Cougars Drop Colts in Crosstown Showdown

Take care of the basketball. That is the most important rule in the game. No matter what is going on, the number one priority of a player should be to protect the ball as if it were his own child. Only Kennedy High School took that message to heart last night as they were able to defeat the visiting Calhoun Colts by the score of 66-36.

Joey Karo led the way for the Cougars with 16 points, and he stressed his team's play without the ball as the reason for their success.

"We really stepped it up defensively," Karo said. "We also took advantage of our opportunities. When we had open shots, we took our time and knocked them down. That's what you need to do."

Early on, the game was not as lopsided as the 30 point difference would seem to indicate. Calhoun came out of the gate with a little bit of pep in their step, and they were able to keep up with the Cougars. It looked like the Bellmore/Merrick showdown would come down to the wire.

Then Kennedy started to use the press.

Just as the case was in Tuesday's loss to Syosset, the Colts were unable to counter the press. Calhoun began to make some careless passes, and Kennedy was rewarded with some easy baskets. Before you knew it, it was 35-20 at the half, but Kennedy wasn't even getting warmed up.

As the two teams' crowds continued to feud throughout the third quarter, Kennedy was in control. The Cougars went on an 8-0 run to start the period, and when all was said and done in the quarter, they held the Colts to just two points. The score was 53-22 at the end of the third.

As the game moved to the fourth quarter, the Cougars continued to move the ball fluidly and get open looks, while the Colts settled for a lot of long distance jumpers. When the game was completely out of reach, those shots began to fall for Calhoun, but it was too little too late.

When it was all over, the Cougars appeased their home crowd with a 66-36 victory, and Coach Rory Block was very pleased with what he saw out of his team.

"We played very hard," Block said. "Once we started playing smart consistently, that's when we pulled away with this one. I'd like to see that trend continue."

Another major reason for Kennedy's win was their denial of John Wigand. Calhoun's leading scorer thus far this year was held to just six points, and he didn't have space to maneuver all night.

Devon Pazmino was the leading scorer for Calhoun with 15 points, and he was clearly perturbed about his team's inability to control the basketball.

"The press clearly shut us down," Pazmino said. "We just need to learn how to hold onto the basketball."

Chris Murphy added nine points off of the bench, and he stressed the basics being what the team needs to focus on.

"We have to execute what we know and what we've been taught," Murphy said. "We also have to help more on defense."

Coach Jay Kreutzberger liked what he saw from the team in the early going, but he knows there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"We came out with poise tonight," Kreutzberger said. "It just didn't last. I asked the team to play with more energy, and they came out doing so, but we need to have a more complete game. We also need to play better defensively."

The Cougars improve to 2-0 on the season with the victory, and the Colts drop to 3-3.

Brendan Mills added 11 points to the cause for Kennedy, and he admitted that it is nice to win when these two teams collide.

"It definitely is a little sweet," Mills said. "It's always great to beat Calhoun."

These two teams will face off again on January 19 when the Cougars visit Calhoun.