South Side's win streak snapped

A group of students in the corner of South Side’s gymnasium chanted “Air Ball” each time Jericho senior standout Garrett Johnson touched the rock during last Friday night’s Conference A-I showdown between rivals that battled for last season’s Nassau Class A boys’ basketball title.

Johnson had a rare off game and was unable to quiet the home crowd, going 5-for-18 from the field, however the Cyclones struggled finding the basket just the same and saw their three-game conference winning streak end with a 51-41 defeat. Johnson, who managed to hit 7 of 10 free throws, and Erik Kanzer both had 18 points as the Jayhawks improved to 8-1 in A-I and maintained a one-game lead over Roslyn. South Side, which got 13 points from freshman Alex Sorensen, slipped to 6-3.

“This was a typical Jericho-South Side game, with a big crowd and a lot of intensity,” Jayhawks coach Wally Bachman said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we were able to grind it out. Our defense was much better than the first time we played them. We didn’t allow any big runs.”

The Cyclones, who averaged 64.3 points in recent wins over Westbury, New Hyde Park and Wantagh, attempted 19 shots from behind the arc and sank only two, coach Jerry D’Angelo said. “I don’t think we took any bad shots, and I thought Jericho did a terrific job defensively and beat us on the boards, but I don’t want us to be a team that lives and dies from three-point range,” he said. “Against certain opponents, we have a size advantage and need to pound the ball inside.”

South Side, which took the first meeting between the teams, 64-43, at Jericho on Jan. 3, led the rematch by as many as six points in the first half when its shooting touch went ice cold. D’Angelo said the game felt similar to a loss at Garden City earlier in the season when the Cyclones went 0-for-17 from long distance. “I expected a few growing pains, and the injuries we had early didn’t help,” D’Angelo said. “To still be inconsistent this late in the season is a concern, but we’ve played some really good games and we’ll look to put together three more to take into the playoffs.”

Down by four points late in the first quarter, South Side used a 10-point run to take a 16-10 lead early in the second. Seniors Dane Flaherty and Gerald Mitchell had two baskets during the spurt, and juniors Matt Pandolfi and Paul Pandolfi (career-high 28 points at Wantagh on Jan. 29) each banked in a shot. Kanzer answered by scoring 10 of the last 20 points of the half, and Jericho had a 24-22 edge at intermission.

The Jayhawks took a 35-27 lead into the fourth quarter after limiting the hosts to five points in the third, and the margin was never closer. Derek Medolla added 14 points for the winners.

“If there’s a positive to take from this game, we had a pretty good defensive effort,” D’Angelo said.