Empire Invitational: Showdown to snowbound

GARDEN CITY, NY- It wasn't the day that many hoped for at the Empire Invitational as a snowstorm blew out most of the schedule for the showcase on Saturday at Adelphi University with the final four games of the day canceled due to the weather. The first two games were played though, and it was highlighted by an intriguing matchup between PSAL Brooklyn power South Shore and Lawrence Woodmere Academy, a small but talented school out on Long Island.

A high scoring contest broke out in this one as the guards dominated the game in the early going, but as the game wore on both teams worked the ball inside more, and even though it looked like Tigers would take over late on the back of big man Aidan Igiehon '19, the Vikings were able to come through late with Mikael Burnett '17 hitting a pair of FT's in the closing seconds to help South Shore hang on for the 81-79 win.

Coming in from Brooklyn this morning, South Shore head coach Shawn Mark was happy that his game at least would be played today looking at their game against LWA as a chance to prove themselves outside of the rough and tough PSAL.

"It was a chance to give us good confidence and get us more comfortable knowing that we are one of the top teams out there," Mark said.

First, they would have to get through the Tigers though and it wasn't easy in the early going as Jordan Dingle '18 came to play in a major way for Lawrence Woodmere as he could beat his defender going to the basket and finish at the rim while Igiehon was saddled with 2 fouls, sitting for most of the opening half.

South Shore were able to take advantage of the lack of size inside of LWA with Igiehon out as Burnett was able to post up and finish down low, while Jalen Blaize '17 was able to push the tempo and finish uncontested in the open court as the Vikings took a 46-42 lead at the half.

Even though South Shore was up at the break, Mark was less than pleased with what he was seeing from his group. Offensively he was happy that they were able to shoot it at 58% in the opening half, but giving up 42 points made him realize they needed to tighten things up if they wanted to close out the game.

"It seemed like anyone was able to score on us there so we definitely needed to sharpen up our defense I thought," Mark stated.

That proved to be tougher than Mark thought though as Igiehon came back in to start the 3rd quarter and instantly made a difference as he would post up inside, and even while being harassed by double and triple teams, he was able to finish and thrive around the rim.

Add in the fact that Dingle continued to be a major threat with the ball in his hands, often pulling up for confidence midrange jumpers, and LWA would not go away. They still trailed by 4 going into the 4th, but that deficit was quickly erased and with 4:04 to play in the game Igiehon was able to finish on a putback while getting fouled to give the Tigers their first lead of the game at 73-72.

It was a back and forth contest from there as Neo Powell '19 was able to quickly give South Shore back the lead on an impressive drive through the LWA defense. Dingle would help the Tigers retake the lead and in the closing seconds it was anyone’s game.

Burnett was able to hit on a pair of FT's with 20.5 seconds to play to put South Shore up 80-79, and while Dingle looked to have an open lane to drive and have Lawrence Woodmere grab the lead back, he was stripped going down the left wing with Burnett picking up the loose ball, getting fouled with 8.8 seconds to go.

He would connect only 1 of 2 giving LWA a chance to tie or take the lead in the closing seconds, and instead of attacking the rim or trying to find Igheion inside, Dingle went around a screen and did get off a good look at a 3 at the buzzer, but it hit off the side iron allowing South Shore to hold on for a well-played 81-79 victory.

In the winning effort, it was Burnett who paced the Vikings with 19 points, while Blaize added 17 points as well in the win.

Playing a Class "AA" team for the first time this season, the Class "C" Lawrence Woodmere squad more than held their own and proved to be a force to reckon with the rest of the way. Dingle had a game high 32 points to lead the Tigers, with Igiehon also adding 21 points and 16 rebounds in the defeat.

It was an important win in the eyes of Mark who feels he is seeing his South Shore team start to round into form now, and while he is happy to be going back to Brooklyn in the snow with a win, he knows that they still need to clean things up defensively to get to where they want to be.

"I was unhappy with the amount of points we gave up, but we played hard. We definitely need to get back to the drawing board defensively, but I am happy with the win."

The 2nd game of what turned out to be a doubleheader at Adelphi on Saturday pitted two teams from New York, though neither are a part of the New York State Federation. It was a double-digit lead of 13 for OSL at the half, but when Adam Perry '17 hit a three ball at the end of 3rd buzzer, the game was tied at 52 heading into the 4th.

Early in the 4th quarter though, Posh Alexander '20 was able to drain back to back threes to give Lutheran a 6-point lead, and with Jared Rhoden '17 coming up with big plays taking it to the basket late, the Falcons were able to push the lead back up to a comfortable margin late.

Wassef Methnani '17 did a good job in trying to keep Knox close as the versatile forward was doing a good job both inside and outside, and Tyler Hammond '17 could do damage in the open floor, but Our Savior Lutheran had too much firepower as they were able to play strong defense down the stretch and come away with the 74-66 victory.

Rhoden had 22 points to lead OSL while Alexander, a freshman phenom who keeps wowing every time out, added 21 points in the solid win for the Falcons.

Methnani had a game high 24 points for Knox, 13 of which came in the opening quarter where he really made a statement that he can play with anyone. Hammond and Omar El-Sheikh '17 each poured in 14 points apiece as well for the Suffolk County based school.