It went from kind of bad to real ugly.
The Blue Waves, who are still one win away from a playoff berth, could not figure out the first-place Smithtown West Bulls on Tuesday at Riverhead High School. A game within double digits in the first half turned to an absolute blowout in the second half with the Bulls leading by as much as 34 points.
Smithtown West (11-1 League III, 12-3 overall) ultimately took home the victory, 64-38.
The obvious game plan for Riverhead (6-6 League III, 7-9 overall) was to drive to the basket and each time they did, the Bulls’ defense converged and came up with either a stop or a turnover. Smithtown West recorded six blocks in the first half alone.
Riverhead tried more of the same in the second half and actually got to the line a little more frequently. But unfortunately their free throw shooting didn’t bring them any closer in the game as they missed 13 free throws.
Coach John Rossetti used up his entire bench in hopes of finding a spark. Raekwon Hightower played especially well off the bench, scoring nine points and hauling in eight rebounds to lead the Waves in both categories.
Nine different players scored for the Blue Waves, with Troy Goode Jr. scoring the second highest with seven.
The loss marks four-straight for Riverhead. Things will have to turnaround real quick if the Blue Waves seek to do anything come playoff time. That is, if they make it.
Two games remain. They need one more win to make the playoffs. Their next two opponents are Centereach (6-4, 9-6) and West Islip (0-10, 0-14).
They’ll play at Centereach this Thursday at 6:15 p.m.
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