Fusco breaks Rocks' scoring mark

Unless you’re Danny Fusco, it hasn’t been a memorable season thus far for East Rockaway’s boys’ basketball team, which saw its losing streak reach five games last Friday with a 59-56 defeat on the road against Conference ABC rival Carle Place.

The Rocks (1-5 in ABC, 4-10 overall) got 23 points from Fusco, who earlier in the month became the program’s all-time scoring leader, and 15 from fellow senior Nick Parziale, but suffered their third straight narrow setback. They lost at Cold Spring Harbor by a basket earlier last week, and previously by eight to Malverne on Jan. 15.

“We can easily be 10-4, but instead we’re 4-10,” East Rockaway head coach Joe Lores said. “We’re that close. We’re playing fairly well. It’s like night and day compared to last season.”

Carle Place, which avenged a 58-51 loss to the Rocks in the first meeting on Jan. 6, got 22 points from Nate Armstrong, 10 from Chris Ruscillo, and eight points and 10 rebounds from Chris Kelly.

East Rockaway trailed by as many as 10, but rallied behind the 5-8, 150-pound Fusco. The four-year varsity player had 11 points in the fourth quarter and nearly sent the game into overtime but his 20-foot shot at the buzzer came up just short.

“Danny’s constantly being doubled, but he’s very good coming off screens,” said Lores, in his 27th season as the varsity head coach. “We got the shot we wanted, it just didn’t fall. Next time it will.”

Though their win over Carle Place is the only one for the Rocks in seven January games heading into this Friday night’s contest at home versus Carle Place, the month still saw a bright spot for the only Class C school in Nassau County as Fusco made history twice. 

He broke Mike West’s record of 1,039 points, set in 1987, with a 28-point effort in the Rocks’ 72-60 loss to Wheatley on Jan. 12. Six days earlier, Fusco reached 1,000 career points.

“It was a lot of pressure because everyone knew about it as I got closer to the record,” Fusco said. “It’s a big honor and everyone in my family is proud of me.”

After his effort against the Frogs last Friday night, Fusco has 1,134 with at least seven games remaining. He entered the campaign with 728.

“He’s a hard-working kid who’s always in the gym,” Lores said. “He deserves everything he’s achieved.”

West was in the stands when Fusco hit the record-breaking basket. West presented Fusco with a commemorative ball at midcourt and the two posed with Lores for a picture before the game resumed. “I called Mike and asked him to come to the game and he was more than happy to be there,” Lores said.

Fusco’s 22.6 points per game as a junior ranked him third on Long Island in scoring. This season he’s No. 1 at 29.0 ppg and has topped 30 on six occasions, with a high of 37 coming in a win over Mineola. He has 91 field goals, 30 three-pointers, and 134 free throws.

“The most important thing is for the team to win some games, especially the LIC,” Fusco said.