64.0°,
Overcast Spartans running on all cylinders
Posted
Valley Stream North’s Alington Paul soars over Roosevelt’s Kevin Manuel for two of his 18 points in last Friday’s Conference ABC-III home victory.
Ron Manfredi/Herald
It didn’t take too long for Valley Stream North to turn what figured to be a tight Conference ABC-III boys’ basketball battle with visiting Roosevelt into a no doubter last Friday night.
The Spartans outscored the Rough Riders by 11 points in the first quarter and by six in the second en route to a 58-46 victory that allowed it to maintain sole possession of second place behind unbeaten Great Neck North. Seniors Ryan Kenny (19) and Alington Paul (18) and freshman Anthony Martelli (11) all scored in double digits for North, which didn’t play overtime for the first time in four games.
“We pressed from the opening tip and they couldn’t handle it,” Spartans coach Fabian Jara said after his team improved to 4-1 in conference play and 10-3 overall. “We were expecting a tough game. We scouted them recently and they’ve been progressing. They just lost to Great Neck North by two.”
Roosevelt, which got 14 points from Malcolm Simmons and 11 points from Kevin Manuel, trailed by as many as 35 in the third quarter and outscored the hosts by 10 in the fourth to make the final look respectable on paper. North’s trapping defense, spearheaded by Kenny and fellow senior David Nelson, was a turnover machine that led to a handful of baskets at the other end. “Their job in the press is to keep the ball out of the middle,” Jara said of his starting guards. “Then it’s up to Alington and Tyrone [Conyers] to trap along the sidelines.”
Kenny has scored in double digits in all but one of the 10 games he’s played, and he’s averaging 17.8 points per contest. “He’s getting a lot of interest from colleges,” Jara said of Kenny, who had a season-high 26 points in a 68-65 double-overtime win at Sewanhaka on Jan. 19. “He’s a great player and a great student. He wants to pursue basketball and get a good education at the same time.”
Great Neck North has been the only conference opponent to contain Kenny, holding him to 12 points in a 53-51 overtime win over the Spartans on Jan. 12. The Blazers come to town on Feb. 3. “They defended Ryan very well and we weren’t at our best to counter because we had Alington in foul trouble for the whole first half,” Jara said. “I’m confident going into the rematch.”
Kenny’s backcourt mate, Nelson, has been a key cog in the team’s success as well. After coming off the bench for two seasons, Nelson has started all 13 games and never came off the court in two of them. “He’s thriving as a full-time starter,” Jara said of Nelson, who had 14 points in a 69-61 double-overtime triumph at Lawrence on Jan. 14.
The Spartans won’t play another road game unless it’s in the Nassau Class A playoffs. In an odd scheduling quirk, their last five conference games, starting with Roosevelt, are at home. “It should play to our advantage,” Jara said. “Our goal is to win the conference, but it won’t come easy.”
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments