Woodhouse provides spark for Harborfields
Harborfields guard Lucas Woodhouse #10 goes for the three pointer over Westbury guard Marcus Redd #1. (Feb. 12, 2011) Credit: George A. Faella
When Lucas Woodhouse is dribbling, there is no quibbling. The ball will find its way to the right player.
"He does an amazing job of making everyone around him better. If they're open, Lucas will get them the ball," Harborfields coach Chris Agostino said of his junior point guard who led the Tornadoes to a 68-55 non-league victory over host Westbury Saturday by scoring 13 points and, most importantly, picking up 12 assists.
The recipient of most of those pinpoint passes was forward Nick Fessenden, who also had a double-double - 18 points and 10 rebounds. Seven of his field goals came on feeds from Woodhouse. Justin Ringen (15 points) and JoJo Savaglio (12) did their damage from the perimeter.
"The first thing I look for is to get someone the ball," said Woodhouse, who averages a Long-Island best 13 assists. "I'm definitely a pass-first point guard."
Woodhouse and Harborfields (15-2) were at their best in the second half. Westbury (9-8) led 29-27 at the break, with impressive freshman Tim Quashie scoring 14 of his 23 points, and led for the last time 41-40 on a putback by Chanse Watson (17 points) with 1:40 left in the third.
Woodhouse drew a foul on a drive and hit both free throws, then found Ringen for a trey as the Tornadoes went on an 8-0 run to grab a 48-41 advantage. The hosts kept it close until Ringen nailed another three-ball and Fessenden took a feed from Woodhouse on the baseline and finished with a reverse layup to make it 60-50 with 2:32 left.
"We have about seven options on offense," Woodhouse said with a laugh, but all of them start with the slender 6-footer who said he started dribbling with cones and chairs in his driveway when he was 5 years old. He's a true multiple-threat player - he can dribble-drive, dump it down low or kick it outside, and has three-point range himself.
"He's not exactly a secret, but we have so many good players, people haven't really heard about him," Agostino said. One of those players, Harborfields' leading scorer and returning Newsday All-Long Island guard Matt McLeod, returned for spot duty after missing three games with a big toe injury. He played 10 minutes and scored five points. "We just want to have him ready for the playoffs," said Agostino, whose team is the likely No. 1 seed in Suffolk Class A.
Yesterday's game was a rematch of last year's Long Island Class A championship, when Westbury won a thriller, 58-56, on Sheldon Hagigal's three at the buzzer. Hagigal transferred to a prep school in Florida.
This time, it might be Harborfields that heads to Glens Falls.
"I'd pick them," Westbury coach Dave Graff said.
