Guided by its long range shooting, Sachem East got the best of Sachem North in this year’s Bernard Brisson Scholarship Night showdown.
In front of a packed gymnasium at Sachem High School North, East beat North, 63-38, thanks to a 10-for-15 night from beyond the three-point arc Friday evening.
Nester Payne led all scorers with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Shaun Madsen scored 12 points and had six assists. Sachem East (1-2 League I) had 11 total players score during the win. Sachem North was led in scoring by Louis Ferrari, who dropped nine points.
East jumped out to an early 17-4 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Aside from a brief 9-2 run in the second quarter, Sachem North (2-2) didn’t have a strong go offensively. Its main scoring threat, Danny Urbanski, was sidelined with an injury.
“Coach Finta and his team do a great job,” said Sachem North coach Tom Mullee. “They played very well tonight and deserved the win.”
Payne, who didn’t play much in last year’s rivalry game, scored nine of his 14 points from beyond the arc.
“Our key thing was to hit out shots,” Payne said. “We’re a really good shooting team and tonight it felt good for everybody to get their threes and to get their shots.”
East has had lopsided shooting percentages from three-point range during the last four games. In League I losses to Commack and Connetquot, shooting was an issue. Even against North, East was 12-for-31 in field goal shooting.
“We have to be more consistent,” said Sachem East coach John Finta.
For a rivalry game, the crowd was rather mild, but make no mistake, both teams were ready for inter-district battle.
“It never gets old,” Finta said. “It’s always fun to come here.”
RELATED: PHOTOS: See more images from the game
-Words by Chris R. Vaccar0