Calhoun Boys Basketball Takes Down Eagles

Hands up! 

We're used to hearing those in law enforcement say that, and apparently, it applies on the hardwood as well.

The law came to Valley Stream Tuesday, in the form of the Calhoun Colts defense, as Calhoun prevailed 58-52 in Conference AA-III action.  The Colts improved to 2-1 while Valley Stream Central dropped to 0-3.

Indeed, the Eagles were handcuffed much of the night.  The Colts registered steals throughout the game, leading to breakaway chances.  Points and/or fouls would follow, and Calhoun kept Central just far enough out of reach to get the 'W'.

According to Colts coach Jay Kreutzberger, the defensive effort started with the fundamentals: keep those hands up, and disrupt your opponent.

"When their hands are up defensively, when [Central] tries to make those penetrating passes, we get a piece of them often enough to get some steals," Kreutzberger said.

The turnovers came early and often.  One led to a Tom Joannou layup, and another to a Chad Fuschillo three, giving Calhoun a 10-3 lead in the opening minutes.  However the Eagles settled down, and a Mike Russo three tied things at 11.

Calhoun got some breathing room in the second.  John Wigand (a team high 20 pts) established himself inside, crashing the boards and drawing fouls.  Dean Brownworth came off the bench to hit a three, and Joannou finished off a three-point play to put the Colts up by eleven.  Calhoun led 31-24 at the break.

While Wigand had his second straight stellar game, Kreutzberger says his bench really gave his team a lift, and feels he can count on his reserves more than ever.

"[They] did a great job today," Kreutzberger said.  "We brought Dean [Brownworth] and Devon [Pazmino] off the bench, and they were really good defensively and stabilized things in the second quarter."

While the bench provided a spark, the starters kept the fire going in the second half.  Wigand made a layup in the opening seconds, and Fuschillo (11 points) made an uncontested one of his own off another steal to put the Colts up nine.

"Get the ball to Wigand and don't be shy, be aggressive," Danny Trepel said of the offensive gameplan.  Trepel finished with 10.

Things tightened up in the final period, as a double-digit lead nearly slipped through Calhoun's fingers.  The Eagles' Dallas Serrano hit twice from downtown, and a flagrant foul on Trepel gave Serrano four shots from the line.  He hit three as Central inched closer.

It was a Calhoun turnover that gave Central a chance to really make things interesting in the last 10 seconds, but Matt Filiault missed a three that would have drawn the Eagles within one.  Calhoun escaped with the six-point victory.

Central hit six threes on the night, but that was just fine with the Colts, according to their coach, as long as they kept the Eagles from good looks underneath.

"We thought that if we could contest jump shots, we could keep them to a low enough percentage," Kreutzberger said.  "We wanted to keep them out on the perimeter."

And by doing so, they kept Central out of the win column, and put themselves over .500 as they prepare for a visit from Freeport Thursday at 6:30 p.m.