Eagles soar to second place

For four games and one quarter, it didn’t look like there was going to be much of a basketball season for Valley Stream Central.

The Eagles had lost three of those first four, two of them by large margins, and were trailing Massapequa 16-4 after the first quarter in the consolation game of the South Side Christmas Tournament. They had lost to the same Manhasset team at home in the season opener, 64-57, after having their doors blown off in the second quarter. They had nothing going for them and were staring at a 1-4 start.

Suddenly everything turned on a dime, as it does only in sports, and the Eagles’ defense tightened and their shots started to fall. They went on an 18-8 second-quarter run and went into the second half down just a bucket. They kept the momentum and came out and outscored Massapequa 40-28 after the intermission and won going away. Jonathan Grimsley had 23 points and Michael Russo added 19 to go along with 10 rebounds.

“Mike has filled a leadership void and is going a great job with our younger players,” VSC coach Hayward Alfred said. 

They made it two in a row on Jan. 3 with a 65-48 victory over East Meadow. Grimsley led the way with 21 points and Russo had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Eagles gradually built an 18-point lead through three quarters. Eriq Williams added six points and 11 boards, and Brandon Richburg contributed seven points.

Three nights later Valley Stream Central completed the hat trick by beating Hicksville, 55-47, as Grimsley (15), Russo (12) and Xavier Grier (10) paced a balanced offensive attack. Grier scored eight and Russo seven in the decisive fourth quarter. 

Just like that the Eagles were 4-3, including 3-1 against Conference AA-II competition, where they say in second place behind undefeated Baldwin. They were set to try for their fourth win in a row when they played at MacArthur after presstime, with upcoming games at Plainview (Jan. 13) and Port Washington (Jan. 17). They’ll host Baldwin on Jan. 20.

“The largest improvement has been on the defensive end of the court,” Alfred said. “We have always been able to score, but have not always focused on defense. This is a team and we are getting contributions from a number of people.”

They lost to Baldwin, 84-50, Dec. 16 as Grimsley, their leading scorer at 15.5 points per game, was limited to six. They defeated Calhoun, 49-46, for their first win of the season on Dec. 20, but then fell hard to South Side in the opening game of the tournament. In that game they were held to five points in the second quarter and 17 for the first half. The scoring drought continued through the first quarter against Massapequa, but then the Eagles offense came to life. Jalen Tabb (6.5 points per game average) helped the cause with 12 points, but it was Grimsley’s resurgence that led the way.