Cyclones Knock Off Sewanhaka, 51-38, Win Conference A-II Title

Nearly four minutes had elapsed in the third quarter of Friday's game against Sewanhaka when the Indians' Shella Adeniran threw down a monstrous, one-handed baseline dunk, giving his team a 30-23 lead over South Side in Floral Park. The home crowd erupted after the jam, and Cyclones Head Coach Gerry D'Angelo called a timeout to get his team re-focused.

"At that timeout, I told Bobby and Ryan to man up on No. 10 and No. 42 (Kunle Ogonlowo and Adeniran)," D'Angelo said. "Those were the two kids we needed to stop."

After the timeout, South Side finished the final 12 minutes of the game on a 28-8 run, playing stifling man defense en route to a 51-38 win over rival Sewanhaka. The win put South Side's conference record at 11-1, and gave them the Conference A-II crown, as well as a No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

"I like how we came back after the ," D'Angelo said. "We responded very well today."

The game, however, didn't start well for South Side. After narrowly losing to South Side on Jan. 16, Sewanhaka came out on fire in the first quarter. The Indians hit on its first five shots, jumping out to a 14-2 lead only four minutes in. D'Angelo, however, didn't call a timeout, which proved to be a prudent move for his team.

"I thought we could come back," D'Angelo said of why he didn't he call a timeout. "I wasn't terribly upset with the way we had played. We missed some easy shots. I like to have trust in my team, but I was very close. One more basket away."

D'Angelo's confidence was repaid by his team, as the Cyclones finished the quarter on a 9-0 run to pull within three at 14-11. The half ended in a 21-21 tie, but Sewanhaka had played a more physical game up to that point, crashing the boards with authority and dominating the paint.

South Side played man defense throughout the first half, when in its first win against Sewanhaka, they played more zone. D'Angelo had a plan in mind, he said, and it worked to perfection in the second half.

"I thought we were a better conditioned team," he said. "I felt like we would wear their guards down and they wouldn't hit those same shots in the second half."

D'Angelo was right. After the Indians started the third quarter on a 9-0 run, South Side allowed only eight points for the rest of the game. Adeniran's dunk at 4:30 in the third sparked the Cyclones offense and ignited the return of senior captain Kevin Waxon. Waxon, who hadn't played since Jan. 4 when he broke his left wrist in a game against Hewlett, would make his first game back one to remember.

South Side had just cut Sewanhaka's lead to three in the third quarter when Waxon got hot. In a span of a minute, the senior captain knocked down three consecutive three-pointers to give the Cyclones a 39-33 lead. South Side never trailed after that.

"Waxon is a great teammate," D'Angelo said. "Seeing him hit his first three, then his second three, then the third, it almost caused a sense of euphoria. We rode that energy for the rest of the game."

Waxon led South Side with 12 points, along with DJ Nickelson who also had 12 to go with six boards and a steal. Ryan Spadaford finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Cyclones also outrebounded Sewanhaka, 31-29.

South Side will play its first playoff game on Thursday at 7 p.m. at South Side, but its opponent won't be known until Tuesday.