South Side beats Great Neck North, extends win streak to 15
James Murphy of South Side shoots from beyond the arc during the first quarter of a Nassau Conference A2 boys basketball game against Great Neck North at South Side on Saturday. Credit: James Escher
The battle for the Nassau Class A boys basketball championship in always interesting. This year it is especially intriguing with defending state champion Manhasset and last season’s Class B champion, Friends Academy, already earning spots in the Class A tournament. And there also is the matter of South Side, a team looking more and more capable of winning the crown every time it steps on the court.
The Cyclones raced past visiting Great Neck North on Saturday for a 71-45 win in Nassau A-II. South Side (15-1, 8-0) has won 15 straight since a 20-point loss on opening night and is unblemished in the county’s most-competitive division.
“We all felt like we could do something special this season,” senior Josh Garelle said. “Then we got crushed in our first game . . . We found out you just have to focus on the next game.”
“It was a message and we got it,” senior James Murphy added.
Murphy scored 20 points and Garelle had 17 points and five assists to lead the ’Clones. Murphy scored all seven points as they closed the first half with a 7-0 run for a 31-21 lead. Garelle had eight points and three assists in a third quarter that extended the lead to 22.
Great Neck North (10-5, 4-4) can usually scrap with anyone, but it couldn’t match South Side’s effort on the glass or getting to loose balls. Quick-handed and very long, the Cyclones’ zone deflected a slew of passes that became turnovers and then fast-break points – 26 of their first 55 coming on fast breaks.
Asked about the defensive mindset, South Side assistant coach Kevin Kennedy, over one seat while coach Jerry D’Angelo is ill, replied “make that deflection – the guy behind you will get the steal but you might finish the break.”
The Cyclones also played strong defense on Blazers leading scorer Luke Cronin. With entry passes to the center getting tipped or stolen, the 6-8 Cronin rarely got the ball close to the basket. He finished with 11 points.
“(Cronin) has the best hands of any big man we’ve seen this season and so our guards made it very hard to get him the ball down low,” Kennedy said. “When he got his touches, most were at the top of the key.”
D’Angelo and Kennedy should be hosting a TV show on the Home & Garden Network after what they did between South Side’s appearance in the 2022 county semifinals and this season. With many of the same key players back, they did a complete renovation and turned the Cyclones from a team with a series of halfcourt plays into one that speeds a game’s pace with turnovers and races up and down the court.
“They wanted a new style,” Kennedy said. “It’s basketball. They don’t want to be calling plays on every possession like football.”
“We had a good break last season but didn’t use it that much,” senior James Bivona said. “Now we’re playing the way we were meant to play.”
So far, it’s hard to argue with the results.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
