Lawrence continues to roll

Senior guard Hamed Shamseldin scored 16 points and dished out six assists and sophomore Marcus Saint-Furcy added 14 points and seven assists to lead Lawrence to an 89-54 victory over visiting Sewanhaka on Jan. 9. 

With the win, the Golden Tornadoes improved to 6-0 in Conference A-II. Sophomore forward Sammy Robinson scored a game-high 17 points for Lawrence. The Indians, who fell to 3-3 in conference play, were led by Carlos Bodden’s 22 points. 

The game was billed as a meeting between a pair of teams that like to get up and down the floor. With a decided size advantage, the Indians figured to cause matchup problems for Lawrence. 

Lawrence found it tough to find its groove in the early going, and Sewanhaka ran out to a quick 14-11 lead. But, it would be short-lived. The Golden Tornadoes forced a few turnovers and started to roll in transition. Lawrence closed out the opening quarter on an 18-0 run to take a 29-14 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back. 

Head coach Joe Supple was proud of the way his team handled the early deficit. “They came in with a strong game plan, and a tough inside game,” Supple said. “We withstood their run, and then got on one of our own. I liked the way we handled ourselves after falling behind. We created offense with our defense. That’s what we need to do.”  

The Golden Tornadoes took a commanding 46-27 lead in the locker room at the break, and any chance of a Sewanhaka comeback was put to rest early in the second half. With Dwayne Daniel setting up teammates, Lawrence, which had five players score in double figures, extended its lead to 73-36 after three quarters.

Daniel, who is averaging 17.5 points per game, has become a more complete player as a senior. Supple believes his growth as a player, along with tremendous team chemistry, has put the Golden Tornadoes at a different level.

“Dwayne takes pride in being a leader, and has come to realize that he doesn’t need to be the guy to score a lot for the team to succeed,” Supple said. “He’d rather give up a good shot and set up a teammate for a great shot. We have had very talented players in the past, but no team was as close as this group on and off the court. They work out together, hang out together, and genuinely like being around one another. That goes a long way.”

With a conference composed of experienced coaches who bring unique styles of play, Lawrence can expect the second time around against league foes to be challenging.

“We know where not where we’ll need to be at the end of the season,” Supple said. “We don’t have a lot of size, so we have to work hard every day on team rebounding and playing well defensively. Everything we do is based on our defense.”

Lawrence will travel to Manhasset on Thursday evening for a 6:30 tipoff with the Indians.