By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Eagles, who lost 60-59 to the Marines on Dec. 22, never looked back after junior Jerry Mordi's steal and breakaway layup broke a tie at the end of the first quarter. Mordi (11 points) was one of four Central players to score in double figures as it improved to 3-5 in Conference AA-I and 5-7 overall. Junior Marc Augustin had a game-high 20 points, senior Jermaine Hope had 12 and senior Hashim Mitchell added 10. Dashaun Moye paced Long Beach with 15 points.
"We're not exactly where we want to be, but we're not where we were three weeks ago either," Eagles coach Hayward Alfred said. "Our confidence is growing."
Long Beach led for most of the opening quarter as all five starters scored within five minutes. Moye scored six of the game's first eight points, and Brian O'Toole, Corey Lovrich, Vincent Moore and Alexander Solomon had a basket apiece to build a 14-8 lead and force a timeout by Alfred. "We had energy early in the game," said Long Beach coach T.J. Burke, "but we didn't sustain it."
The Eagles scratched their way back and led for the first time after a long three by junior Reggie Dennis capped a seven-point spurt. After Moore and Mitchell traded baskets and Moye went 1-for-2 from the line to make it 17-17, Central assumed command by scoring 40 of the game's next 53 points. Augustin had eight points in the second quarter and Hope scored eight in the third. "It didn't matter what we did tonight," Burke said. "We played man, we tried trapping and we tried zone. Our effort wasn't what it should be."
It was the third victory in four games for the Eagles, who could be dangerous come playoff time. After losing their first four conference games, they got in the win column and started to build some confidence with a 63-56 decision over Farmingdale that saw Augustin lead the way with 15 points. Following a hard-fought setback to Hempstead, Hope was instrumental in a 67-61 overtime triumph at Elmont. His three-point shot at the buzzer to end regulation forced OT and may prove the turning point in Central's season.
"Beating Elmont was huge," Alfred said. "We let three or four other opportunities get away, so it was nice to seize the momentum and hold onto it."
The Eagles will go 10 days between games. They're back in action on Monday at 7 p.m. when they visit defending Nassau and Long Island Class AA champion Baldwin, which rallied to capture the first meeting by 12 points on Jan. 9. Mitchell had 29 points, the most by a Central player in any game this season.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
