STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — To Elias Souleidis, his late-game heroics weren’t about his teammates looking for him more.
Rather, it was about just doing his job.
The senior power forward, who finished with game highs in points (16) and rebounds (18), led a second-half surge that enabled Tottenville to pull out a 57-48 come-from-behind PSAL 3A victory over visiting CSI/McCown Tuesday in Huguenot.
Souleidis’ double-double enabled the Pirates to win for the second time in three games as they improved to 12-8 overall, including 9-3 in league play.
The 6-foot-4 Souleidis was the driving force behind a 52-22 rebounding advantage against the Dragons, who once again played without starting big man Xavier Farley (calf injury). Shiloh Ezderman (10 rebounds), Shenoda Fahim (seven) and Nicholas Picinic (six) also contributed to the Pirates’ rebounding dominance.
“Just kept on going after the ball,’’ was the way the soft-spoken Souleidis explained his rebounding prowess. ”As a team, having that much of a rebounding advantage gave us extra possessions.’’
Tottenville trailed by as many as eight in the first half and still found itself on the wrong end of a 31-28 score when Souleidis came alive. Not only did he do a superb job on the backboards, but he was the beneficiary of several nifty assists by teammates by merely cutting to the basket. He also made a conscious effort to post-up against the smaller Dragons.
Souleidis’ eight third-quarter points helped the Pirates turn the tables. His interior bucket off a pretty Ezderman feed gave the hosts a 42-37 lead entering the final period.
Tottenville senior Elias Souleidis finished with a game-high 18 rebounds. His whopping total helped the Pirates outrebound CSI/McCown, 52-22, during a PSAL 3A contest on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Charlie De Biase Jr.)
He then opened the fourth with back-to-back baskets off Danny Garcia assists to give the Pirates a 46-37 advantage with 6:50 to play.
“It wasn’t so much about making sure I got more touches but rather anyone cutting down (when we penetrated) and I was just the guy to do it and get some nice passes for baskets,’’ Souleidis explained.
“We settled for too many jump shots in the first half and we just wanted to simplify the game,’’ explained Tottenville head coach Kevin Alesi. ”We were running a lot of high-low action, trying to get him the ball, and he was able to clean up off the offensive glass by going right back up.
“He was definitely better in the second half,’’ the coach continued. ”We have been having a hard time scoring, so we told him, ‘if you’re getting a touch, score it.’’
The Dragons, who were led by Patrick Tucker (14 points), wouldn’t go quietly. The New Springville school staged a 9-2 run, including a Stanley Kushnir trey that cut Tottenville’s lead to 48-46 with just 1:34 on the clock.
Although the Pirates struggled from the free-throw line overall, they were able to bury freebies when it counted most. Fahim, Antonio Tarantino and Ezderman combined to drain 7 of 8 free throws in the final 50.6 seconds to help solidify the victory.
“We found a way,’’ said Alesi. ”We have a very thin margin for error and we’re not playing well enough where we can afford to miss foul shots and layups and commit unforced errors. We have to be perfect at the little things.’’
NOTES: Ezderman (10 points), Garcia (eight points) and Picinic (seven points) also aided Tottenville’s offensive attack. Danny O’Connor scored 12 points for the Dragons … CSIM connected on 13 of 15 free throws (Daniel Zajonc 6 for 6); Tottenville was 14 for 26 … CSIM buried seven three-pointers, including three from Tucker … CSIM committed 13 turnovers, Tottenville 16 … Illia Tserkovniuk led the Dragons with six rebounds.
MSIT 66, Sunset Park 48
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Oliver Zoduwah scored a career-high 16 points, including four three-pointers, as the Seagulls rolled to the non-league victory over the visiting Heat in New Dorp.
Zoduwah, who scored all of his points in the fourth quarter, had plenty of support. Nizayah Jordan and Lucas Gavin added 10 points apiece while Terence Legrand and Dalton Cherubin tallied eight markers each for the 14-8 Seagulls.
MSIT wasted little time jumping all over its Brooklyn opponent as Gavin and Jordan teamed for 12 first-quarter points to give it a 23-6 lead at quarter’s end.
Although the Heat cut MSIT’s halftime lead to 32-20, Jordan scored five and Ray Guerriero added a three-point play as the hosts took a 47-30 lead into the fourth and never looked back.
Canarsie 71, Susan Wagner 60
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior guard Chris Albano poured in a game-high 26 points — including five three-pointers — but the Falcons suffered the PSAL 4A loss to the host Wolfpack on Tuesday.
In addition to Albano, Darin Humes-James (12 points) and Charles Gambino (11 points) contributed offensively for Wagner, which played without senior guard Adem Djonbalic.
The Falcons dropped to 15-7 overall, including 8-5 in league play.
Canarsie, meanwhile, was led by James Singleton (17 points, three treys), Devin Clarke (15 points), Justin Rodriguez (14 points) and Joshua Henry (10 points). The Wolfpack improved to 13-7 overall, including 8-4 in league play.
“We weren’t great on either end tonight,’’ said SW head coach Danny Lanigan. ”We didn’t do a good job taking care of the ball and we got outrebounded.
“Pair that with an off night offensively on the road and it’s nearly impossible (to win),’’ the coach continued. ”We also played without Adem, who had a huge game against them last time (22 points, six treys). That made things even tougher.’’
Thanks to Albano’s red-hot first-half shooting (15 points, four treys), the Falcons only trailed by two at halftime.
However, Singleton was just beginning to heat up. The senior scored 15 of his 17 points after intermission, including each of his three treys. He also had a third-quarter four-point play that helped give Canarsie a 54-48 lead entering the fourth.
Rodriguez’s seven fourth-quarter markers helped keep the Wolfpack comfortable ahead.
Curtis 67, Erasmus 54
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Senior Curtis Tiu poured in a career-high 25 points and the Warriors broke open a close game with a 23-point burst in the third quarter as they upended the visiting Dutchmen in St. George on Saturday.
Tiu finished 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, buried a trey and added a conventional three-point play for Curtis, which improved to 4-14 overall (2-9 PSAL).
Sophomore Jayden Faulkner and junior Makhiye Washington added 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Warriors.
Elijah Harvel paced the Dutchmen with 16 points.
The Warriors owned a 31-27 lead at halftime when Tiu helped them get some separation.
The guard scored 12 third-quarter points, including the three-point play and trey, and Washington and Tyler Short teamed for another 11 markers as the Warriors carried a commanding 54-36 lead into the final period.
Tiu then connected on each of his four free-throw attempts and Faulkner added seven points in the fourth to keep Curtis comfortably ahead.
Junior varsity
Tottenville 71, CSIM 32
STATEN ISlAND, N.Y. — Adam Musleh led a balanced attack with 13 points as the Pirates rolled to the PSAL 1A victory over the visiting Dragons on Tuesday.
Lucas Souleidis (11 points), Blair Tadros (10), Malachi Jacobs (nine points) and Raymond Markis (eight points) also contributed for Tottenville, which wrapped up its league mark with a perfect 10-0 record/