With about six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Cole Reyes buried a triple from the left corner, sending the Port Washington students who had gathered at the AAC into a frenzy. After a slow start, their Vikings had now rushed ahead on their way to handing the Flyers an unlikely 66-46 defeat.
Chaminade came into Friday's game at 0-1 after getting easily handled by the LuHi Crusaders - ranked #2 in the nation - earlier in the week. As for Port Washington, they entered at 2-0 after a pair of low-scoring victories over Floral Park and Elmont - the defending Class AA state champs - to start their season.
This was the second year in a row the Flyers hosted the Vikings for an early season contest in the AAC. Last year, Chaminade prevailed, 78-66, led by 19 points from then-sophomore Kyle Dillon.
The Flyers were lights out from three-point land to start Friday night's game. Ricky Gunther, Dillon, and Michael Wede each knocked down long-range triples, with Wede holding his finish, staring at the Port Washington students gathered in the AAC.
After going down 15-4 right out of the gate, the Vikings responded quickly with a 7-0 burst to cut the deficit to four at the end of the opening frame.
Port Washington continued to bring the energy in the second quarter, as their defense really stepped up. The Flyers had no open looks and could not put the ball in the hoop. On the offensive side for Port Washington, Ryan Shanahan led the way with seven points, dominating in the paint.
After the two early runs, the game turned into a slugfest. The Flyers went dry from outside, and the Vikings committed a multitude of costly turnovers.
However, each team found something offensively in the final two minutes. The Flyers were able to push the lead to as high as 10 thanks to clutch buckets from Gunther, Wede, and Peter Tagios III. The trio were tied with 10 points apiece to lead the Flyers in the scoring department, and Tagios added five assists to spearhead Chaminade in that category.
Port Washington responded with a three from Chase Kovar and a layup by standout junior Izaias Clemmons to make the score at 26-21 at halftime.
Both teams had struggled offensively to open the season, and that continued into the first half on Friday. Chaminade managed just 47 in the game against LuHi, while Port Washington was only averaging 49 points per game through their initial two contests.
Chaminade scored the first four points in the second half, but Port bounced back with the next 12 to take their first lead of the game. Kenny Daly knocked down a huge three, and Jake VanderPutten converted a big-time "and-one" to give his team the lead. Clemmons added his own "and-one'' on the next possession to stretch the Vikings lead to four.
Clemmons finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with seven boards, a big-time performance from the junior.
The Vikings controlled the paint, seemingly doing whatever they wanted, drawing countless fouls and converting their close-range shots.
As the third quarter drew to a close, the Flyers clearly became flustered, while the Vikings surged with momentum, leading 42-34. Chaminade was committing uncharacteristic turnovers and leaving points at the free throw line.
These trends from the third quarter continued into the fourth, as the Vikings, draining shots left and right, outscored the Flyers 24-12 en route to a surprising 20-point win, leaving them with an impressive 3-0 record to start the season.
"The second half was how we want to play and how we expect to play," said Port Washington head coach Sean Dooley. "We limited second chances tonight really well - and it's energy, effort, being together, and being connected."
After such a strong start, the Flyers were left scratching their heads as to what went wrong.
"We made some shots early, and then because of that we played on the defensive end a little bit," said Chaminade head coach Dan Feeney. "Once the ball stopped going in, we let that end affect their other end, and that's the immaturity of what we got right now."
The loss makes the next game all the more important for the Flyers. They will have a week to prepare for Friday, when they travel to UBS Arena in Elmont to open up their league schedule against the Holy Trinity Titans. This game, part of the LuHi Holiday Invitational, is the first-ever high school game at UBS Arena and will precede the highly anticipated matchup between LuHi and Sierra Canyon (California). The Flyers split the season series last year against Holy Trinity, losing a close game at the AAC before rebounding to defeat the Titans at Hofstra University during the Bob McKillop Invitational.
"Trusting each other," said Coach Feeney on what his team will need to do most to prepare for the Titans. "Trusting each other on both ends is important right now."
