Oceanside fades after big start

It was the best of halves; it was the worst of halves.

Oceanside got off to a magnificent start, and appeared to be on its way to an upset victory over Conference AA-I boys’ basketball rival Freeport, but, unfortunately for the Sailors, it takes 32 minutes to decide a game.

Freeport guard Leondre Simmon scored 10 points in the third quarter as the visitors erased a 12-point deficit en route to a 67-52 win over Oceanside. The Red Devils outscored the Sailors 28-7 in the quarter. Oceanside, which was led by Hunter Sabety’s 13 points, led 30-18 at the break. Freeport’s Kyhiem Chaplin led all scorers with 22 points.

Oceanside coach Dan Keegan said he knew the Red Devils would make a run in the second half. “We knew they would come out more aggressive, and that we would have to respond,” he said. “We didn’t match their intensity. Their defense made things very tough for us, and forced us to turn it over too many times. Defense was the difference.”

Freeport (12-3, 7-3 in Conference AA-I), which was without standout guard Jere Brown, couldn’t get anything going in the early going, while Oceanside couldn’t miss. The Sailors rolled to a 10-0 lead and looked unstoppable. Junior Jonah Kaplan scored 10 of his 11 points in the opening half.

Freeport came out like a different team in the second half. Four different Red Devils scored as they started the half on a 13-0 run to tale a 31-30 lead. Back-to-back threes by Chaplin and Simmon gave Freeport a commanding 46-35 lead with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Sailors never challenged in the fourth quarter.

Despite its record, Oceanside, which fell to 5-9 overall, 3-6 in conference play, has been in nearly every contest. Sabety, a 6-foot-7 junior center, has emerged as one of the county’s top big men. In a 61-37 win over Massapequa, Sabety scored 23 points and ripped down 14 boards. He has averaged 18.3 points per game in conference contests.