Sailors rally past Long Beach
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Oceanside junior Gene Garay came up big in the fourth quarter of last Friday's Conference AA-II win over Long Beach, scoring 10 of his 21 points.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Junior point guard Gene Garay scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and senior Mike Bonomo also poured in 21 to propel first-place Oceanside to a come-from-behind 55-52 home victory over last-place Long Beach in Conference AA-II boys’ basketball action last Friday night.
The Sailors, who inched closer to capturing their first conference title in more than 15 seasons, never looked back after junior Greg Gilbert’s three-pointer gave them a 49-46 lead with 4:24 remaining. But they couldn’t relax until Garay hit both ends of a one-and-one with 24.6 seconds to go for a five-point cushion.
“Our record is what it is because we’ve been able to close out a lot of hard-fought games,” Garay said after Oceanside improved to 9-1 in Conference AA-II and 12-2 overall. “When it comes down to making defensive stops and hitting big shots, we’ve shown the ability to do it.”
It was an all-too-familiar ending for the Marines (0-9, 2-12), who got 15 points from senior Vincent Moore and 14 from junior Jaymen Teemer. “This game was our season in a nutshell,” Long Beach coach T.J. Burke said. “We played well and battled, but we can’t seem to get over the hump.
“We haven’t won a conference game yet we’ve led the first-place team both times in the fourth quarter and went to overtime once,” he added. “It’s frustrating, but the kids have kept their heads up.”
Oceanside, which rallied from a double-digit deficit for a 71-68 overtime win at Long Beach on Jan. 6, maintained a one-game lead over Hicksville and a two-game cushion on Herricks in the race for the conference title. “Finishing off an opponent is a skill,” Sailors coach Dan Keegan said. “We know we’ve had games where the difference was a possession or two. We’ve earned every win.”
Bonomo and Moore dominated a first quarter that ended tied at 15, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively, and Teemer knocked down a couple of threes in the second as the Marines took a 25-24 lead at intermission. “Our goal on defense was to let Bonomo and Gilbert do their thing, but contain Garay,” Burke said. “The first half worked out fine. But Garay was too good in the second half.”
Whether he was driving to the basket, stopping and popping, drawing a foul or dishing to Bonomo or Gilbert (10 points), Garay was a handful throughout the second half. He had 19 points and three assists after halftime. “I’ve coached Gene now for close to 60 games and it’s at the point where I only micromanage,” Keegan said. “He pretty much knows what to do.”
Oceanside also got a big effort off the bench from scrappy senior Dan Frisch, who had seven rebounds, two steals, two points and held Teemer scoreless in the fourth quarter. “Dan’s energy changed our defensive complexion down the stretch,” Keegan said. “He clamped down on their shooter and was a real factor in the outcome.”
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