Sewanhaka boys basketball makes statement, beats New Hyde Park to stay unbeaten
Braylon Metellus finished with nine points and was one of 11 players to score for Sewanhaka on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The first half became one long run.
The game became one long advertisement for the potential of an experienced basketball team with multiple options on offense, a tough mindset on defense and the willingness to expend energy from start to finish.
Sewanhaka constructed a 35-point advantage by halftime on its home floor against New Hyde Park and went on to claim a 65-24 win Tuesday in the teams’ Nassau AA 4 opener.
“Our guys just played really hard,” coach Jay Allen said after Sewanhaka moved to 4-0. “That’s something we’re going to do regardless of the team that we’re facing.”
All 14 guys played, and 11 scored. There was balance in the numbers.
Darius Anderson scored 10 points. Braylon Metellus added nine. Jordan Tucker and Dylan McLennon, the team’s two Newsday Top 100 players, scored eight apiece. Tucker also contributed seven rebounds, three assists and two of Sewanhaka’s 11 steals. McLennon also had three assists and three steals. Ryan Ambery had seven points and eight rebounds.
“I don’t think you can focus on one guy anymore, or two guys,” Allen said.
The program last claimed a county championship in 1945. So does Sewanhaka, with five starters back from a 12-10 team, have the capability of winning first prize?
“I’m going to give you the Bill Belichick answer,” Allen said. “We have a lot of work still to do . . . We have other good teams that we have to face first before we understand how good we can be.”
Tucker gave the non-Bill Belichick answer: “The sky’s the limit . . . I know this team is capable of winning a county championship.
“We are well seasoned. We have lots of experience from the previous year and years.”
The senior guard saw a group that was in sync with its intense full-court defense in the first quarter. New Hyde Park committed turnovers on its first four possessions.
Sewanhaka scored the first seven points and owned a 21-2 lead after eight minutes.
Metellus then provided half of Sewanhaka’s 18 points in the second quarter, opening it by draining a three from the left side. The score moved to 39-4 at the break.
The Gladiators, who were paced by Frankie Mangione’s nine points, trailed by 42 in the fourth and fell to 0-4.
“We’re making the same mistakes game after game,” coach Shireem Cobb said. “I take total responsibility for it, but we’ve just got to be better as a team.”
