Elmont back in title conversation
So much for Elmont’s growing pains.
After winning their first county basketball championship in program history a season ago, the Spartans were left to start anew in 2011-12. Despite a lack of varsity experience, and a slew of underclassmen, they’re back in the Nassau Class AA hunt.
After Elmont’s 77-52 home win over Great Neck South last Friday afternoon, the Spartans are 14-1, 11-1 in Conference AA-III. Michael Dugue scored a career-high 31 points to lead the offense. The win avenged the Spartans only loss of the season, a 74-59 loss to the Rebels. Great Neck South fell to 7-4 in conference play. Elmont, which has been very strong from the perimeter, made nine three-pointers in the win.
Elmont coach George Holub likes the strides his young team has made. “We’re pretty much where I thought we’d be,” Holub said. “We’re a very young team, but we’re progressing nicely. It’s a completely different team. Last year, we had senior leadership and far more experience. We’re still making mistakes, but we’re coming along. We’ve had a lot of different guys get hot at different times.”
One player who has been hot all year long is Tristan Brown. The sophomore point guard, who scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in an 82-45 win over Westbury, is averaging 10.8 points per game on the season, and is doing a tremendous job running Elmont’s offense.
Dugue, whose previous high was the 21 points he scored in a season-opening win over Sewanhaka, leads the team with an average of 13.8 points per game. The senior guard nailed three from long range, and was money from the line, hitting 10 free throws in the win over Great Neck South.
Junior Timothy Lewis has heated up late in the season for Elmont. Lewis, who scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Spartans past Herricks, has scored in double figures in four of the past five games.
