Cyclones Tame Red Devils, 73-48

Sometimes history does repeat itself.

The South Side Cyclones (8-0) used an 18-4 third quarter run to nail down a 73-48 victory at Plainedge on Friday night, the same way they did in a 25-point win over Plainedge they met in December. In that game, South Side went on an 18-4 first half run and the Red Devils never recovered.

Junior guard Kevin Coyle led South Side again with 16 points and junior guard DJ Nickelson had a great overall game, filling the stat sheet with 13 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Forwards Robert Piccione and Justin Rhodes each had eight points.

South Side played soft on defense in the first half, failing to rotate on screens which left Plainedge with open shots. To their credit, the Red Devils knocked down the open looks and though they were down 42-28 at half, Plainedge was outscored by only four points in the second quarter.

"We were making way too many mistakes," head coach Gerry D'Angelo said of his team's defense. "We weren't matching up right; we didn't know where our guy was. We gave up three, three-pointers because we couldn't find them."

D'Angelo spoke to his team during halftime about playing with energy and knowing where to be on the defensive end, and his team responded in the third quarter. South Side increased the defensive tempo, leading to five Plainedge turnovers and easy transition buckets for the Cyclones. All five starters scored in the 18-4 run that ended with South Side up 60-32. 

"We picked up the intensity," D'Angelo said. "We played at our tempo. I don't think they wanted to play at that speed, but we forced them to."

South Side dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Plainedge 39-14. Junior Ryan Spadaford led the team with six rebounds.

The Cyclones host Hewlett at South Side High School on Tuesday at 6 p.m.