Elmont defeats East Meadow behind Cassius Moore and pressure 'D'

Something very positive came out of a negative.

Elmont was knocked out of the Nassau Class A semifinals last season, falling to South Side on Farmingdale State College’s basketball court. But the Spartans’ drive to win a championship grew even stronger.

“We’ve been talking about it since last year, since that loss,” senior guard Cassius Moore said. “We’ve been putting in work since the summer. … We know the talent we had in the locker room. We were all there when we lost. We know the emotions we had. And we turned that emotion into motivation.”

And here they are, ready for a return trip to the semis at Farmingdale State, only this time in Class AA.

Moore hit four threes and scored 26 points and the defense ruled the court, a winning combination for Elmont Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Spartans walked off with an 80-54 victory at No. 4 East Meadow.

So the Nassau Conference AA-IV champs have won seven straight and are 18-4. They will face No. 8 Sewanhaka next Tuesday night. They want a shot at their first county title since 2020.

“We have a group that’s bought in defensively and it makes the offense so much easier,” Elmont coach Ryan Straub said. “But our defense is special.”

It also helps that Moore plays on their side. He has nailed 26 threes and is averaging 22.3 points across this winning streak.

“He’s scoring the ball, but he’s also locked in on defense,” Straub said.

The Spartans’ lead was just 36-31 a minute into the third quarter. But their defense and board work ultimately allowed them to speed up to their preferred pace.

The advantage was 49-40. Then came a 12-0 burst.

“Terrific pressure defense,” East Meadow coach Tom Rottkamp said.

The highlight of the fourth quarter came on offense — a Moore alley-oop feed to Kymani Dias for a dunk.

“Had to get the crowd going,” Dias said.

The Jets, who were topped by Will Casseus’ 14 points, led at 19-16 early in the second quarter. Then the Spartans took the lead for good by going on a 15-3 run.

“We’re just very confident,” Dias said.

So East Meadow finished its season at 16-6. The positive for the Jets? They started five juniors.

“We wanted to win now,” Rottkamp said. “But of course, once the season ends in a fashion like this, we say, ‘Look on the bright side. We have a whole season ahead of us.’ So this was a building-block season, and we’re very proud of our guys.”