Uniondale on playoff bubble

Close losses are especially tough for a program, and Uniondale boys’ basketball (9-9 overall, 5-6 in Conference AAA-1) had its brush with that recently.

“It was a tight game the whole way,” said Uniondale head coach Jaaz Styles. “We were tied at halftime, third quarter was decided by one point, so it was really just the fourth quarter.”

That was the case in the Knights’ 62-55 loss to Syosset on Jan. 31. Mori Toney lead Uniondale with 18 points, joined by Dameek Horton’s 12 points and Zahni Duncan’s 10. Those team highs simply were not enough to stop the intensity of AJ AbuSaab and Yassen Shaker, who combined for 47 points for the Braves.

“When we communicated on defense, we were able to shut them down and get easy buckets in transition,” Styles said. “When we executed our offensive sets well and didn’t allow them to speed us up, those things worked; when we went away from that, especially on the defensive side of the ball, that’s where the game kind of got loose from us.”

Uniondale’s playoff hopes took a hit with a 52-51 overtime loss to Massapequa last Saturday. Toney and Duncan had 16 points apiece, but on the flip side of the court Massapequa’s Tyler Byrnes and Dom Saenz piled up 16 and 10 points, respectively.

With the two losses in recent memory, Styles said that it’s important to go back to roots – protect your own basket before going on the attack.

“Defense is always going to be the calling card,” he said, calling it the team’s identity at one point. “Syosset leads the league in scoring, averaging between 70 and 75 points a game, and we held them to only 60-something.”

And there’s been plenty of evolution from Day 1 too.

“I think our offense has grown tremendously; we’re scoring the ball a lot more, we just need to score when it matters most,” Styles explained.

What’s most impressive about the team is that despite a significant chunk of youth, you couldn’t tell based on their play style and the numbers they put up.

“We actually start two eighth graders, they’re both 13,” Styles said. “They go out there and they’re fearless.”

Playoffs are on the horizon, and Uniondale needs one more conference win to qualify according to coach. The last game left is a Feb. 6 contest at home against Oceanside. In it, Uniondale has homecourt advantage plus the track record of having handily beaten the Sailors 53-41 in their last meeting on Jan. 8.

The best part, for coach, is the atmosphere the players make it, knowing that playoffs are inches away.

“It’s very intense,” Styles said. “We all have the same goal. Once we’re in playoffs I think we’re a dangerous team.”

With that, it’s safe to say that Uniondale is battle-tested and ready for anything.

“We learned that we have to learn to fight through adversity,” Styles said. “Dealing with adversity has been the biggest thing for us, so they have been getting better with that.”