East Meadow sparked by late threes

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East Meadow needed a big shot late in last Friday’s battle with Port Washington, and despite some struggles through the first three quarters senior Joe Minucci found his stroke at the perfect time. The Jets’ senior drained a three-pointer with 2:25 remaining to put East Meadow ahead, then hit another with 90 seconds to play to open up some breathing room in the 60-54 Conference AA-II boys’ basketball matchup.

“He’s our best shooter,” head coach Barry Dickson said. “When we were down two, he hit a step back three to put us up one and then hit another and made the free throw. He missed some open looks [earlier], but he has the green light because he’s smart and doesn’t take bad shots.”

Minucci finished with 11 points as part of a balanced offensive attack led by junior co-captains J.R. Howell and senior Austin Birnbaum, who each scored 13. Senior co-captain Tom Zitzmann had 10 and junior Will Ayers grinded out eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds in the post, including four points on free throws. “He’s not going to score too much [on set plays] but he gets his layups and free throws,” Dickson said of Ayers. “I thought he was one of our best players [in the most recent win]. He gets guys open with his big body on screens.”

With the balance on offense and length in the low post with Ayers and Birnbaum, East Meadow (7-5 overall, 2-2 in Conference AA-II) snapped a two-game conference losing skid. “It’s tough to score on us inside,” Dickson said. “And I thought our defense played well after the first quarter.”

The win came on the heels of a 56-55 defeat to Valley Stream Central on Jan. 12, a game Dickson called the toughest loss of his tenure with the Jets. After the Eagles converted a go-ahead layup with 10 seconds left, East Meadow had one final possession for the tie. The rebound of a missed jumper from the elbow by Ayers, was corralled by Minucci but his put back rolled off the rim. Birnbaum tried to tap it in, but his attempt also rolled around the rim and fell off. “They’re a very talented team,” Dickson said. “We were up seven with two minutes left and they hit some late threes.”

Howell scored a game-high 13 points in the team’s first Conference AA-II victory, a 48-44 decision over Hicksville on Jan. 6, but it was his final basket that may have been the biggest. With the Jets clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute, Howell broke through the press and went in for a layup to provide the final margin. Zitzmann had 11 points in the win, while Minucci scored eight. Birnbaum had four points and 14 rebounds.

For the season, Howell leads the team in scoring (10.5 points per game), while Zitzmann (10.2) and Minucci (9.8) are just behind him in the category.

The second half of the conference schedule kicks off this Friday with a rematch against Hicksville at 4:45 p.m., followed by a non-conference matchup at Malverne the next day with tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m.