Sailors brace for tough stretch

After winning its Conference AA-I boys’ basketball opener, Oceanside is bracing for a challenging three-game stretch that calls for visits from Uniondale and Farmingdale, and a trip to Freeport.

“We have our work cut out for us,” Sailors coach Dan Keegan said. “Uniondale has one of the best programs on Long Island, a lot of people are really high on Farmingdale, and Freeport is coming off a big season and has a tremendous backcourt.

“We’re working to improve every day,” he added. “We’ve played a couple of good games after starting 0-2 and gained a little confidence.”

Keegan said he’s been impressed with the play of frontcourt leader Hunter Sabety and happy with the contributions of Jonah Kaplan, Dennis Treanor and Casey Kelly through the five games. Treanor and Jimmy Keane are the only starting seniors.

The coach is looking for the Sailors (2-3 overall) to bring the same level of intensity they did to Massapequa Dec. 16 when they won the conference opener, 52-43, behind the junior Sabety’s career-high 22 rebounds and 16 points. Kaplan, a junior, added 14 points, and Treanor chipped in 13.

“It was huge,” Keegan said. “We were awaiting that first win of the season and it’s always big to win on the road. I thought it was a really well-played game. Our zone has gotten better and we played it beautifully.”

Oceanside built a 15-9 lead after the opening quarter thanks in large part to Treanor, who hit three shots from behind the arch. He later added a fourth trey. “Dennis has been shooting extremely well off the bench and he’s going to start for the foreseeable future,” Keegan said. “It’s critical we have someone hitting from the outside to stretch the defense and take pressure off Hunter.”

Sabety, Keegan said, was “a beast” under the boards against Massapequa and scored six points in the second quarter to help the Sailors take a 26-18 halftime lead. “He boxes out well and has great feet and timing,” said Keegan, “and he’s committed more to the weight room and getting stronger.”

Half of Kaplan’s points came in the fourth quarter and helped keep the Chiefs at arm’s length. Massapequa got 21 points from William Schich. “I felt like Jonah had more than 20,” Keegan said. “It seemed like every time they made a little run at us, he hit a big shot. It wasn’t a terribly stressful fourth quarter because of him.”

After a loss to Kellenberg the next day, the Sailors bounced back with a 71-30 win over Clarke. Sabety led the offense with 23 points, Kaplan added 10, and Treanor and junior Brian Lau each had nine. 

Lau is being counted on to bring defensive energy off the bench and assist Keane in leading the pressure. Kelly, a sophomore who has started all five games at point guard, had 15 points in a non-league loss to Jericho and continues to make strides.