By Tom Jordan
They overcame a rough start to beat a Hempstead team that has reigned over Nassau County basketball for almost a quarter-century and advanced to the Semifinal round of the playoffs with their 67-54 victory.
Hempstead, by the way, had won 18 of the last 21 Class A titles, including the last nine.
Guard James Hurt again was the main cog in the South Side offense, leading the way with 31 points, ten rebounds and five assists. He was nearly matched by Hemsptead's Aubin Scott, who scored 31 of his own.
South Side's biggest advantage may have been in the middle. Center John Henkel scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
"They really didn't have an answer for John," South Side coach Gerry D'Angelo said.
But the Cyclones are not a two-man show.
"There are things kids do that don't show up in box scores, but they're a big part of our winning," D'Angelo said. "I think more than anything else, we win with our defense."
The kind of defense the Cyclones play requires total team effort. Hurt and Henkel are asked to get their hands dirty. Matt Nolan, Chris Rooney and Steve Simoneschi all do a great job.
They had their work cut out for them right away when Hempstead came out for the opening bell like champions, pouncing to a 10-2 lead. A less poised team might have panicked, might have called it a night. The Cyclones got down to business instead. They cut the margin to 18-16 after the first quarter, took a 33-31 lead into halftime, led by 12 going into the final quarter. But Hemsptead wasn't going away either, champions never do. They staged a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, causing turnovers with a pressing defense. They scored six points in 41 seconds.
"They came out with real intensity," D'Angelo said. "We were not beating the press like we know how."
After D'Angelo took a timout, the Cyclones regrouped and closed out their win. South Side scored the game's final eleven points. They'll play Freeport in the semifinals at SUNY-Westbury, a game scheduled for 8 p.m., Tues., Feb. 26, after the Herald went to press. If they win on Tuesday, they'll play in the Class A final on Friday, March 1.
An exhausting regular season produced 15 wins and three defeats for South Side. Most of the wins and all of the losses came in photo finishes. Two of the teams they've butted heads with, Uniondale and Baldwin, will face off in the other bracket of the semifinals. South Side beat top-seeded Uniondale in double-overtime on Feb. 11, avenging a nine-point loss on Jan. 11. They also played Baldwin into overtime before losing by a single point on Jan. 29.
South Side began the playoffs on Feb. 15 as a battle-ready No. 3 seed. But for all of their highs and lows, for all of their jockeying for playoff position and close calls, they got a first-round playoff bye and then a home game against Hempstead, a team no one wanted to play.
"It's always something to beat a team of Hempstead's caliber. I don't know if we would have won a game like this in early January," D'Angelo said. "We've come together as a team, and after experiencing so many close games, the playoff intensity didn't throw off my kids."
South Side has beaten Freeport twice already this season, 51-42 on Feb. 8 and 56-41 on Jan. 19.
Another win over Freeport is no sure thing. Freeport is tough and D'Angelo has warned that the conference is wide open all season.
"Any team can beat any other if they're willing to work," he said earlier in the season.
The Cyclones best mismatch against Hempstead, Henkel's size at the center position, will be offset by Freeport's big frontcourt.
Since the game is being played at SUNY-Westbury, the Cyclones will try to contain Freeport on a bigger stage, and a bigger floor. College courts are ten feet larger than high school courts, so South Side's defense will have to press Farmingdale for 92 feet.
If they can overcome those obstacles to beat Freeport for a third time, they'll be playing for a championship.
