Elmont beats VSN, advances to title game

When Elmont’s backcourt leader, junior Victor Olawoye, went down with a twisted ankle early in the second quarter of Wednesday’s Nassau Class A boys’ basketball semifinal against Valley Stream North, there was no panic in the defending state champions. 

It was “next man up,” Elmont head coach George Holub said. “When Vic went down, instead of going ‘oh shoot,’ our guys stepped up.”  

Junior Ismael Astasie came off the bench to score eight of his 12 points in the second quarter and grabbed nine rebounds, junior center KC Ndefo had 20 points, eight rebounds and six blocks, and senior Vincent McDonald added 12 points to lead top-seeded Elmont to a 67-50 victory over No. 4 North in a battle of Spartans at Hofstra.

Elmont (18-4) will face No. 3 South Side this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hofstra in a rematch of last year’s county title game won by the Spartans in double overtime. North, which led 12-9 late in the first quarter, got a game-high 24 points from senior Noah Shy.

“Ismael’s had three big games in a row,” Holub said of Astasie, who was as instrumental as anyone in helping Elmont build a 29-19 halftime lead. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”

North (18-4) crept within 31-25 early in the third quarter thanks to a pair of treys by Shy, but Ndefo sparked a nine-point Elmont spurt and the lead suddenly swelled to 15. 

With contributions from Conrad Ihaza (eight points) and freshman Jevon Santos, Elmont’s lead grew to as large as 22 in the fourth.