LWA races to 9-1 start

Though Lawrence Woodmere Academy may not stack up to most of its competition on the basketball court in terms of size, the Tigers boast plenty of other attributes that make them tough to beat.

“We’ve only got one starter over 6-feet tall, but we’re holding our own rebounding and doing a lot of good things,” head coach Jeff Weiss said. “We’re fast, we shoot the ball well, and we’re winning the turnover battle.

“We’re trapping a lot on defense and pushing the tempo as much as we can,” he added. “Some teams have had trouble keeping pace.”

With three starters back in the fold — senior captains Rokas Lapsys, Jake Lundenberg and Tristan Braverman — the Tigers busted out of the game with an eight-game winning streak that ended just before the holiday break with a 62-57 defeat to Rye Country Day School, the same team that beat them in last year’s NYSIAS semifinals.

LWA (9-1) got back in the win column after the calendar flipped to January, defeating St. Demetrius at home last Friday, 60-36.

“We’re off to a good start,” Weiss said. “Our senior captains are playing tremendous basketball and being leaders. We’re getting more chances than our opponents, which is pushing us into leads, and we’ve been able to maintain pressure.”

Weiss said he considers Lapsys, a 6-foot-4 forward with aggressive moves to the basket and the ability to dunk, to be one of the best players on Long Island. “He’ll play at the next level,” Weiss said of Lapsys, who is averaging better than 20 points per game as well as 15 rebounds. “He’s athletic, strong and tough. He gets doubled all the time, but we take advantage of that because everyone around him can shoot.”

Lapsys exploded for 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead an 80-59 victory over Columbia Prep on Dec. 12. He hit 14 field goals and five free throws. Braverman, a shooting guard, added 20 points including four three-pointers.

“Tristan was improving toward the latter part of last year and worked really hard during the offseason,” Weiss said of Braverman, who is averaging four three-pointers per game and nailed seven from behind the arc as part of a game-high 21-point effort in a 77-57 win over Richmond Hill on Dec. 15. “I’m not surprised what he’s contributing,” Weiss added. “He was our best JV player as a sophomore.”

Lundenberg runs the offense from the point and is a steady distributor with solid defensive skills as well. He had 19 points and seven assists in a win over Solomon
Schechter.

Junior Alex Kompogeorgas (10 points, eight rebounds against Columbia Prep) is an accurate outside shooter, and sophomore Christophe Pierre-Louis (11 points) is dangerous in the open floor. Senior Jacob Cayne, junior Jack Xu, sophomore Wes Gladstein, and freshman Ethan Thompson lead the charge off the bench.

The Tigers are back in action this Friday when Evangel visits for a 4 p.m. start.