Ja'quan Morgan, Uniondale boys basketball get defensive in victory over Freeport
Junior Ja’quan Morgan used his 6-3 frame to create turnovers. “Defense has been a priority for us,” he said on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Despite having inexperienced players and a new coach, Uniondale’s boys basketball team is finding ways to win.
Uniondale leaned on its athletic defense to stifle Freeport in a 44-39 home win in Nassau AA-I Wednesday night.
Junior Ja’quan Morgan led the charge defensively, using his long arms and 6-3 frame to cause constant chaos and force turnovers.
“We run a lot and work on defensive slides in practice and that helps us in games,” Morgan said. “Defense has been a priority for us.”
Uniondale held Freeport to 20 points through three quarters but started to loosen up and commit unnecessary fouls with a 13-point lead late in the fourth. The late mistakes are part of the learning experience for the players and first-year coach Jaaz Styles.
“Our defense is really good when we’re disciplined and focused,” Styles said. “We’re a young group, so it’s a process. But our defense and our hands were all over the place and forced a lot of turnovers.”
The Knights caught fire in the final two minutes of the third quarter and went on a 9-0 run, hitting three consecutive three-pointers. Morgan made one of them and Dameek Horton made the other two, including one as time expired in the quarter.
“I think we just felt the momentum,” Horton said. “The bench had us going and everything was just clicking during that run.”
Morgan finished with 10 points and Horton had nine. Freshman Zion Hamilton led Uniondale (1-0, 2-2) with 12 points. Elijah Darby scored 17 points and Julimi Perez had 12 points for Freeport (0-1, 0-6).
Former Uniondale coach and 2016 inductee into the state Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, Tom Diana, has helped Styles through the transition. He watched Uniondale’s win from the stands as a supporter.
“I’m nothing but proud of coach Styles and all the kids,” Diana said. “They’re growing. I saw them three weeks ago and they had a much better performance today.”
Diana served as Uniondale’s coach for 27 years before retiring earlier this year. Styles played for Diana at Uniondale and was on Diana’s staff as an assistant coach for five years before taking over the top job.
“He’s my biggest mentor and one of my best friends,” Styles said. “We talk about hoops every night and what to do in certain situations. It’s like a cheat code having him in my corner."
