Long Beach edges Calhoun

In a second half that featured seven lead changes, senior Cedric Coad’s three-point play with 7:15 remaining put Long Beach ahead for good in its 56-51 Conference AA-III boys’ basketball victory over visiting Calhoun on Tuesday afternoon.

Coad, who missed the first two conference games due to illness, scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter and senior Josh Trone had seven of his game-high 20 points in the final eight minutes as the Marines (2-3 overall, 2-1 in conference games) matched their win total from last season. The Colts (2-4, 2-1) got 17 points from senior Andrew Lief and 14 from junior Chad Fuschillo.

“We probably wouldn’t have won this type of game last season,” Long Beach coach T.J. Burke said. “The guys were a little down on themselves at halftime, but we forced a lot of turnovers in the second half instead of giving the ball away.”

Calhoun, which beat Mepham and Valley Stream Central in its first two conference games, fought back from a six-point deficit after the first quarter and led by as many as three in the second half.

The Colts’ inside game was hampered because senior center John Wigand was saddled with three fouls by midway through the second quarter and eventually fouled out with 6:12 remaining. Wigand was held to four points — all in the second half — after averaging 15 through the first five games.

“There’s no one player we revolve around,” Calhoun coach Jay Kreutzberger said. “John’s had some big games for us and tonight we saw our guards step up and pick up the slack. We always have to play like a team to be successful.”

Fuschillo was tough to contain in the first half, both from the perimeter with a pair of three-pointers and in the lane with a couple of driving shots. The Colts outscored the Marines by five in the second quarter and trailed 23-22 at the half.

Wigand got on the score sheet for the first time on the opening possession of the third quarter when he converted a pass from junior Danny Trepel (nine points) to give Calhoun its first lead since Lief’s game-opening free throw. Down 25-23 after a Wigand free throw, Long Beach started raining threes and turned its press up a notch. Trone and freshman Stefan Pitts (eight points, four steals) keyed the defensive pressure.

“Our press makes life difficult for teams to get over half court,” Burke said. “Pitts was all over the place. He didn’t come off the court in the second half.”

The Marines led 43-39 when Wigand picked up his fifth personal and never let Calhoun get closer. Back-to-back steals and buckets by seniors Damon Whitfield and Jaymen Teemer sealed it.

“We didn’t shoot at a high percentage,” Kreutzberger said. “I’m sure if we would’ve knocked down a few more shots, we would’ve taken the game.”

The Colts will try to return to the win column on Friday at home against Carey at 6:30 p.m., while Long Beach goes to Kennedy for a 7 p.m. tipoff.