By Tom Jordan
The shocking part was orchestrated a week earlier by senior Kevin Coghlan, who drained a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Cyclones a 55-54 win over Plainview JFK.
The encouraging part is that Coghlan was one of only two seniors on D'Angelo's roster. Tim Feehan is the other. The Cyclones, who finished 13-6, will be back.
Among those who will be asked to lead the team next season is Alex Anderson, who scored a game-high 29 points against Uniondale. Anderson, who D'Angelo lauds for his shooting touch, increased his scoring as the season progressed. He had 16 points in the win over Plainview JFK, 23 in the season finale against Mepham and 25 in a win over Garden City. In his first eight games, he averaged 6.6 points and reached double figures twice. In his last 11, his average jumped to 15.8 and he failed to score in double digits only twice. Matt Simoneschi, Nate Smith, Mike Cove, Kevin Riley and Tommy Walsh all were constant contributors this season, and all will be back.
After a rocky non-league run to start the season, the Cyclones pulled it together quickly once they began their Conference II schedule. They beat Calhoun 66-52 as Simoneschi scored 25 points to go with nine assists. After a loss to Baldwin, the Cyclones won five straight before suffering another setback to the Bruins. They rebounded to beat Hempstead, East Meadow, Garden City and Mepham to finish 10-2.
In the week before their opening-round game against Plainview JFK, Coghlan nailed a half-court shot in practice. He half-jokingly told D'Angelo he was the man to turn to if the Cyclones ever needed a desperation shot to win a game. On Feb. 15, D'Angelo took him up on the offer.
With the Cyclones trailing 54-52 with less than three seconds to play, D'Angelo huddled his team together and called Coghlan's No. 12. "It's your shot," he told the senior.
Coghlan caught the ball, dribbled twice and then let go. "It looked like it had a chance," Coghlan said. When the ball swished through the net some 35 feet away, it sent South Side Gymnasium into delirium. "It was a crazy shot," said Coghlan, who prevented his high school career from ending with a loss on his home floor.
The end came nine days later. Coghlan, a big part of this Cyclones team, the player responsible for guarding the other team's best player, will graduate in the spring along with Feehan. The rest of the Cyclones will be back.
