By ANDREW McCLURE
The Rams got one step closer to their first postseason berth in six years as Jon Schilt scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Clarke to a 68-58 victory.
With a win over Mineola in the regular season finale, Clarke, 7-4 in Conference ABC-IV and 9-7 overall, will advance to the Nassau Class A playoffs. Senior Anupam Sadananda scored 19 points and dished out six assists in his last game on the home floor.
Clarke coach Joe Harclerode was happy with his team's effort, especially on the defensive end. "The boys did a nice job scoring in the first half, but we needed to play better defense," Harclerode said. "We discussed how defense wins games at the half, and they came out and shut them down." The Rams outscored Lynbrook 35-20 in the second half.
After a ceremony was held to honor all of Clarke's senior players and cheerleaders, both teams came out firing in the first quarter. Clarke, which was looking to avenge a 61-59 loss to the Owls back in January, got eight points in the opening quarter from senior guard Anthony Antreasyan as it raced out to a 20-12 lead.
But the Owls fought back. With senior Ryan Siems heating up from the outside and sophomore Ryan Clark taking over in the paint, Lynbrook went on an 18-4 run to take a 30-24 lead with 3:20 left in the opening half. A clutch three by Sadananda, one of four he would sink on the evening, ended the Rams scoring drought, but Clark, who led Lynbrook with 23 points, finished the half strong as the Owls took a 38-33 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter was all Schilt. The junior guard, who averages 18 points per game, scored 11 of his points, including a long three which put the Rams up 49-44 with just seconds remaining in the quarter. Schilt's terrific game was no surprise to his coach. "Jon is a very tough kid to defend," Harclerode said. "He can shoot, create and go to the basket."
It appeared the basketball gods were looking out for the Rams when junior Brett Schreiber opened the final quarter by banking home a three pointer from the top of the key, but Lynbrook kept clawing back. Four consecutive free throws by Clark drew the Owls to within 52-48.
However, Lynbrook would get no closer as clutch baskets by Antreasyan, junior guard Ryan Schreiber and senior forward Julian Albertini brought the boisterous crowd to its feet, and gave the Rams a commanding lead midway through the final quarter.
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