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| Jawuan Smith drives to the basket against Smithtown East File Photo |
Despite never relinquishing their lead all game, the Colonials Basketball team had to really earn this one as their double digit lead they had since the beginning of the game began to sink all the way down to just two points late in the third quarter.
That was when the Colonials head coach Will Slinkosky said the team would respond strongly and put on a massive two minutes of the third quarter before icing the game in the fourth quarter to help their team improve to 7-0 on the season.
Floyd would start the final quarter by going on an 18-0 run and not allowing a point until only 2:55 remained in the game, winning the game by a final score of 63-49 over the East Siders.
“We told our guys to continue to focus on the defensive end,” Slinkosky said about what sparked their late comeback. “It’s what we’ve been preaching all season long.”
During this run late in the game, Jawuan Smith put on a masterclass as he would score 10 points in the fourth quarter as the 6’5” junior would finish the game with a 30 point, 20 rebound double-double for the Colonials. His coaches also praised Smith’s defensive effort after the game as he was one of the many Floyd Defenders who were making plays on both sides of the ball in this contest.
“It feels amazing,” Smith said. “I’m happy right now because I played a pretty good, solid game.”
With his performance over the holiday break, Smith now improved his season averages to a ridiculous 17.3 points and 14.3 rebounds, further bolstering his case as one of the best players on Long Island.
Floyd led wire-to-wire, jumping out to an 11-2 lead and never relinquishing it. The Colonials’ defensive pressure and physicality dictated the pace, speeding up Smithtown East and forcing them to take difficult shots.
Late in the third quarter, Floyd witnessed a bit of turbulence as Smithtown East forward Will Tufo hit a three pointer with five seconds left in the third quarter capped an 8-0 run to claw within two points.
Floyd guard Joey McLaurin, who finished with 12 points, responded to the newfound pressure put on their team to spark something up by hitting a three nine seconds into the fourth quarter that ultimately sparked their game deciding 18-0 run.
Jeremaine King and Dahmarion Moses were also two big contributors in the Floyd win as King was the third and final William Floyd player with 10 (or more) points and Moses was very impressive as a facilitator as he had 15 assists for the Colonials.
With their victory over Smithtown East, the Colonials now are boasting an average winning margin of 27.4 points, which is downright absurd on any level you play in the sport of basketball.
Smithtown East would fall to 5-1 on the year following a tough loss to Floyd, but a solid performance by Craig O’Neill didn’t go unnoticed as he was the team's leading scorer with 18 points while Nico Skartsiaris was also a contributor to the team scoring as he had 10 points in the loss.