Nickelson Tip in With Three Seconds Left Beats Sewanhaka, 58-56

The South Side Cyclones were getting killed on the offensive glass by Sewanhaka's interior big men all game on Friday night, but it was two key offensive rebounds for South Side that secured a thrilling 58-56 win over the Indians at the high school.

South Side began the fourth quarter down 44-38, but rattled off an 18-2 run —sparked by stiff defense and clutch baskets from junior forward Justin Rhodes. Rhodes, who usually only sees court time during blowouts, scored seven points, dished two assists and had a steal during the run that put the Cyclones up 56-46 with four minutes left to play.

But the Indians showed resiliency. To South Side's credit, they continued to attack the basket on offense, when conventional wisdom would have been to run the clock out. The Cyclones missed some easy layups, which opened the door for a 10-0 Sewanhaka run that tied the game at 56 with 58.9 left in the game. "I didn't tell them to slow it down," said Head Coach Gerry D'Angelo. "If they got a layup, good, if not, pull it out."

South Side ran the clock down, and Rhodes got fouled with 22.3 seconds left. Rhodes would shoot two, and had a chance to play hero for South Side. His first free throw rattled in and out. His second caromed off the right side of the rim, but junior Ryan Spadaford grabbed the offensive board — his 11th rebound of the game — and the Cyclones called a timeout with 21.5 seconds left.

With the game tied, D'Angelo called a play for Spadaford and guard DJ Nickelson. "We were trying to get Spadaford in the post," D'Angelo said. "We wanted a give and go with DJ, but if that wasn't open, he was supposed to go to the basket."

Spadaford bobbled the pass and Nickelson wasn't open in the lane, so the junior forward pulled up for jumper from the elbow. It rattled it and out, and Rhodes had the inside position for a tip in. He missed the layup, but Nickelson flew in off the left block and tipped in Rose's miss with 3 seconds left.  

Sewanhaka rushed up the court and fired a long distance three pointer at the buzzer, but it missed and South Side escaped with the win to increase its undefeated conference record. "At 6-0 in the conference, we have to be content," D'Angelo said. "But to be honest, we played well in three or four games, but didn't play our best in the other two. Losing Wax hurt us and we have to make adjustments."

Spadaford poured in another monster game, dropping 27 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Rhodes finished with nine points and played nearly the entire fourth quarter. "I wasn't happy with the way we played in the second quarter, so I gave him some minutes," D'Angelo said of why he inserted Rhodes into the game halfway through the second quarter. "I thought he played well, and he earned some minutes in the fourth quarter."

Though South Side got the win, the opportunity to seal the win nearly slipped away. The Cyclones missed five of its last six free throw attempts, but clutch rebounding late in the game saved South Side.

The Cyclones travel to Bethpage on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. matchup.