Cyclones Fall to Harborfields, 74-63, in Uniondale HS Tourney

A poor shooting third quarter for the South Side High School boy's basketball team was the key culprit in a 74-63 loss to Harborfields on Tuesday night at Uniondale High School's Tip-off Classic Tournament.

The Cyclones were outscored 20-7 in the opening quarter of the second half after closing the first half down by three. "Harborfield killed us on the boards," D'Angelo said. "They have amazing size, plus we didn't do a good job of boxing out. I think we had seven wide open looks that just didn't go in."

Ryan Spadaford led the Cyclones with 20 points and junior Darren Nickelson chipped in with 17. The Cyclones appeared to have trouble defending Harborfields interior game, as forward Nick Fessenden muscled South Side in the paint, scoring 23 points mostly on shots within three feet of the basket. Guard Matt Mcleod also penetrated at will, contributing 22 points in the win.

"We have to start rebounding and defending," D'Angelo said. "It helps our offense because then we get better looks. It all starts with rebounding."

The Tornadoes utilized a 2-3 zone to stifle a well-balanced South Side offensive attack. Though sharpshooters like Kevin Coyle and Kevin Waxon had open looks when the Cyclones spread out against the zone, their shots just weren't falling.

In the first half, South Side exchanged buckets with Harborfields and never saw its deficit increase to more than three points. Nickelson and Spadaford carried the Cyclones in the second quarter, pouring in nine of the team's 16 second quarter points.

But turnovers, sloppy rebounding and defense changed the game in the third. The Tornadoes started the second half on a 12-4 run, and ballooned their lead to 16 by the end of the third quarter. The Cyclones got within seven points in the fourth, but Harborfield pulled away with clutch free throw shooting, nailing seven of its last eight attempts from the charity stripe.

South Side plays again on Dec. 11 against Newburgh. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.