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Mostly Cloudy Elmont's win streak ends at 10
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Elmont senior Chris Fincher releases a jump shot during a Conference ABC-I defeat to South Side on Jan. 13. The loss snapped the Spartans' 10-game win streak.
Frank Koester/Herald
Senior center Brett Cohen scored 26 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead South Side to a decisive 65-50 victory over previously unbeaten Elmont in front of a raucous crowd on Jan. 14 at Elmont. With the loss, the Spartans fell to 10-1 (3-1 in Nassau Conference ABC-I).
Elmont coach George Holub was impressed with South Side, especially its perimeter game. “They shot the lights out,” Holub said. “There aren’t many nights a team is going to be that hot from the outside. We’ve got to get better at closing out on shooters and defending the perimeter.”
The Spartans got off to a nice start taking a 14-12 lead after eight minutes. Elmont senior point guard Isaiah Watson scored seven of his team-high 17 points in the opening quarter.
But South Side came alive in the second quarter. After a period of trading baskets, the Cyclones caught fire from the perimeter. Back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore forward Ryan Spadaford and Cohen capped off a 13-2 run which gave South Side a 31-18 lead with 1:53 to play in the half.
The Cyclones, who hit from downtown eight times in the game, held a 32-23 lead at halftime. Dominique Williams, who finished with nine points for the Spartans, had a solid first half.
South Side (8-2 overall, 3-1 in conference play) continued its hot shooting in the third quarter, scoring the first eight points of the half to take a 40-23 lead. But Elmont would not go away. After Anthony Elechi, nine points, seven rebounds, banked one off the glass from six feet out, the Spartans got back in striking distance at 45-35 with just a minute to play in the quarter.
South Side coach Jerry D’Angelo was impressed with the play of his big man. “Brett was definitely the focal point of the offense,” D’Angelo said. “We thought one of the keys would be for him to establish himself in the post. Not only did he dominate inside, he opened up the perimeter for our shooters to get open looks. He’s one of the best big men in the county.”
Elmont continued to keep the pressure on the Cyclones in the final quarter, but each time it appeared the Spartans were set to make a big run, Cohen answered. Cohen, who is averaging 16.4 points per game, scored on back-to-back possessions to put the game away after the Spartans had cut the lead to 56-50. South Side also received 12 points from senior Leon Taylor, and five points a key assist from junior Kevin Waxon.
Holub knows the Spartans have plenty to work on. “We forced our shots a bit, and were a little slow to react after misses,” Holub said. “When the shots didn’t fall, we were standing around, rather than hitting the boards hard and hustling back on defense. We’ll need to get better in these areas.”
Elmont hosts Westbury on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
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