Offense leads Malverne past Seaford

Five weeks after Malverne edged Seaford, 67-62, the Mules once again knocked off the Vikings in an even higher scoring Nassau boys’ basketball battle.
Senior guard Chad Wesley tallied 26 points including some clutch fourth quarter three-pointers to propel Malverne to a 76-68 win before a raucous crowd at Seaford High School’s gymnasium Jan. 17. The come-from-behind road win from an early eight-point deficit gave Malverne a big lift in its push for playoff berth, improving it to 4-3 in Conference A-VII heading into the home stretch. 
“It’s been an up and down season and this was a big win for us,” Malverne associate coach Walter Aksionoff said. “I am hoping we can build off of this.”
Malverne ended the third quarter with momentum at its back after senior forward Kevin Estime drilled a jumper at the buzzer for a 49-46 lead entering the final period. 
The Mules then seized control with Wesley connecting on three of his five three-pointers in the fourth quarter including one that made it 67-59 after Seaford’s Frank Pyryt had hit his own long range shot to cut the deficit to five.

“Chad is an excellent driver and we try to isolate him,” Aksionoff said of Wesley, who finished with eight assists. 
Wesley complemented his big scoring output with a game-high eight assists. Senior forward Zavion Daniels also had a night for the Mules with 10 points and six assists. Jake Walsh, another senior forward, nearly executed a double-double in recording nine points and 10 rebounds.
“They are very athletic and they wear you down,” said 42nd-year Seaford head coach Ralph Rossetti.  
Seaford started off the game strong with eight of the first 11 points and led 13-5 after an Andrew Tudda basket late in the first quarter. Tudda, who leads Nassau County in scoring, finished with a game-high 30 points.
“He plays great every game,” said Rossetti of Tudda. “He is very consistent and a terrific player.”
Pyryt also kept Seaford in the game with 17 points and Jeff Cesario chipped in with nine.
The hard-fought loss dropped Seaford to 9-6 overall and 2-5 in league play. A 66-34 win at East Rockaway on Jan. 6 marked the 400th in Rossetti’s more than four-decade career at Seaford, which included a county championship in the 1998-99 season. 
“I have been here a long time and I’m happy I was able to be at one school my whole career,” said Rossetti, who recently announced that he will be retiring from coaching at the end of this season. “I’m proud of that.”
Two days after the Malverne defeat, Seaford fell 82-72 to second-place North Shore. The Vikings return to the court on Friday evening against Lawrence for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Malverne will hit the floor for the first time since the Seaford win this Friday at home against North Shore starting at 7 p.m. The Mules fell to North Shore 67-55 in the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 19.
“Making the playoffs is our goal,” Aksionoff said. “Now we have to keep winning.”