Great Neck South boys basketball looking great this season after beating MacArthur
Great Neck South's Nick Cibelli and Justin Semmel enjoying the Rebels' win over MacArthur in a Nassau Conference A-I boys basketball at Great Neck South on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Credit: James Escher
The metamorphosis has begun for the Great Neck South boys basketball program.
The Rebels knew they would have to rely heavily on underclassmen this season and losing all but eight games last year to the coronavirus pandemic was not going to help. However somewhere along the way this season Great Neck South first became solid and then became good. There is plenty of season left, but their 58-43 Nassau A-I victory over visiting MacArthur suggests the Rebels might have a chance to be great.
Great Neck South has come a long way since a 66-57 loss at MacArthur on Jan. 12, having won three of their last four games.
"I see a team that is surpassing expectations and I am looking forward to see what more they can be," Rebels coach Steve Liebertz said.
Great Neck South used a 1-2-2 press as a catalyst in the second quarter and turned three turnovers during one 2:21 stretch into an 11-0 run to grab the upper hand. The run began with senior point guard Justin Semmel finding senior Joe Fernandez for a layup on an inbounds play and ended with 6-5 sophomore Jesse Tricario banking in a layup off a feed from senior Nick Cibelli for a 22-13 lead with 3:55 left in the quarter.
"You can see the way the press frustrates [an opponent]," said Semmel, who finished with a game-high 18 points and four assists. "You speed them up and it affects their focus."
By keeping the press on, the Rebels (8-7, 6-3) were able to accelerate away. They closed the third quarter with a 14-0 burst that included six points from Tricario and three-pointers by Semmel and freshman Jesse Roggendorf.
"One steal leads to another and you can see them start to thrive on it, feed off it," Liebertz said.
Tricario finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, Jesse Roggendorf had 11 points including three three-pointers, Fernandez had nine points and John Roggendorf — Jesse’s twin brother — had six points, six rebounds and five assists for the Rebels, who remain in the mix for the division title.
John Rebaudo had 11 points and Matt Sarni had 10 points for the Generals (4-12, 3-6).
"The three underclassmen have been great," Semmel said. "[Tricario] has incredible footwork in the paint, Jesse [Roggendorf] is the best shooter on the team and plays like a veteran and John [Roggendorf] does a little bit of everything for us.
"Maybe in some way we have exceeded what people thought we’d be, but I think there’s a lot more to realize in us," he added. "When we play hard, we can be tough to beat."
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.
