By CHRIS SALUTE
What better place to watch the Sailors and Marines square off than in Long Beach¹s waterfront gymnasium? If Sailors coach Dan Keegan had his way, however, that would not have been the case. ³They¹re a very strong team at Long Beach,² Keegan said. ³It¹s a loud gym. They have great support with their fans.²
The quick, but undersized, Oceanside offense, led by Greco, Larry Intrabartola and Matt Murnane, took charge of the Jan. 6 game¹s pace early on, despite the full-court pressure from Long Beach¹s power defense. Three minutes remained in the first quarter when the Marines took a timeout to regroup. They came out fast and hard, and still just as big. But despite their fresh start and subs, Long Beach couldn¹t keep up with Oceanside¹s ball movement. The Sailors moved the ball around against the Marines like a game of monkey-in-the-middle.
³We won because of team effort, from the starters to players coming off the bench,² said Intrabartola. ³Everyone who played gave effort.²
Intrabartola was probably referring to the 10 Oceanside players who not only touched the ball, but put points on the scoreboard. Each Long Beach play that seemed to catch the Sailors off-guard was countered by a well-calculated and hard-set defense, and followed by an evenly distributed offense. Stuffing the paint on defense, and penetrating quickly on the other end, Oceanside steadily took control ‹ and never let up.
By the end of the first half, Oceanside had extended its lead from five points to 12. Sharpshooter Andrew Jackson kept the second team scoring, as starters Greco and Williams took short breaks throughout the game.
It was still the core offense that ran the pace. Greco scored 29 points, despite being triple-teamed at points in the second and third quarters. Murnane scored seven points. But more impressive from him was his two-quarter run of continuous play, not coming out for one play until halftime.
The third quarter seemed more like a tortoise-and-hare, race with the Marines scoring in spurts and the Sailors playing their slow and controlled offense. Greco drew Long Beach defenders out to the top of the key, only to dish to Intrabartola and Matt Williams.
For Oceanside, it wasn¹t an easy win if you judged the game by the third quarter. Coach Dan Keegan never felt that a W was locked in place. ³They are very aggressive,² he said of the Marines. Each play was a struggle and each point a relief.
In fact, when the fourth quarter opened, the 54-32 Sailors lead was cut when the larger Long Beach squad went on an 8-3 scoring run. Jackson scored the Sailors¹ first points of the fourth quarter. But, Keegan couldn¹t chance taking his front line out, especially since the Marines were running strong, with most of their starters in. When the Sailors finally let loose, Oceanside was in the middle of a scoring frenzy, and beat the Marines by 23 points.
While the Sailors took pride in their team effort, there were some key players who not only scored, but engaged the rest of the team, helping them get open for shots. ³We had four very, very good ball-handling shooting guards,² Keegan said. ³So our skill overtook their size.²
Chris Salute is a 2002 graduate of Oceanside High and a senior at Siena University.
