Thursday, October 1, 2026
Damon Merazzi kept raining 3’s, point guard Lucas Schimsky orchestrated the offense in nearly posting a triple double and the North Shore boys’ basketball team kept alive its slim hopes of winning the Conference A7 championship.
The Vikings upended host Seaford, 64-52, in last Saturday’s matinee. The Maroon closed out the game on a 13-1 run to move their record to 5-3 in Conference A7 with four games left.
Seaford dropped to 5-3 as North Shore surged ahead of its rivals in the standings as the Sea Cliff/Glen Head school won both matches.
To have a chance at winning the conference title. North Shore will have to run the table and win its final four games. The rematch against first-place Friends Academy is Feb. 4.
Merazzi, the senior shooting guard, scored a career-high 29 points in the road victory. He knocked in 9 3-pointers on 18 attempts, a 44-percent success rate. That would be an envious percentage in the NBA let alone high-school ball.
“He does have the green light,’’ head coach Ryan Berglin said. “He’s been recruited by colleges because of his ability to hit the 3.’’
A couple of Merazzi’s makes came off broken plays, but most were result of creations by Schimsky. The senior point guard scored 10 points, notched 11 assists and 7 rebounds.
“Once (Lucas) got into their zone with dribble penetration, it opened up everything else,’’ Berglin said. “We hit 13 3’s because they collapsed on him.’’
Merazzi bagged 4 treys in the first quarter. “When I saw the first one go in, it was a big help and then my teammates started feeding me the ball too,’’ Merazzi said. “It was like every shot went in - a great feeling.’’
Schimsky wasn’t surprised at his teammates’ red-hot afternoon in Seaford. “He started off hot so I knew I had to keep giving him opportunities and creating open looks for him,’’ Schimsky said. “Him and I are always on the same page. He trusts me leading the team and always knows I’m going to find him. It’s a very good 1-2 punch.’’
Schimsky drained two 3’s himself. Chase Goldenberg finished with 15 points and netted one 3. Off the bench, junior Grady Butler drained a pair of 3-pointers.
“We all stuck to our assignments and played with high intensity,’’ Schimsky said. “The team chemistry was great this game. I just knew what decisions I should be making.’’
North Shore grabbed a 13-point halftime lead but then it evaporated as Seaford went ahead 47-46 with 6:11 left. It was 51-51 with 3:45 to go when North Shore blasted forth on a 13-1 run as the Jay Lynch-coached squad couldn’t keep up. Merazzi had six points in the surge.
“They were relentless,’’ Merazzi said. “They didn’t give up. They kept fighting. It was a big win, huge for playoff positioning. We executed plays and weren’t sloppy and got back on defense.’’
North Shore (11-4 overall) can clinch a playoff berth Tuesday with a victory against Wheatley.
“There’s been a lot of crazy games,’’ Berglin said. “This year, you just want to get in the playoffs. Anyone can beat anyone. It’s a lot of parity.’’
