By TONY BELLISSIMO
The third-seeded Cyclones raced to a 10-point lead in the first quarter of last Saturday's Nassau Class A semifinal game at SUNY-Old Westbury and held off the second-seeded Knights, 63-59. Nine players scored for South Side, led by junior Idris Alford's 12 points and senior Jessie Winter's 11.
"This is a nice one for us and a tough one for them," Cyclones coach Jerry D'Angelo said. "They've been a thorn in our side for a few years. We're a young team with only two seniors, so to get to the finals is very gratifying."
South Side (13-6) meets two-time defending Class A champion Jericho (19-1) in the title game on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Old Westbury. The Jayhawks beat the Cyclones twice during the regular season by a combined 21 points, though so did Floral Park.
"I can't remember the last time we had a game with Floral Park that wasn't decided by single digits," D'Angelo said. "Coach Simone [Nick] does a great job over there and we've developed quite a rivalry."
The Knights topped South Side in a historic double-overtime semifinal last season, winning 63-62 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Billy Butler. They also prevailed in a quarterfinal matchup in the 2005-06 campaign when the Cyclones were defending champs.
The Butlers, Billy and twin brother Brandin, combined for 41 points on Saturday but asked for and received little offensive support while South Side's players shared the ball and the spotlight. Senior Mike Murphy had nine points, junior Joe Vastola eight, junior Brendan Meehan seven and sophomore Leon Taylor six.
"We've shown a lot of poise in the playoffs," said D'Angelo, whose team squeaked past Mineola in the first round and West Hempstead in a wild quarterfinal in overtime.
South Side played its best game of the postseason in the semifinal and never trailed after Brandin Butler opened the scoring with two free throws. Alford (two) and Murphy drained three-pointers in an 18-point first quarter, and Meehan beat the second-quarter buzzer with a shot that gave the Cyclones a 30-23 lead at halftime.
A layup by Vastola midway through the third gave South Side its biggest lead of the night at 40-28, but the Knights wouldn't fade. They got within 50-48 with 5:25 remaining in regulation and had the ball down by three with 10 seconds left. Justin Wilson had a wide-open look at the basket and unleashed a potential game-tying shot that hit off the back of the rim and landed in the arms of Murphy, who after getting fouled with seven seconds left sank the first of two free throws to seal the outcome.
"No lead is safe," D'Angelo said. "They made a few runs we were able to withstand by keeping our composure."
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 204.
