Michael Main, Jack Shields drive Long Beach to win over MacArthur
Michael Main of Long Beach works the ball around MacArthur's Sebastian Loor during a Nassau Conference A-I boys basketball game in Long Beach on Saturday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Point guard Michael Main looked inside and found no one open. He looked toward the perimeter, faked a pass to no one, and drove inside.
At the last moment, tightly guarded, Main bounced a pass inside to the moving Jack Shields for the easy layup.
Sharing the ball and making good decisions is what Main does for the Long Beach boys basketball team. Main scored a team-high 16 points and had seven assists as Long Beach beat visiting MacArthur, 66-45, Saturday in a Nassau Conference A-1 game.
“We worked well together, and it showed in the result,” Main said. “They came out in a man defense and we moved the ball around and freed guys up for good looks.”
It was all good looking for the Marines. After a tough loss suffered at Calhoun last week, Long Beach needed to get back into the win column to stay in playoff contention.
“We’ve had some close losses in the conference play and this was a must-win situation,” said Long Beach coach Scott Martin. “We have all of our guys healthy now and it seems we can get on a roll. This was a real good win to get back on track.”
Long Beach improved to 2-3 in conference and 5-7 overall. MacArthur slipped to 0-4 and 3-8.
“We came out and brought the intensity to play a team game,” said Long Beach forward Jack Shields, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. “I thought it was a great team effort and everyone contributed. We have a very unselfish team.”
The Marines came out hot. Shields and Main hit back-to-back three-pointers to key a 12-3 run for a 16-7 first quarter lead. MacArthur drew within six early in the second quarter when Sunny D’Errico hit a driving layup to make it 17-11, but it was as close as the Generals would get.
Long Beach reeled off 12 straight points and held MacArthur scoreless for 5:03 to take a commanding 29-11 lead. Shields had a three and a short jumper and Main added a three-pointer and two baskets to open the big margin.
“We kicked the ball out to open guys and kept the ball moving,” Main said. “And our defensive pressure set up the offense for scoring chances.”
Junior Blake Solace-Mitchell anchored a defense that forced 14 turnovers. He scored four points in each of the third and fourth quarters and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
“We needed a spark to get the season going in the right direction,” Martin said. “This was what we needed.”
Martin cleared the bench in the final minutes and the crowd roared when junior John Karounos hit a layup and was fouled. He hit the free throw for the three-point play. The final margin came when senior Sebastian Muzikar nailed a long three-pointer.
“We need to keep this winning momentum,” Main said.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
