Sewanhaka loses see-saw battle
No lead was safe in last Friday’s Nassau Conference A-II boys’ basketball game between Sewanhaka and South Side.
The Indians took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter but faced a double-digit deficit with three minutes left. A three-point play by Shella Adeniran with 50 seconds remaining tied it, but the Cyclones pulled out a 58-56 victory on Darren Nickelson’s putback with three ticks to go.
“You don’t get too many chances to beat a team of South Side’s caliber on its own court,” Sewanhaka coach Dan Reece said. “Even in defeat, I think a game like this can build confidence.
“We had a chance to win,” he added. “I feel that way about our team every game. We’ve shown we can play with anyone in this conference.”
With only a handful of playing time going to seniors following the loss of guard Kevin Waxon to a broken forearm, South Side has ripped off three straight victories without its main perimeter threat and stands undefeated midway through the conference schedule with a record of 6-0. The Indians are 3-2 in conference games and 6-3 overall.
“It was back and forth all night,” Cyclones coach Jerry D’Angelo said. “Our guys battled and found a way to pull it out.”
Ryan Spadaford continued his torrid scoring pace for the Cyclones with a game-high 27 points. He sank nine field goals and eight free throws. One of his rare misses came on their last possession. Justin Rhodes (nine points) nearly tapped in the rebound, but Nickelson made the third time a charm. Sewanhaka got 14 points from David Rust and a dozen from Kevin Powers.
“We made a few nice runs when we could’ve gone into the tank,” Reece said. “The kids never got down. They felt they could score as well as make stops.”
Both teams had key players in foul trouble in the first half. Adeniran, Spadaford and Nickelson all missed a good chunk of time.
“Health-wise, Shella is starting to come around,” Reece said of Adeniran, an All-County senior center who missed three games and parts of others with a knee injury. “He’s our best defender, rebounder and shot blocker, and he can score. We need to take advantage of his talents in the second half of the season.”
Defense has been the biggest bright spot for the Indians thus far. Floral Park, considered one of the favorites in Nassau Class A, is their only opponent to crack 60 points. “We’ve smothered some teams,” Reece said. “There are things we can do better with the ball. We need to clean up turnovers and be more consistent at the free-throw line.”
Sewanhaka has defeated each of its next three opponents: Plainedge, Hewlett and Lynbrook. Shireem Cobb hit for 17 points against Plainedge, Kunle Ogunlowo scored 15 and had 10 rebounds versus Hewlett, and Powers had nine points and nine rebounds against Lynbrook.
