While the Bayport-Blue Point boys varsity basketball team’s season came to a close after a hard-fought playoff game against No. 1 seed Kings Park that resulted in a 63-58 loss in overtime, the culmination of camaraderie that started in the fifth grade for seven of the seniors on the roster was the real standout winner.

“It’s been a long journey for them,” said coach Charlie Peck. “They’ve been together since they were 10 years old and after playing for seven years, they can just anticipate what the other one will do on the court.”

Beth Olsen, mother of player guard Brady Clark, who will go on to St. John’s University in the fall, said, “l Iove watching the boys play! They have created chemistry through the years. Their CYO coaches, Tim Hill and Scott Campbell, taught the boys how to play team basketball. When they are in sync, they are so fun to watch.”

Off the court, the players also share a brotherhood, according to Olsen. “They are also great friends, and it must be so fun for them to play a game they love with their friends. It was sad realizing that they played their last game together. But, they should be proud of themselves because they played how they were taught and they left it all on the court.”

Guard Quinn Hill recalled of his final season as a Phantom. “I would say that it worked so well because we’ve been playing together as a group since we were little kids.”

Particularly, knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses “made it easy to play together,” said Hill. “There was no selfishness; we would pick each other up when things went wrong, and we would find a way to win.”

“When I got them, they all had a good basketball IQ,” said Peck of his seven senior players.

In the first year exhibiting a regular season after the pandemic in 2020, the supportive and vocal crowds were back and masks were off.

“It really affected how you played, not having your family, your friends, you community there to cheer you on,” said Peck.

The regular season ended with a 15-6 record and 10-4 in the league, where they were tied for first place with Mt. Sinai and Hampton Bays.

With four players averaging double-digit points per game (Robby Maurer, 13.5; Tully Campbell, 21; Brady Clark, 18.1; Mike Kiernan, 12.2; and Dylan Craig, 10), the team had undeniable talent that led them to the first-place league position and eighth seed in their conference.

Their final high school game against Kings Park was a second-by-second masterpiece in close contention: in the first quarter, Ryan Costa scored three 3-pointers and they led 15.5; in the second quarter, Tully Campbell scored 9 points, and by halftime had kept the lead, ahead 26-22. The third quarter, described by Peck as “tough,” saw the rival team’s star player, an MVP of both conferences, dominate and score 10 points. The fourth quarter saw the game tied up by Tully Campbell, who shot a 3-pointer that launched them into overtime.

“It was a close loss,” said Peck. “It was, of course, hard to handle, with some tears that the season was over. But they played great, as they have always played.”