In a packed Farmingdale State College gymnasium that almost had the roof blown off Saturday evening, South Side’s boys’ basketball team gave Roslyn a taste of its own medicine, dropping a season-high 82 points in capturing the Nassau Class AA championship game by 15.
Roslyn averaged 75 points per game this season but was held to 20 in the opening half and 67 on the night as the Cyclones captured their second county title in four years.
Top-seeded South Side went on a 22-2 run from the last bucket of the first quarter to the end of the first half, to take a 32-20 halftime lead. Junior Trevor Walsh recorded eight of his career-high 23 points during the surge, while seniors Ryan Schmitt, John Pericolosi, Connor Erickson and sophomore Kieran Vetter combined for the other 14 points.
“I think you saw this team play a little bit faster,” South Side head coach Jerry D’Angelo said of the adjustments that led to the momentum-shifting run. “We got some easy baskets in transition,” he added. “Pericolosi had two or three layups. We hit some big shots. Vetter hit two, Erickson hit one to give us a push into the third quarter.”
The aforementioned run turned into a 40-8 game-wrecker midway through the third quarter. Before the explosion, the second-seeded Bulldogs led 18-10 and were in control. Senior Benjy Rubin recorded six of his 22 points in the first quarter and junior Davon White added 5.
“I’d say we’re a second-half team,” Schmitt said. “Something ignited in us. It felt good to be up 12 at halftime, but [we imagined] how it would feel to be county champs.”
Walsh’s night was straight out of Hollywood. He saved the best game of his career for one of the biggest stages in high school basketball.
“It feels amazing,” Walsh said. “Just everything leading up to this in the biggest game we’ve had yet. All the hard work paid off.”
The Cyclones had four double-digit scorers in the win, which was the first time they’ve accomplished the feat this season. In addition to Walsh, Pericolosi added 19, Schmitt had 16 and Vetter 14.
South Side (20-3) cruised into the fourth quarter with a 59-38 lead on the backs of those four and Erickson.
“It feels great,” Pericolosi said. “We have a lot of seniors, it’s our final season, so there’s nothing more we could’ve asked for.”
Roslyn had three score in double figures, as junior Ben Pnini splashed a team-high 14, White finished with 12 and sophomore Brody Konigsberg added 11.
D’Angelo last hoisted a county championship plaque in 2023, when the Cyclones won the Class A title. He said, “This bunch is a special bunch.”
“They work really hard,” D’Angelo added. “Spent a lot of time in the offseason and had a lot of injuries. We played almost half our season without our best player, and kids had to step up. Vetter, Harris Breene, Connor McNulty, Matt Grande, all stepped up and played big roles for us the last nine games.”
South Side continues to dance as it’ll face Smithtown West in the Long Island Class AA championship game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Farmingdale State.
“They’re [Smithtown West] excellent,” D’Angelo said. “We got our work cut out, but we’ll do everything we can to get ready.”
