Another strong finish for East Meadow

Senior guard Nick Slevin drained a pair of three-pointers on back-to-back possessions late in the fourth quarter as part of a game-ending 10-1 run to lead East Meadow past Port Washington, 49-37, on Monday night. Slevin scored 16 points in all and hit four three-pointers, while senior forward Jeff Angelino posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The victory improved the Jets to 6-3 overall (3-1 in Conference AA-II).

“[The shots] definitely sparked us,” coach Barry Dickson said. “We were definitely [playing] tight. He hit two big shots, gave us some cushion and loosened us up.”

The Jets tightened up their defense in the fourth quarter and the offense continued to methodically score out of halfcourt sets. They outscored the Vikings 15-5 over the final eight minutes. It was the third time in the last four conference games they outscored an opponent by at least 10 points in the final quarter. “We’re winning games that we would have lost in the past,” Dickson said of East Meadow’s strong finishes. “Even when we’re not playing our best, we’re still finding ways to win.”

The play of Angelino in the low post is one of the big reasons for the team’s first half, as the senior’s aggressiveness has made him one of Nassau County’s most frequent free-throw shooters. But he’s hardly alone when it comes to taking charge on either side of the floor. Senior forward Rob Franzese scored 11 against Port Washington and had a game-high 23 in a 63-62 non-league loss at Hempstead last Saturday. The Tigers scored the game-winning points on a long three-pointer by Steven Gray with just 5.3 seconds to play despite the presence of the 6-foot, 4-inch Angelino in his face on the release. “The fourth quarter of that game was well-played by both teams,” Dickson said with the Jets being outscored by just two points, 19-17, over the final eight minutes.

Franzese, Angelino and sophomore Joe Campay (10 points against Hempstead) have posed many problems for defenders, because they all have the size to post up and the ability to score from the perimeter. And the heady decision-making of senior co-captain Kyle Berger is a definite plus. On top of feeding the big men along with the help of Slevin in the backcourt, Berger also handles the responsibility of guarding the opponent’s top offensive threat. “We’re a very unselfish team,” Dickson said. “They don’t care who scores.”

If there’s one area where East Meadow has made the biggest strides, it’s on the defensive glass, where extra focus in practice has led to better results in games. “We’re doing more box outs and we’re not giving up many second shots,” Dickson said.

The Jets travel to Hicksville for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Friday and close out the first half of the Conference AA-II campaign at home against MacArthur on Tuesday at 7 p.m.