South Side's Taylor too quick for Elmont
(L) Rockville Centre #22 leon Taylor drives up for a basket around Elmont defenders during the game held at South Side High School. (February 5, 2010) Credit: Photo by Frank Koester
First it was South Side guard Leon Taylor showing off some fancy footwork with crossovers, change-of-pace dribbles and acceleration moves.
Then it was Cyclones coach Jerry D'Angelo dancing in the locker room at, shall we say, a much slower pace.
"He promised he'd dance after the Westbury game, but we lost," Taylor said of a key defeat Jan. 29. "But this one was important, so we made him dance. He was a little herky-jerky."
With Taylor scoring 15 points and making several key plays in the third quarter Friday night, South Side hoofed it past visiting Elmont, 55-44, in a Nassau ABC-I boys basketball game that left both teams tied for first at 7-2. Westbury, which is scheduled to play Saturday, is 6-2, meaning nothing is decided as far as the league title is concerned.
So this was no celebratory dance by the coach. "Just a little joke between me and my two senior captains," D'Angelo said of Taylor and Brett Cohen, who had 12 points. "I wouldn't exactly call what I did dancing. If I tried to do what the kids do, I'd hurt my ankle."
It was Taylor who made a couple of ankle-breaking moves when he scored the Cyclones' first eight points of the second quarter. He had a steal and layup, a darting up-and-under basket and a devastating crossover as South Side, helped by an effective matchup zone, grabbed a 29-19 halftime lead.
But it was an 11-2 run midway through the third quarter that effectively squelched any suspense. Taylor started the flurry with a falling-down three-pointer. Cohen scored twice from in close, one on a nice feed from Taylor. Taylor, a 5-11 guard, then tossed a no-look pass to Ryan Spadaford (10 points) for a layup and shifted gears for a blow-by that made it 43-25 with 1:54 left in the third. The Cyclones finished the quarter with a 46-30 lead.
Elmont, which got 11 points from Dean Walker, scored the final eight points of the game to keep the score respectable.
"Coach always tells us the third quarter is what separates you from the other team," Taylor said. "Elmont can score at will if you let them, so we didn't want to keep it close."
Taylor, an accomplished outside shooter, attempted only one trey. "I was working more on using my left hand and attacking," he said. "Today was a different game. You can't play the same way every game."
D'Angelo said Elmont likes to be aggressive defending the first pass, so he emphasized attacking the basket. That was music to Taylor's ears. "He's deceptively fast," D'Angelo said. "He can go slow or he can quickly change the pace."
On Friday night, Taylor's steps were well-choreographed.
