Marines on verge of playoffs

The Marines keep sailing along and are all but officially bound for the Nassau Class AA boys’ basketball playoffs.

Tyquan Scott (17), Daryl Brown (12) and Tariq Cole (10) all scored in double figures as host Long Beach scratched back from a six-point deficit after the first quarter and beat Conference AA-III rival Carey last Friday, 51-46.

“We’ve been on a nice stretch for two weeks,” coach T.J. Burke said after the Marines improved to 7-2 in conference play and moved within a game of punching their ticket to the playoffs. “Carey’s a tough team that can shoot,” he added. “They were 6-for-7 on threes in the first half and it was a battle all the way.”

The win was Long Beach’s fourth in a row against a conference foe, and the only way the Marines can miss the playoffs is by losing their last five while either Mepham or Westbury wins its last five. “We’re taking things one game at a time, but now we’re trying to paint a bigger picture for the kids and aiming for the conference title,” Burke said. “It’s such a close race, as well as we’ve played there’s not much room for error.”

With nine games in the books, Elmont (8-1) led Long Beach and Herricks by one game and fourth-place Great Neck South by two games. A lot has to happen for any of the four to miss the playoffs.

The conference winning streak began Jan. 13 when Brown hit for a career-high 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting, and Scott added 22 to lead an 80-72 victory over Great Neck South. After a non-conference loss to Kellenberg, the Marines trounced Westbury, 77-45, behind Brown’s 27, and topped Mepham, 46-45, on a putback by Scott (22 points) with 30 seconds remaining.

“We’ve had some great collective defensive efforts,” Burke said. “We’ve held three of our last four conference opponents to 46 points or less. We’re playing 90 percent man-defense this season, and the kids are really working hard at it.”
The Marines host Bellmore-JFK this Friday at 4:45 p.m.