Long Beach back in win column

Some basketball players, regardless of talent level, thrive more off the bench than they do being a part of the starting five. Long Beach senior Andrew LaVelle is a perfect example.

After starting the previous two games, LaVelle returned to the role that seems to suit him best last Friday afternoon and scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Marines to a 62-49 victory over Conference AA-III rival Calhoun. LaVelle went 14-for-17 from the foul line and added five field goals as host Long Beach snapped a two-game skid and improved to 4-3 in conference play and 5-6 overall.

“Andrew’s a high-energy player and the other kids know he’s going to come into the game and give us a lift,” Marines head coach Larry Steimer said of LaVelle, who has three 20-point performances as the sixth man. “He’s got starter talent, and I gave him a few starts against MacArthur and Westbury,” he added. “He’s aggressive to the basket and plays hard. He’s so effective coming off the bench, it’s the best scenario for us.”

Sophomore point guard Norman Wilson added 13 points for Long Beach, which broke things open in the third quarter by outscoring the struggling Colts (0-11 overall) by an 18-8 margin. Calhoun, which trailed by only two points at halftime, got 16 points from Max Vitale and 15 from Dylan Mulcahy. 

“It was a huge win,” Steimer said. “We started 3-1 in the conference and then lost two in a row. We needed to get back on track. Five of us [in the conference] are pretty similar teams, so every win is important.”

Steimer said the Marines hit on their first three shots of the second half and kept Calhoun at an arm’s length thereafter on the way to sweeping the season series. “We started to knock down some shots, which relaxed and settled everyone down,” he said.

Juniors Seamus McDonagh and Marquise Charles chipped in eight points apiece, and senior Brian Horne added six. “Everyone who steps on the court can give us some offense,” Steimer said. “It’s not like we’re getting 30 from one kid and wondering where the rest will come from. We might get 20 from someone, double digits from someone else, and two or three other guys with seven or eight.”

Last Friday marked the eighth time in 11 games that Wilson scored in double figures. He had a high of 22 in a loss to MacArthur on Jan. 10. “Norman does a lot more than shoot the ball,” Steimer said. “He’s improved as a defender and does a nice job of breaking the press and getting our transition going. I sometimes forget he’s only a sophomore because of how much he’s asked to do.”

Another sophomore, Shaquan Barron, the JV team’s leading scorer last season, is also contributing, Steimer said. Horne usually gets the toughest backcourt defensive assignment, and McDonagh and Charles have been consistent in the post.

Long Beach’s other conference wins came against Herricks and Mepham.