Horowitz leads Islip over ESM
Islip's John Horowitz shoots and scores as Eastport-South Manor's Dalton McCarthy attemps to defend in the Suffolk high school boys basketball game. (Feb. 10, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Islip calls the play "Eagle" because it is designed to spread the court and produce either a layup or an open three-point shot from the wing.
It worked to perfection as the clock wound down in the first half last night. Point guard David Powell penetrated and kicked it to John Horowitz, who swished a trey as the buzzer sounded. The "Eagle" had landed and Horowitz was smiling, something the 6-5 senior does frequently.
"It's like I'm telling everyone that everything is OK. I'm having fun out there," Horowitz said after scoring 17 points to lead the Buccaneers to a 55-50 victory over host Eastport-South Manor in a Suffolk League V game.
"It's my father's play. He loved it. He used it at West Babylon. That's why it's called 'Eagle,' " coach Jamie Lynch said of Jim Lynch, who coached the Eagles for 30 years.
Horowitz reversed his role, assisting on consecutive three-pointers by Tighe Oberg to open the third quarter and allow Islip, playoff bound in Class A at 8-3, to open up an 11-point lead in the third quarter. "Those quick buckets helped and then our guys got some defensive pressure," said Horowitz, who said he'd been ill for the last several days and "didn't have my legs."
Powell darted to the basket for 10 points and ran the court well against a sagging ESM defense that prevented layups early, until those three-pointers found the mark. "They flooded the middle and we had to hit some shots," Powell said. "Then the dribble-drive opened up and that's my favorite play."
Powell shook free for a floater in the lane then dished to Andrew Oberg for a layup that produced what appeared to be a comfortable 51-38 lead with 1:25 left. But the Sharks, clinging to playoff life in Class AA at 5-6, somehow made it tense.
Nick Gratto (16 points) and Curtis Smith (15) each scored six points in the final period and when Ryan Curley scored his only basket of the game on a pull-up in the lane, ESM had cut the deficit to 52-48 with 39.6 seconds left.
The Shark Tank was rocking on Senior Night and the crowd howled with delight when the Buccaneers missed three straight free throws. But ESM, under tough man-to-man pressure from Islip, couldn't capitalize and Horowitz, 9-for-11 from the line, ended the drama when he sank two with 13 seconds left.
