Mepham eyes playoff berth

Posted

Even after a tough 62-45 road loss to front-running Westbury on Jan. 12, Mepham still ended the first half of its Conference AA-III boys’ basketball schedule — and entered its bye week — exactly where it wanted to be: smack in the middle of the playoff race. 

Westbury converted a pair of late three-pointers to put the finishing touches on a game that played out much closer than the final 17-point margin of victory.

Coming out of intermission, the Pirates (7-6 overall, 3-3 in Conference AA-III) cut a 10-point deficit to six in the third quarter and limited Westbury to just two points in the final quarter before the late three-pointers. “It was a six-point game in the third quarter and they are a top team,” coach Pat Fallon said. “The best thing was that [we] went in and competed with a tough team.”

As has been the case since the first game of the season in December, the Pirates continue to have a balanced scoring effort. senior Yoni Zigdon scored a team-high 10 points, while junior Jordan Jones had nine and seven scored in all.

In a 49-41 Conference AA-III win over MacArthur on Jan. 9, eight different players hit the scoresheet with Zigdon once again leading the way. He tallied a game-high 13 points, while junior Jeremy Lissade had 10. Sophomore Nah’jel Sands scored nine, and more importantly converted five of his six fourth-quarter free-throws, helping the Pirates pull away in the final eight minutes. Mepham turned a two-point deficit into a win by outscoring the Generals, 17-7, in the frame. The Pirates hit nine of 12 free throws in the fourth.

“When we’ve gotten the ball into the post, played good defense and had balance, we’ve been successful,” Fallon said. “We played very well in the fourth quarter. We got some stops and made a couple of free throws.”

That balance was also on display in a 52-49 win over Long Beach on Dec. 22, a rival the Pirates battle for the second time this Friday on the road. Tipoff is schedule for 4:30 p.m. In that first meeting, Lissade paced the offense with 17 points, including eight from the free-throw line, while senior Dan Dazzo (nine points) and junior Ricky Derosena (eight) provided scoring punch off the bench. “When we’ve needed it, people have stepped in and helped,” Fallon said. “[The first meeting] was close. [Long Beach] hit a bunch of threes at the end.”

With Zigdon and Jones both standing 6-foot-3 and giving Mepham a presence in the paint, it opens up space for the slashers on offense, like Sands, who made his impact felt against the Generals at the foul line thanks to his aggressive play. “We’re feeling good about our chances to compete and the guys recognize that in our conference any team can beat any other,” Fallon said.

Following the rematch with the Marines, the second-half of the schedule includes matchups at Herricks (Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.) and a home game with Great Neck South on Feb. 2, with tipoff slated for 6:15 p.m.