Tashawn Bumpers gets his turn with 20 points and six steals to lift Bay Shore basketball
Marauders' Tashawn Bumpers goes to basket against Southampton's Alex Franklin in first quarter on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Credit: Bob Sorensen
With four players who can be the No. 1 option on any given night, Bay Shore boys basketball has been flawless through six games.
Forward Christian Smiley was the Marauders’ leading scorer in three of their first five wins. Guard Carter Wilson held the high mark in one win, and guard Khamari Broomfield was the leading scorer in another. On Friday, it was guard Tashawn Bumpers’ turn.
Bumpers had a team-high 20 points and six steals to lead Bay Shore to a 62-47 non-league home win over Southampton Friday.
“In the beginning of the game, I wasn’t really making my shot,” Bumpers said. “But toward the end of the game, I started making my shot and getting in a rhythm and getting my team open and started playing defense. Stopping them from scoring, that’s why we won the game.”
Bay Shore (6-0) has won each of its games by at least 15 points.
“It is true, we have about four guys who can get 20 points any night,” Bay Shore coach Ken Parham said. “And the good thing about it when we step on the court, we don’t know which one is going to get 20, and neither does the other team.”
Friday’s game was a part of the inaugural Marcus and Morgan Damas Foundation’s Holiday Classic, a four-team event with preset matchups featuring Bay Shore, Southampton, Brentwood and Half Hollow Hills East.
Southampton (3-2), the reigning Long Island Class B champion, kept pace with Bay Shore early. The score was tied at 16 at the end of the first quarter, but the Marauders extended their lead to 33-25 by halftime.
Southampton guard Naevon Williams had a huge first half, scoring 16 points and each of the Mariners’ nine points in the second quarter. He finished with a game-high 21 points.
“[Williams is] a good player, and he’s gonna make shots,” Parham said. “So we just tried to contest as many as possible, try to make him work for it.”
For every burst Southampton had in the third quarter, Bay Shore had a better response. Guard Alex Franklin’s alley-oop layup cut the Bay Shore lead to six one minute into the third quarter, and the Marauders answered with a 7-0 run. The Mariners’ deficit was 42-32 with 2:20 left in the third quarter, but Bay Shore ended the quarter on a 10-3 run.
Bumpers scored nine third-quarter points on three three-pointers.
“[Tashawn is] good, and he’s also a very good defender,” Parham said. “He can shoot the ball, get to the rim, he’s athletic, and he can play good defense. He’s a consummate team player.”
Bumpers — a Newsday top 100 selection — transferred from Central Islip, where he averaged 14.6 points last season. With a bunch of other prolific scorers on Bay Shore, he has focused more on defense. Bumpers’ versatility has helped the Marauders find early-season success.
“When I was [at Central Islip], I had to do everything,” Bumpers said. “ . . . So when I came over here, I don’t really got to score no more. But like, I was letting the game come to me, so I was getting buckets like that.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
