Mepham Boys Basketball Falter Under Elmont Pressure

The Mepham Pirates boys basketball team came into their Tuesday night matchup against the first-place Elmont Spartans with high hopes in front of their home crowd. However, the Pirates (1-12, 1-9) faltered under the strong pressure defense of the Spartans (11-2, 9-1) and fell 69-45.

Kyle Wechsler led Mepham with 16 points and J.T. Elsasser added eight points. Dillon Williams led Elmont with 16 points of his own, along with 15 from Tyler Dechalus and 12 from Anthony Elechi.

Right from the start, it was clear that Mepham would have to contend with a full-court press from Elmont on nearly every possession. Combined with their offensive struggles from the outside, a size advantage for Elmont in the paint and eight first-quarter turnovers, Elmont jumped out to a 16-8 lead after eight minutes. The first time the two teams played earlier in the season, Mepham held a one-point lead after a quarter on the road.

Wechsler kept the Pirates in the game, scoring eight straight points for his team until Elsasser put in a lay up with a minute left in the second quarter. Elmont headed into halftime on the road with a comfortable 10-point lead, 28-18.

The third quarter was the breaking point for both sides, and unfortunately for Mepham, visiting Elmont posted 30 points in the third quarter alone. After forcing 13 turnovers in the first half, the Spartans used their intense pressure in the backcourt to force 11 more in the quarter, jumping out to a 58-28 advantage after three quarters.

With the game in hand for Elmont, many of the reserves for both teams got a chance to log some minutes on the court. Mepham outscored Elmont 17-11 in the fourth quarter, but committed nine more turnovers before the final buzzer as the Spartan closed out their 24-point league win.

“Our entire game starts on our defensive end,” Elmont head coach George Holub said. “We changed our press up a little in the second half, and the pressure as a whole makes it tough for any team to adjust to us. We hope to be able to compete with the rest of the county and we will find that out come playoff time.”

Heroes: Elmont’s Anthony Elechi, rated as one of the top high school basketball players on Long Island, was a force inside against Mepham. He was one of three Spartans to reach double digits.

Kyle Wechsler tied for the game-high with 16 points in his second game back from an injury during a game against Calhoun.

Turning Point: The 30-point third quarter blew the game wide open for the Spartans on the road, giving up just 10 points during the stretch.

Quotable: “I have to put up a good argument as far as effort and heart go and we tried to give them a run for their money,” Mepham head coach Rich Wojcieski said. “We went into the game with intentions of winning, but we didn’t match up well with them. If we didn’t hit a lot of shots and get a cushion, then I knew it would’ve been tough to hang.”

Bottom Line: After starting the season 1-2, Elmont has won 10 straight games and has moved up to the top of the Conference AA-III rankings with Great Neck South. Mepham had their struggles shooting the ball, knocking down just one three-pointer en route to the loss.

Key Stat: Although Elmont committed 15 turnovers during the game, they forced Mepham to commit 33 of their own, a season-high for the Pirates.

Who's Next: Valley Stream Central at Mepham, Feb. 4, 4:30 p.m. 

Box Score:

Teams

1

2

3

4

F

Elmont

18

10

30

11

69

Mepham

6

12

10

17

45

Elmont

Points

Mepham

Points

Williams

16

Wechsler

16

Dechalus

15

Elsasser

8

Elechi

12

Dar

6

Pierre

9

Gilroy

4

Scott

5

Shevins

2

Chambers

4

Brucato

2

Guerre

4

Morrow

2

Altidor

2

Parker

2

Dugue

2

Brennick

2

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Kaminsky

1