South Side edges Kennedy

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Survive and advance. Call it a cliché and say it’s overused, but there’s no mantra at tournament time that’s more timeless and accurate. There are reasons that it’s every coach’s go-to line. There are no easy wins, no team can be taken lightly, and, for teams that wind up moving on, the end result often feels more like survival than victory.

The playoff matchup between No. 3 South Side and No. 19 Kennedy may have looked like a easy one to call on paper, but, like most Nassau Class A boys’ basketball postseason games, it was a barnburner. The visiting Cougars gave it everything they had last Friday night, but in the end it was South Side moving onto to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 41-37 win.

Senior guard Brandon Grayson hit a pair of free throws with 2:18 to play to give the Cyclones a 38-37 lead, and South Side, which improved to 15-5, held Kennedy scoreless the rest of the way. Grayson led the Cyclones with 12 points. The Cougars got a game-high 16 from Steven Carlson. 

Kennedy, which erased a 17-point deficit in a dramatic 46-44 first round win over Great Neck South, finished with a record of 12-9. South Side will host No. 11 Cold Spring Harbor on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinal round. 

South Side head coach Jerry D’Angelo wasn’t a bit surprised by the tight battle. “Year-in, year-out Bellmore-Kennedy puts a team on the floor that is physical, hard-working, and never gives up,” D’Angelo said. “We saw that in their game with Great Neck South. They’re talented and well-coached. We knew it was going to be a war.”

The Cyclones ran out to an early 11-point lead, and with its boisterous crowd running on all cylinders, appeared to be in control. But, the Cougars would not go away. Each time South Side got on a run, Kennedy had an answer.

After trailing for the first 27 minutes, a bucket by Carlson gave the Cougars their first lead of the game at 35-33. Grayson and Kennedy’s Marco Travaglione (14 points) exchanged baskets before South Side took the lead from the free throw line.

The Cyclones put the game away on a perfectly executed play that called for Dami Awosika to work off a screen and take the ball to the hole. Awosika’s driving layup gave South Side a 40-37 lead with just :58 left on the clock. Awosika and Ryan McCarthy scored 10 apiece for the Cyclones.

Kennedy head coach Rory Block knows his team left it all on the floor. “I’m so proud of these guys,” Block said. “They have had such a good season. They came out and gave the No. 3 seed a run for their money on their home court. I can’t say enough about my guys. This run showed that we have a lot of heart. We don’t always play great, but we always play hard. When we get it going, it’s a lot of fun.”