Ben Haug pours in 34 points to lead Smithtown East past Floyd
Smithtown East guard Ben Haug drives for two points against Floyd’s Mikey Smith in a Suffolk II game on Tuesday. Credit: George A Faella
The name of their little game is ‘how much did he score?’ Smithtown East boys basketball coach Al Chandler and assistant coach Bob Woods guess how many points go-to scorer Ben Haug amassed before checking the scorebook at the end of every game. The junior guard never fails to surprise.
“We’re both under every time,” Chandler said.
It was the case again on Tuesday after host Smithtown East managed to eke out a 67-63 Suffolk II victory over Floyd and knock them from first place. Haug had 34 points, continuing a midseason surge, and the Bulls were both first-rate on defense and cool under the gun as they stayed in the hunt for a league title. They also have a win over first-place Bellport.
When the calendar turned, Haug was averaging 22.5 points. In his four games in 2023, he is averaging 28.5.
“We have a special player in Ben,” Chandler said. “He isn’t trying to score or putting up a ton of shots. It just comes to him and before you know it, he has a big number.”
“I’ve started hitting more threes and my guys are always great getting me the ball when I get to my spots,” Haug said.
Dom Galati had 10 points, Chris Illari had nine points and four assists and James Burton had nine points for Smithtown East (10-3, 7-3), which had 11 assists on 17 made baskets. Mikey Smith and Jayson Yourison each scored 17 for Floyd (9-5, 8-2).
Though Haug had more than half of the Bulls’ points, so much more went into beating Floyd in a contest that was tight from start to finish.
Going into the fourth quarter, Smithtown East’s biggest lead had been four points and the Colonials’ biggest five points. The Bulls got it up to 61-54 when Illari scored on drive with 2:45 to play. Floyd shaved it back to two points twice, the last time when Jake Yourison’s driving bank shot made it 65-63 with 7.4 seconds left.
In a situation where Chandler normally would want a guard to receive the ensuing inbounds pass, he drew up a play for it to go to the 6-4 Burton. He was fouled and coolly made both free throws with 5.9 seconds left to seal it. He’s made 15 of his last 16 on the line.
Asked about the pressure, Burton replied, “I was aware of the situation, but that didn’t change what I had to do.”
Smith and Jayson Yourison had 12 points each and the score was tied at 32 at the half. The Bulls made them vanish in the second half with a triangle and two where Illari, Craig O’Neill and Andrew Drost took turns smothering them. Said Illari, “we couldn’t let them get the ball or an opening to shoot.”
“They executed and we didn’t,” Floyd coach Will Slinkosky said. “We didn’t get Mikey and Jayson free. We didn’t locate their best player. We have work to do.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
