SSHS Athlete of the Week: Robert Picchione

The l boys basketball team steamrolled North Shore in its on Friday, beating the Vikings 65-45 while holding the county's leading scorer to nine points in the game's final three quarters.

The Cyclones were led by senior guard Robert Picchione, who not only finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, but was given the arduous task of slowing down the county's leading scorer, North Shore's Justin Bell.

Picchione held Bell to 20 points and constantly harassed the 32-point-per-game scorer by forcing Bell to his weaker right hand and challenging every jump shot. It was Picchione's defense that fueled a 24-8 second quarter Cyclones run that essentially ended North Shore's hopes for an upset.

The senior guard said he was excited when Head Coach Gerry D'Angelo asked him to guard Bell. "I heard about him," Picchione said. "No one could stop him. It was a real compliment that he asked me to shut him down."

Picchione explained that his plan was to stay within his game, play hard and if anything, make it tough for Bell to get good looks at the basket. "I tried to wear him out," he said. "No easy looks. Make him take tough shots. If he hits them, he hits them."

Picchione studied game tape of Bell, and said he recognized a few tendencies that he could try to exploit. "He loves the one dribble and pull up," he said. "He likes to go left. I tried to contain him to one side. I wanted to contest everything."

The Cyclones will have another tough challenge tonight when they take on Wantagh at 6:30 p.m. Picchione will once again be pitted against Wantagh's top scorer Justin Perez, who averages 18 points a game. D'Angelo said Perez is similar to Bell, but is about 25 pounds heavier.

It makes no difference to Picchione, however, who will be asked to shadow Perez. "I feel like I'll do whatever it takes to win," he said.

South Side plays Wantagh at 6:30 p.m. tonight at South Side High School.