Hurricanes take Title

The Block Island Hurricanes stormed into The Middlebridge School athletic complex on Friday afternoon brimming with confidence and a bellyful of eggs, pancakes, and bacon vacuumed over a team pre-game brunch in Narragansett. The young men presented themselves dressed and pressed to the nines; after all it was date night, and this date was a game with Middlebridge for the Championship of the Coastal Prep League.

Middlebridge School has a waiting list of over 125 kids, and one glance at the facilities speaks to why… it’s magnificent. Small classes, well-maintained 38-acre grounds with tight security among the Ocean Road mansions, and a phys-ed complex that for the school’s size is second to none, with gleaming hardwood floors, an extraordinary fitness center and weight room, spacious locker rooms, whirlpool, and a tight rein on student behavior. It’s a wow!

With music pounding from a sound system that hurt anyone’s ears who was over 30 years old (well at least one), the ‘Canes came out a bit intimidated…..after all, Middlebridge spanked them down on Fishers Island in a tournament three weeks back with their mobile, 6-foot 4-inch big man, Jack Guerin of Greenwich, Connecticut who was difficult to muscle out of the paint.

The Hurricanes fell behind early but closed the gap going into halftime. They came out a different, more confident team in the second half with the jitters set aside, after all ‘it’s just basketball and we know we’re good at this.’

Clamping down on defense, the tough ‘Canes denied the easy-entry passes the Owls had been making in the first half, frustrating the flow of their offense. A couple of forced shots and deflections off of passes and the Hurricanes quickly found themselves in the lead, which they held the remainder of the game.

Wyatt Hall, Sam Stockman, and Justin Cullen kept hitting the boards allowing Middlebridge only one shot, while at the other end the team got into a flow of patiently running their offensive sets, leading to wide-open shots. Stockman opened the second half with two consecutive deep 3-point daggers that set the tone for the rest of the half. Sag down below, we’ll light it up from outside, come out to cover, and we’ll drop it inside to a constantly moving Road-Runner-like 6-foot 3-inch Cullen.

Repeatedly, point guard Carter Brown and Cullen connected on unhurried passing combinations that led to the Owls’ frustration as they could see the game slipping away one point at a time. The more they fouled, the more the scoring margin increased as the Hurricanes nailed their free throws. Brown ended the game with 23 points to lead all scorers, Hall totaled 17 with a Herculean effort on the boards.

The fourth quarter saw a remarkable shooting performance and comeback from Middlebridge’s outside gunner Ben Leibowitz, who nailed five deep 3-point shots, barely wrinkling the net while tallying 19.

But this date-night had to end with someone going home victorious with the giant trophy, and that was the island’s never-say-die Hurricanes, 61-53.

Upon arriving back at the ferry landing, the night sky was lit up with police cruisers that had assembled and blared their sirens while the officers belted out “We Are The Champions” to the beaming team and its traveling supporters and parents, “fait accompli!”