Roslyn tops Sewanhaka after slow start

Four of Sewanhaka’s five starters scored in double digits, but its defense was the crack in the armor that paved the way to visiting Roslyn’s hard fought 71-62 victory in a thrilling Nassau Conference AA4 boys’ basketball matchup Thursday night.

Jordan Tucker led Sewanhaka with 18 points, with Dylan McLennon and Elliot LaMotte adding in a dozen points each. Nasir McMillan poured in 10 in the contest.

“Roslyn came out and played with much better intensity than us in the second half,” Sewanhaka head coach Jay Allen said. “To their credit, they played really hard.”

Sewanhaka looked comfortable with 19-9 lead after the opening eight minutes, with Tucker and LaMotte repeatedly forcing turnovers. The two combined for 17 points in the opening frame alone.

“We came out and we played very well; we executed what we needed to do,” Allen credited. “[Roslyn] had a hard time handling our pressure in the beginning but they got better at that as the game went on.”

That was quickly absent in the second quarter when the Bulldogs went on a nine-point run in the first three minutes. Sewanhaka’s Miles Gurley tried to put a stop to the visitor’s momentum with a shot from behind the arc but Roslyn continued on with a 5-0 stretch in the following minute. Both squads traded equal punches, entering the break tied at 31.

“Most of the talk was about defense,” Allen said about the conversation at halftime. “It was just an intense environment and we had to come together and we just didn’t tonight.”

The third quarter opened with the same sense of urgency as the second; while Roslyn found nylon first, the hosts found theirs too. Both teams fought for every possession, but Roslyn kept winning the battle at the rim.

“I thought we played hard on defense, we just had a hard time from keeping guys from getting to the basket, and I think that was the difference in the game,” Allen said. “We’re going small, we don’t have a “big” guy per se, and [Roslyn] flew around faster to the ball to be honest.”

By the fourth, every possession was crucial. After missing some crucial free throws, Roslyn kept puncturing the paint, jumping out to a 64-56 lead with 1:14 remaining. By the minute mark, Sewanhaka was in so much foul trouble that the Bulldogs took a double-digit lead.

“We have to get back to what we do, back to the basics and try to just recuperate,” Allen said about looking ahead. “It comes down to practicing some of the things we weren’t good at tonight and mostly it was keeping our man in front of us on defense.”

The big picture is the playoff push that’s coming up. The Indians are 12-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play.

“These kinds of games are gonna help us get ready for tough games,” Allen explained. “These tough games, whether you win or lose, are gonna get you ready for tougher playoff games. Every night’s a battle but those things help you out in the long run and get you better as you go down the stretch.”