By Tony Bellissimo
The Falcons, who seem to play nothing but nail-biters these days, took the first meeting last Friday, 45-44, when junior center Dariel Concha sank a jump-hook in the paint as time expired. It was their fourth consecutive game decided in the final minute.
We needed this win in the worst way, South Coach Dom Fontana said. All along it felt like the type of game that would come down to the last possession. We got the ball in-bounds with 2.2 seconds left and Shane [Speredowich] got it to Dariel and he made what could be a season-saving basket. It was a play we had to make on the fly because we already went through our timeouts.
The Falcons improved to 2-3 in conference play despite failing to sink a free throw in the game. Senior Edgar Sanchez and Speredowich, a junior, led them with 12 points apiece. Concha finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
We-re hardly getting to the foul line and that-s something we need to fix, said Fontana, who noted the Falcons managed just one free throw in a 49-47 loss to Seaford on Jan. 8. Turnovers are the biggest reason we-re not getting those chances because we-re not in a half-court offense as much as we-d like to be. We-re having a tough time with pressure.
A portion of the offensive punch was lost when senior point-guard Jeff Lopez decided to leave the team after five games. His position has been amply filled by senior Gerard Middleton. Gerard-s handling the ball well and giving us quality defense, Fontana said.
Back-to-back defeats by Seaford and Division High School, by a combined six points, could prove costly over the long haul, yet Fontana knows there-s time to catch first-place Hewlett High School. We-ve got six games remaining and we probably have to win five, including the one against Hewlett [Feb. 6] for sure, he said. It-s not going to be easy, but it-s certainly something we can do if we play well enough.
South-s other conference triumph came in its first game after the holiday break. On Jan. 3, it held off a furious rally by Clarke High School to take a 56-53 decision. The Rams scored 27 fourth-quarter points to Valley Stream-s 12. Concha had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Omar Sofizada and juniors Suhail Sofizada and Robert Breyer added seven points apiece.
This Friday-s game against Plainedge is at home and starts at 5:15 p.m. The Falcons are then off for 10 days before hosting Valley Stream North on Jan. 29.
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