Elmont survives to semifinals

Survive and advance.

That’s been the theme in the Nassau Class A boys’ basketball playoffs for top-seeded Elmont, which rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat No. 8 Jericho, 49-41, in a quarterfinal last Sunday at Hofstra.

Six Spartans scored in the fourth including junior Dillon Williams, whose three-pointer with 1:58 remaining made it 44-39, and senior Dominique Williams, who sank three free throws in the final half-minute to seal the outcome.

“Another tough game,” said Elmont coach George Holub, whose team squeaked by No. 16 Bethpage, 45-40, in the opening round. “Defense has been our M.O. all season, and we really came up with some big stops and turnovers down the stretch.”

Dominique Williams scored 13 points and junior Devin Guerre added 10 for the Spartans, who upped their record to 17-2 and advanced to face fifth-seeded Hewlett in a semifinal game on Friday at 6 p.m. at Hofstra. Elmont beat the Bulldogs twice during the regular season by a combined 17 points.

“We like to use the entire court when we press and run,” Holub said. “We were gassed on this bigger court, but we’ve got a deep bench and it helped as the game wore on.”

It was all Elmont after Andrew Bauman (11 points) gave the Jayhawks a 37-35 lead with 4:53 left. Jericho wouldn’t hit another shot from the field. Junior Anthony Elechi tied it, and senior Isaiah Watson’s free throw put the Spartans ahead for good with 3:33 to go. Up two, Dillon Williams couldn’t have picked a better time to drain his first—and only—field goal of the day.

“He wants the ball in pressure situations,” Holub said of Dillon Williams, who hit a pair of free throws earlier in the fourth to get into the offensive flow. “That possession was all him. The play we called off the timeout broke down. Dillon has ice in his veins. He stepped up and hit that shot."

Jericho led most of the first half. Three-pointers by Eddy Bhatia and Bauman helped it build an 11-6 advantage through one quarter, and Shawn Francis (11 points) extended the margin to eight when he opened the second with a long trey. Guerre answered with back-to-back threes to keep the Spartans in striking distance, and junior Tyler DeChalus scored five of his seven points in the quarter to help them pull even at 21 by halftime.

Elmont opened the second half with an 8-2 run to lead by six, but Francis scored six straight points for a deadlock at 29. The Spartans led 33-31 entering the fourth, thanks to senior Dean Walker’s assists on baskets by DeChalus and Guerre, but they couldn't relax until Dominique Williams made two free throws with 15.6 seconds left.

"We've come out a little tight in both playoff games," said Holub, "but I think the pressure will be easier to deal with now that we're in the Final Four."