The 2015-16 Wheatley High School basketball season has come to an end. Both the boys’ and girls’ varsity squads made it to the postseason and both succumbed to teams from Oyster Bay High School.
In the first round of the playoffs, Wheatley defeated Carle Place, 56-17. Needless to say, the Wheatley defense smothered the Carle Place attack, giving Wheatley a 19-1 first quarter lead. Anthony Cutinella scored 14 points in the win, while also grabbing 13 rebounds. The win, however, was short-lived. In the semifinal game of Conference A-III action, Oyster Bay ended Wheatley’s season with a 54-42 win. Trailing 29-14 at halftime, Wheatley jumped back into the game with a 19-13 third quarter run, but could not sustain that momentum in the final frame. Hunter Pomerantz scored 13 points for Wheatley and Mike Baltzer kept his team in the game by knocking down three three-point shots.
The girls’ team saw their season end on Feb. 14 with a tough, away game loss to Oyster Bay, 47-44. Lead by the scoring duo of Allison LaMonica and Hannah Woodward, Wheatley jumped out to a 23-12 halftime lead. However, Oyster Bay bounced back in the second half to regain the lead, outscoring Wheatley, 18-10 in the fourth quarter. LaMonica scored 22 points as her brilliant career at Wheatley came to an end. Woodward 17 points. These two stars should serve as inspiration as the Wheatley program moves forward next year.
