V.S. South secures playoff berth

To say that the boys’ basketball season at Valley Stream South has been up and down would be an understatement. In fact, one of the few constants in 2016-17 has been the Falcons lack of consistency.

That said, it’s not what a team does in December and January that matters most, it’s what it gets done come playoff time. There’s been a resurgence of late at South High. After last Friday’s 61-50 victory over visiting North Shore, the Falcons have won three straight and have secured a berth in the Nassau Class A playoffs. 

Senior guard Ozzy Traill scored a career-high 20 points and 6-foot-5 senior forward Isaiah Taylor pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Falcons. North Shore got 20 from sharpshooting guard David Aufiero. With the win, South improved to 10-7 (6-3 in Conference A-IV.)

The three wins followed a string of three consecutive losses at the hands of Island Trees, Clarke, and Friends Academy. Prior to that, the Falcons had won four straight, including a 48-47 win over a red hot Sewanhaka five. Keiron Jeremiah’s free throw with no time remaining gave South the victory.

Head coach Matt Johnsen is hopeful that his team will be dangerous the rest of the way. “When we’re bad, we’re missing chippies, turning the ball over, and playing out of control,” Johnsen said. “We have trouble stopping the bleeding. But, when things are going good, we’re playing really well. Defensively, we’re very tough. We need to make smarter decisions and shoot the ball better, but I think we can be a tough out in the playoffs.”

The tandem of Traill and fellow senior Daniel Sarpong, who are both averaging 12.8 points per game, has been solid on both ends of the floor. Sarpong is the prototypical pass-first point guard who doesn’t need to score to be productive. 

Traill, a fleet-footed slasher who seemingly goes from the three-point line to the basket in one dribble, is a hard-nosed player who is the first to dive on the floor to get after a loose ball. 

With a trio of head toppers in the frontcourt to go along with Traill and Sarpong, South makes a concerted effort to limit opponents to one shot per trip. 

“We’re playing pressure defense to try to force opponents into turnovers or bad shots,” Johnsen said. “Even when they get a good shot off, we know that if it’s a miss, the rebound is ours. We’re focusing on not allowing second chances.”

Johnsen feels good about his team as it prepares for what he hopes will be a deep playoff run. “They’re really getting after in practice and pulling for one another to do well,” Johnsen said. “Each players accepts his role and plays hard. They’re a great group to coach. They’ve seen past teams do well here, and now they want to leave their mark.” 

The Falcons will look to get revenge on Clarke when the Rams visit this Friday at 7:30 p.m.