Mariners Beat Bridgehampton 70-51 in Tournament Play

Grabbing an early lead and hanging on despite turnovers and threats from free throws and 3s, particularly from Killer Bee Cannan Campbell, the Mariners varsity boys basketball team beat Bridgehampton 70-51 Friday evening in the opening round of the second annual Southampton Youth Services Holiday Classic basketball tournament.

Southampton head coach Herman Lamison was proud of the victory — "A 'W' is a 'W,' we'll take it," he said — but cautiously optimistic about Saturday's prospects: The first-round win puts the Mariners back in the championship round against the visiting Dalton School Tigers, who had beaten East Hampton 68-50 in an earlier game. In last year's inaugural Holiday Classic tourney, Southampton lost narrowly to Dalton in the championship round by a two-point buzzer-beater in overtime.

The Mariners got out a 5-0 lead before Campbell put the Bees on the board with a three-pointer — the first of his six three-pointers that night. Campbell led the Bees' charge the first night with an overwhelming 29 points, also going 7-for-11 at the line. Both teams toughed it out in the paint defensively, but Southampton held the edge by seizing opportunities off rebounds, lifting it 17-8 by the end of the first quarter and further still to a score of 41-18 by halftime.

"There were 19 turnovers at halftime," said Bridgehampton head coach Carl Johnson. "They had 20 fast break points, and there's your game."

Bridgehampton attempted to close the gap, but foul calls put Southampton at the line three times through the remaining three minutes of the third quarter (5-for-7). Bridgehampton had one trip to the stripe at 3:09 to go — Campbell went 2-for-2, also draining a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Bees and the Mariners tied for 16 points for the third quarter, although Bridgehampton still trailed by 23 points (57-34).

Defensive efforts continued to heat up through the fourth quarter, boiling over into further foul calls on both halves of the court. Southampton slipped into a four-minute scoring rut at its 66th point, allowing Campbell and teammate Anajae Lamb to erode the Mariners' lead by 10 points, ultimately outscoring Southampton by four points for the quarter. But Mariner Adam Fezza halted the rally and shut the door in the final minute, firing two two-pointers within 20 seconds of each other to break the 70-point mark. 

Onajja Browning led Southampton with 16 points, including two three-pointers. Colin Buoniello and Shaundell Fishburne tallied 10 points each. Demetrius McCoy scored nine points, Devon Trent had seven points and Donovan Trent had six points.

In addition to Campbell's efforts for Bridgehampton, Donovan Davis and Jason Hopson each contributed nine points.

Southampton continues on through to Saturday night's championship round against Dalton at 8 p.m. Both East Hampton and Bridgehampton will play the consolation game set for 6 p.m. — just before the championship game. The Holiday Classic raises money for SYS's scholarship fund; last year's event raised nearly $2,000, according to SYS executive director Scott Johnson.

Junior Varsity Boys Basketball

Preceding the tournament was a junior varsity game between Southampton and East Hampton, in which the Mariners beat the Bonackers 42-37. John Kraus led Southampton in that game with 17 points, and teammates Scott Ricca and Nitauke Williams put up nine points apiece. All three Mariners were 2-for-4 on free throws.

Donte Donegal led East Hampton with 10 points. Joe Sandoval added seven points, shooting 3-for-4 from the line. Donya Davis and Keaton Crozier each contributed six points.