By Andrew McClure
Things didn¹t look good early in the game, when the Rocks couldn't stop the torrid shooting of Friends guard Brian Alessi. Alessi, who scored a career-high 17 points, hit five three-pointers in the opening half, the fifth of which gave the Quakers their biggest lead of the night, 29-20.
But the Rocks hung tough. Seniors Matt Collura, Michael Donlon and John Cardus, who scored a game-high 18 points, played with an intensity that wasn't always evident during the regular season. "The seniors set the tone," said coach Joe Lores. "They took what Friends threw at them, but rather than fold, they hit back. The boys never lost composure."
It was the seniors, along with sophomores Matt Marra (13 points, six rebounds) and Shane Murphy who kept the Rocks in the game in the first half. While they trailed by six points after the first two quarters, momentum seemed to be in their favor. Diving after loose balls and getting aggressive in the paint seemed contagious. Lores knew it would take a concerted effort to get the win. "We didn't need a player to step up, we needed the team to step up," he said. "One guy scoring 15, 20 points wasn't going to do it for us -- we need a balanced attack."
One guy who did step up was Murphy. The 6-foot-1 forward, who struggled for most of the season, saved his finest moments for the big game on the big stage. "I was just hoping to get to play," said Murphy. "I spent most of the season worrying about making mistakes and playing scared. I just wanted another chance to prove myself."
It was Murphy's put-back of a missed jumper by Cardus that not only tied the game, but sent the message that East Rockaway would not be denied. Murphy sneaked in on the left side of the basket, skyed over two defenders to corral the rebound, and then soared to the glass and banked the ball home to tie the score at 41.
"That was huge," said Lores. "You could see the confidence level rise. Shane was the difference. It's actually not that surprising. We've been waiting for that from him all year." Murphy would finish with nine points and four rebounds.
The last five minutes of the game were intense. Cardus, who scored 14 in a second half that saw the Rocks outscore the Quakers 31-15, went to the basket aggressively, Donlon shut down Alessi, and Collura made the strongest play of his high school career. With the Rocks nursing a two-point lead and taking the ball out under the basket, Collura positioned himself to the right of the basket. The senior forward screened off two defenders, yelled for the ball, took the inbounds pass and then exploded above the crowd to knock down the basket that put the game away.
The Rocks will face the Suffolk County Class C champion Southold First Settlers on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Bay Shore High School.
