Inconsistent Defense Downs South Side in Holiday Tourney Final, 66-63

As stingy as its defense was on Tuesday night in a , South Side's perimeter defense lagged on rotations and switches against Kellenberg on Wednesday night, leading to a 66-63 loss in the Cyclones Holiday Tournament final.

"We were just inconsistent," head coach Gerry D'Angelo said of his defense. "We were up four to start the third, then in 3:30 minutes, we're down eight. I'm more disappointed in our defense. We gave up too many open looks, we were slow on rotations and made too many mistakes."

South Side led for the entire first half, with senior guard Kevin Waxon pouring in 14 points and two steals in the half. The Cyclones also out-rebounded the Firebirds 18-9 in the first two quarters, and South Side led 32-28 at the half. Waxon finished with 17 points.

Though Waxon was on fire in the first half, Kellenberg played him much closer in the second half, and the senior guard could only muster three points in the final 16 minutes. "They did a better job guarding Waxon in the second half," D'Angelo said. "We also didn't give Ryan enough looks in the post, and we need to do more of that."

Kellenberg started the third quarter on a 12-0 run, and South Side turned the ball over five times on its first six possessions, leaving the Cyclones down eight halfway through the third. South Side regrouped after a timeout, and went on a 12-5 run in the final four minutes of the quarter to pull within one at 45-44 to start the fourth.

After Kellenberg's Thomas Madelmayer nailed a three pointer to open the final quarter and give the Firebirds a 48-44 lead, South Side charged back with a 9-0 run — seven of the nine coming from junior forward Ryan Spadaford — to put South Side up 53-48 with four minutes left. Spadaford finished with 19 points. 

But Kellenberg would not fade down the stretch, responding with an 11-0 run, and Marco Martino nailed two clutch three-pointers during the stretch to give the Firebirds a 59-53 lead with 90 seconds left. Down 63-58 with 30 seconds left, South Side forced a turnover on a Kellenberg inbounds pass and guard DJ Nickelson hit a tough leaner in the lane to cut the lead to three. But Kellenberg junior guard Robert Gomiela knocked down two clutch free throws to seal with win for Kellenberg.

South Side will play again on Jan. 4 at home against Hewlett at 7:30 p.m.