Elmont's a factor in Class A

The last time Elmont was part of the Nassau Class A boys’ basketball scene, in the 2009-10 campaign, it fell just short of a county championship with a hard-fought defeat to Westbury in the finals. The Spartans returned to Class AA the following season and captured their first-ever county title, and four years later find themselves back in Class A.

“Class A is a different brand of basketball,” head coach George Holub said after Elmont rolled to a 77-48 victory at Carey on Jan. 5. “It’s a lot of screens and elaborate motion, which forces you to play disciplined defense,” he added. “We’re not playing at our top defensive level yet, but we’ve been pretty good and staying out of foul trouble.”

The Spartans (4-0 in conference games, 7-1 overall) were coming off their first loss of the season and didn’t get going against the Seahawks until midway through the second quarter. Carey, which dropped its seventh straight out of the gate, rallied around the debut of senior Mike Catanese.

“We had no idea he was playing,” Holub said of Catanese, who popped for 23 points to account for nearly half of Carey’s offense. “We didn’t face Carey last season, so in the first quarter we had to go to school a little bit and then make some adjustments.”

Elmont’s Travis Robinson-Morgan (18.5 points per game) made an adjustment to his game during the offseason, Holub said, and the results have been dynamic so far. After hitting for 32 points in a 77-71 loss to Copiague, the senior point guard poured in a game-high 24 against Carey despite playing the role of spectator in the fourth quarter.

“Travis can handle the ball and shoot, and he gets others involved,” Holub said. “He worked hard during the summer on improving his shot off screens. As good as he was today, he was even better against Copiague. He was hitting shot after shot. It was a great learning experience for him.”

Robinson-Morgan sank five treys at Carey, all in the first half, giving him 19 through eight games. His fourth of the afternoon, midway through the second quarter, ignited a 17-4 run to close the half and upped Elmont’s lead from one to 14. The visitors then carried the momentum of senior Darius Celestin’s midcourt buzzer beater into the third quarter, where they exploded for 32 points behind sophomore K.C. Ndefo’s 14.

“K.C. is starting to take defenders off the bounce, when last year most of the damage he did came in the paint,” Holub said of Ndefo, who finished with 19 points. “It certainly helps that he can jump to the moon.”

Seniors Yasir Lawrence (14 ppg), Jalen Burgess (13 ppg) and Lerone Clark are also key contributors for Elmont, which Holub said has many challenges ahead including a matchup with Suffolk County powerhouse Harborfields this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Uniondale High School.

Carey visits Elmont for a rematch on Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m.