South Side 7-2 after beating Harborfields

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If South Side’s performance against Harborfields in last Saturday’s Nassau-Suffolk boys’ basketball challenge at Uniondale High School is any indication, Cyclones head coach Jerry D’Angelo may have found a starting lineup for the long haul.

Junior Alex Sorensen had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and senior Tim Awosika added 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead South Side to a 64-54 victory. Harborfields had three players in double figures, led by Malcolm Wynter’s 15. The teams combined for 61 points in the final eight minutes after totaling 57 through three quarters.

“It’s a nice win,” D’Angelo said. “It became pretty wide open in the fourth quarter, but we got to the line a lot and made the most of our opportunities. The parts we have are taking a little while to jell, but there are many positives we can take from beating a top team like Harborfields.

“Despite the good record, we hadn’t played all that great leading up to this game,” he added. “Hopefully this gives us even more of a boost moving forward.”

South Side (7-2 overall, 4-0 in Conference A-I) led 22-17 at halftime and stretched the margin to 11 heading into the fourth when the pace went from conservative to frantic. The Tornadoes, who got 13 points from Rob Pecorelli and 10 from Ari Noah, put up 31 points in the quarter but could close the gap by only one thanks in large part to the Cyclones’ coolness from the foul line.

“We shot exceptionally well from the line,” said D’Angelo, whose team drained 22 of 26 free throws. “We still have to eliminate spurts where we don’t score the ball. We’ve made some mental mistakes offensively that we can fix. The past few games we’ve been much more aggressive.”

Sorensen, who sank a dozen foul shots, and junior Matt Diluccio are the only players to start all nine games. Sorensen is averaging 18 points and nine rebounds, while Diluccio is running the offense from the point. Awosika, who is 6-foot-7, has started all but once and averaging a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds.) Seniors Kevin Spadaford and Jon Cheslock, who chipped in eight and seven points, respectively, against Harborfields, have started the last two games.

“We’ve had five different starting lineups,” D’Angelo said. “I think we might be ready to settle on one. We changed a little bit of our defensive philosophy and are trying to force teams to play faster than they want to. We’re also doing a really nice job winning the battle on the boards. We’ve been able to limit teams’ second chances.”

Senior Luke Picchioni and juniors Matt Boranian and Paul Lonergan are contributing the most off the bench. The Cyclones’ conference wins—over Plainedge, Carey, New Hyde Park and Great Neck North—are by a combined 76 points, however D’Angelo expects a major test to come in the next game from Manhasset, which is also 4-0 in A-I.