second quarter.

“We only got to put the game plan in halfway, to tell you the truth,” Rossetti said. “With the snow, and no school yesterday, so we did about 20 minutes of talk on the board today before the game and went through some of their stuff and the kids just adjusted well.”

With three sophomores out on the court for most of the game, the Blue Waves kept composure and set aside every Wolverine attempt to take a lead, time after time. It speaks volumes to the strides they’ve made not only individually in critical spots but as a team to never let up and keep the pressure on. Newfield is a team made up of mostly seniors and juniors — this is their year.

“I grew up with all these sophomores and we play hard together,” said Kerr, who scored a team-high 12 points. “We have each other’s back.”

Charles Manning, have a game why don’t you? The sophomore put on a show. When things didn’t go his way offensively, he was back on defense swatting shots with a vengeance. One of his blocks sent the ball past half-court and another into the stands. He scored 10 points for the Waves. Before his interview, the winning emotions were still running through his body as he danced around.

“I just got great timing in those situations,” Manning said. “I gotta do what I can on defense to help the team. We’ve been playing together since CYO, since middle school, it’s all about team chemistry. “We’re building each game and we’ll be the team we were meant to be.”

When the final buzzer sounded, it was as if they had just won the championship. The crowd went nuts. The players went nuts. Nobody thought they could pull this off.

“We finally did it,” Manning said. “We overcame adversity. We pulled off the upset. We overcame what everyone else thought of us. Newfield thought they were going to win. But it was our time.”

Above all, the team defense is what won the game. Sophomore Ryun Moore led the charge defensively and locked down everyone that faced him. He’s proven himself a force to be reckoned with since earning a starting spot.

“Our defense today is the best it’s been all season,” Rossetti said. “Ryun sets the tone for our defense every game. What can I say, the kid’s an athlete.”

They held Newfield to only 19 points at halftime.

“The kids right now have a great feel for each other and that’s where it starts,” Rossetti said. “The chemistry on the team is where it needs to be right now. And to the kids’ credit, they have not stopped working through all the losses. And now that they’re winning, they’re even hungrier.”

Though they sit at 3-6 in League III, the Blue Waves could still make the playoffs. All they have to do is finish with an even record. There’s five games remaining. If they win four out of five, they’re in.

Next up is North Babylon. The Blue Waves will travel there tomorrow for a 5:45 p.m tipoff.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.
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