By ANDREW McCLURE
The Indians hadn't finished in first place in more than 50 years before clinching the Conference ABC-V crown on Feb. 2 with a 74-38 rout of Glen Cove. Senior Joe Alaimo scored a game-high 22 points and senior David Latimer added 21 for the Indians, who avenged a one-point loss to Glen Cove earlier in the season. Sophomore center Shella Adeniran scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Coach Dan Reece was pleased the team reached its goal to bring home a championship. "It was an outstanding season for the boys," said Reece, who guided the soon-to-be graduating class since its freshman year when he coached at the JV level. "We really came together as a team. There was a lot of pressure on this group to win the championship, so in the end there was happiness and also some relief."
Sewanhaka's dream season came to end when it was knocked off by top-seeded South Side 68-49 in a Nassau Class A first-round playoff game on Feb. 12. The Indians were led by junior guard C.J. Brown, who had 13 points in the loss. They finished with an 11-1 record in the conference and 14-5 overall. The playoff game was the last at Sewanhaka for 10 seniors.
Brown, who averaged 18 points per game, earned All-County honors and was named Conference Player of the Year. He had a four-game stretch where he averaged 25 points per contests late in the season. For the year he averaged nine rebounds per game. "This is C.J.'s first year with the varsity," Reece said. "We knew that he could score, but we didn't realize his inside game would be as strong as it is. There were many nights where he carried the team on the offensive end. He's only about 5-foot-11, but plays like he's 6-4."
Alaimo and Latimer, who both averaged 13 points per game, earned All-Conference honors. Alaimo scored a career-high 31 points in the conference opener against Carle Place. Another highlight to Sewanhaka's season was winning the Great Neck South Holiday Tournament. The Indians beat the school and Plainview-JFK, both Class AA schools, to take the title.
Reece is thrilled with the team's accomplishments, but equally as happy with what the strong season meant to the student body. "The enthusiasm at our games, especially late in the season was incredible," he said. "We had about 350 fans at the playoff game. They were loud and positive throughout the game, despite the fact that we were up against a better team and getting beat."
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