Long Beach chasing playoff spot

Long Beach had a chance to make a statement last Saturday afternoon at Conference AA-3 boys’ basketball co-leader Great Neck South, but the Blazers came out firing from long range and outscored the Marines in all four quarters on the way to a 74-59 victory.

Jesse Roggendorf hit 4 of Great Neck South’s 10 three-pointers and finished with a game-high 31 points as the Marines sank to the bottom half of the conference standings despite a spirited effort, head coach Scott Martin said.

“We shot well and played pretty well,” Martin said. “It doesn’t feel like we’re 1-3 in the conference because we’re right there in every game. We were hoping to compete for the conference title, but Great Neck South, East Meadow and Jericho are making things tough.”

Long Beach (6-4) had senior All-County point guard Mike Main (16), senior forward Blake Salice-Mitchell (11) and junior guard Brody Schuh (10) all score in double figures. Salice-Mitchell also starred on the defensive end, holding Blazers’ big man Jesse Tricario to one field goal and 4 points.

“Right now, Great Neck South is probably the best team in the conference and it’s a really good conference,” Martin said. “They won the conference last year and returned almost the entire team. You have to pick your poison when it comes to defending them. Blake did a really nice job on their big kid down low, but Roggendorf was able to get loose and they hit eight threes in the first half.”

The Marines drained eight shots from behind the arc themselves, with Main accounting for five. The fourth-year varsity player is averaging 13.5 points per game, second on the team behind Salice-Mitchell. “Mike is very productive and consistent,” Martin said. “He sees the floor as well as anyone and executes the offense to a T.”

The Blazers led 21-16 after the first quarter and 40-32 at halftime. “We were chasing the scoreboard all day but we were never out of it,” Martin said. “To be down eight at halftime wasn’t bad considering how hot they were. We kept battling. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

The loss dropped Long Beach to the bottom half of the eight-team conference. Great Neck South and East Meadow stood at 5-0 entering this week’s action with Jericho at 5-1 and Valley Stream Central at 3-2. The top four teams along with any team with at least a .500 conference record qualify for the Nassau Class AA playoffs.

“The guys were disappointed with the loss but pleased with how they played,” Martin said. “We’ve had a tough start in the conference playing all the top teams on the road. Were not playing poorly. We do need to shoot better from the line and do a better job at getting teams away from what they like to do.”

Salice-Mitchell is enjoying a tremendous campaign so far, Martin noted. He’s averaging a double-double (14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds) and is a vocal leader and strong defender in the paint. Sixth-man Jamar Burns, a junior, is averaging 9 points per game and seniors Shaquile Johnson and Cameron Graham are chipping in regularly. Senior Ryan Saggio brings the defensive intensity to another level.

“We can’t worry about the rematches with the teams we’ve lost to,” Martin said. “We still have a lot of big games against teams we haven’t played yet.”