Croft leads spurt as Amityville tops SWR
Amityville's #24 Darien Croft, right, tries to drive around Shoreham-Wading River's #12 Brandon Warner in a Suffolk High School boys basketball game at Amityville. (Feb. 11, 2011) Credit: Kevin P Coughlin
On the night he was presented a commemorative basketball before the game for becoming the fifth member of the 1,000-point club in Amityville's distinguished history, Darien Croft couldn't seem to find the basket.
"I came out sluggish," the senior guard said. It took a trip to the bench before Croft started practicing his craft. He scored seven of his 15 points during a game-breaking 14-0 second-quarter burst as the host Warriors dumped Shoreham-Wading River, 79-49, Friday night in Suffolk League VI boys basketball.
"Coach knows I don't like sitting, but that gave me a boost," said Croft, who reached 1,000 points in the second game of the season and is Amityville's fourth-leading all-time scorer with 1,325 points. The three ahead of him all played in the Big East: Jason Fraser (1,679, Villanova), Tristan Smith (1,419, St. John's), A.J. Price (1,394, Connecticut).
"We've had a lot of great players here," said Warriors coach Jack Agostino, who noted that two Amityville players whose jerseys are retired and hanging on the wall alongside those of Fraser, Smith and Price, Mike James and Shelton Jones, did not reach 1,000 points. "So it's pretty impressive that Darien is No. 4."
Croft played like he belonged in that elite company in the second quarter. He made an explosive baseline move, banked it home and hit the foul shot for a three-point play that gave Amityville (11-0) a 31-24 lead. He made sure the Wildcats (6-5 and playoff bound) were done for the night when he scored two more baskets to conclude the flurry. One came on a fast-break layup and the other when he converted his own steal in the backcourt into an easy hoop.
"It was definitely defense that turned the game around," Croft said. "We trapped a little in our 2-3 zone and got some fast-break points."
The Warriors' dominance extended into the third quarter, when they scored the first 11 points to make it 52-26. Amityville showed its balance as Croft didn't score during that spurt, but DeJuhan Gray had six of his team-high 17 points, including a putback and the game's only dunk off a feed from Croft.
Amityville was able to clear its bench in the final period. Ten players scored for the Warriors, who likely will be the second seed in the Class A playoffs behind only Harborfields.
"The tempo got quicker and that's what we wanted," said Agostino, whose brother, Chris, is the Harborfields coach. "We started turning them over a little and we pulled away."
