Seaford wins 14 games, conference title

The Seaford boys’ basketball team’s run at a championship ended in the first round of the Nassau County playoffs, putting a cap on a season that “far exceeded” head coach Ralph Rossetti’s expectations.

Fifth-seeded Seaford, which captured the Conference A-V title, dropped a hard-fought Class A first-round game to Carey, 63-52, on Feb. 13 ending the Vikings’ season at 14-4 overall. Seaford, which had won 10 in a row coming into the game, was down five with just over three minutes left when Carey hit a back-breaking 3-pointer and then put the game away down the stretch with some clutch foul shots. The Vikings had battled back from a 12-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.

“We had a great season,” said Rossetti, who won Conference A-V coach of the year honors in his 33rd year leading the program. “The team we played was very, very good.”

The setback to 12th-seeded Carey was the last high school basketball game for Seaford seniors Michael Scully, Robert Buell and Jake Doyle. The tri-captains proved to be leaders on and off the floor during the 2014-15 campaign. Buell led the offense in the season-ending defeat with 14 points.

“The three of them together were very good at executing game plans,” said Rossetti, who has won 330 games at Seaford and led the Vikings to a county title in 1998.

Scully and Buell earned All-County honors while Doyle was named All-Conference along with junior Keith McHugh. Rossetti said having multiple players who could score in double digits was a major reason why the Vikings had so much success this winter.

“Because we were very balanced, we were tough to defend,” Rossetti said. “You couldn’t key on one guy.”

With Doyle, Buell and Scully set to graduate, Rossetti expects McHugh to lead the team as a captain next season. He scored 13 points in the playoff game against Carey and also led the Vikings with 17 points in a 55-53 win at West Hempstead on Jan. 20.

Other players who contributed this season expected back next year include brothers Pat and John Quigley, John Connell and Dan Roell. Seaford scored 50 or more points in all but three games this season and surpassed 60 six times.

Seaford entered the playoff game with Carey winners of 10 in a row dating back to a 61-44 victory at Plainedge on Dec. 30. Rossetti attributed Carey’s size, which led to a big rebounding edge, as the main reason the Seahawks advanced to the quarterfinal round against North Shore on Feb. 20. Despite the season-ending defeat, Rossetti emphasized how proud he was of how the team competed until the end.

“I was extremely happy with the results of this season because they far exceed my expectations,” he said. “I thought we could be a playoff team but didn’t think we could be conference champions.”