By:TONY BELLISSIMO
The Tigers, who got 23 points from senior Sean McCloskey and 13 points and 12 rebounds from senior Jon Han, advance to the state Federation A tournament in Glens Falls on March 26. They won the Class C title two seasons ago.
We played a great first half and played well enough in the fourth quarter to hold them off, LWA Coach Jeff Weiss said after his team defeated Long Island Lutheran. We had a tough schedule all year and it prepared us well. This is our third trip to the states in five years.
The Tigers originally thought they-d be playing Our Savior Lutheran of the Bronx, a 76-69 semifinal winner over Long Island Lutheran, for the title on March 1. But minutes before the Tigers boarded their bus for Manhattan College, Weiss received word the game was postponed. It was later determined that Our Savior had an ineligible player on its roster and therefore had to forfeit all of its games.
We practiced for three days with Our Savior in mind, said Weiss, who scouted the semifinal game. Then we had to refocus and get ready for Long Island Lutheran. It was a strange turn of events.
LWA edged Long Island Lutheran back on Jan. 8, 48-45, so it was no surprise the rematch came down to the wire, even after the Tigers built a seemingly comfortable 32-18 halftime lead.
We were sharp in the first half but had a hard time generating scoring opportunities in the third quarter, Weiss said. The second half was like our whole first game against them. They had us on the ropes.
The Crusaders got within 38-36 after three quarters by scoring as many points in the third quarter as they did in the first half. They stayed within striking distance of the Tigers throughout the fourth but never managed to take the lead.
It was big that we scored the first points of the fourth, said Weiss, referring to a clutch three-pointer by McCloskey that gave LWA a 41-36 lead. Sean-s been tremendous for us down the stretch, averaging 24 points over the last 10 games. We ran some set plays for him and he nailed the shots.
It was another McCloskey trey, this one a catch-and-shoot, with 3:56 remaining that made it 49-43. It was close again, 51-48, with 15 seconds to go, but Calvin Nash and Thomas Boatswain missed potential tying three-pointers and Han hit a free throw to seal the outcome.
Senior Dmitry Razin added eight points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (21-5), who will be idle for three weeks before they take the court in Glens Falls. Suffolk County powerhouse Amityville, with U-Conn bound A.J. Price, could be their next opponent.
The rust factor will be an issue, but we-ll do what we can to stay sharp, Weiss said.
