STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New Dorp head coach Pat Hopkins was hoping full-court pressure would provide a little spark to his flailing offense.
To his delight, he got more than he bargained for. The press, in fact, produced an inferno that helped turn the tables against Tottenville.
Junior guard Sergio Batista led a second-half surge by scoring 15 of his game-high 18 points as the Centrals registered a 60-43 come-from-behind PSAL 3A division victory over the host Pirates Thursday in Huguenot.
The victory not only enabled the Centrals to improve to 10-4 overall, but helped them take over sole possession of first place in Staten Island’s PSAL 3A division with an 8-1 mark. Tottenville (10-6 overall) dropped to 7-2 in league play.
New Dorp, which trailed by as many as eight four different times, outscored Tottenville 40-17 in the second half thanks to a full-court pressure that produced 15 of the host’s 22 turnovers.
The Centrals, who also received offensive contributions from James Flores (10 points), Elijah Pizarro (eight points) and Omari Onwe (eight points), more often than not converted those miscues into buckets during what turned into a second-half track meet.
“That is definitely the work of (assistant coach Danny Weismuller). When he was coaching at Sunset Park (HS), he would throw that on us and once he got on our staff, I was like ‘you got to show us what you were doing,’’ laughed Hopkins of what is basically a man-to-man, full-court press. ”We were very quick. We were active. We got in passing lanes and I thought we were able to wreak havoc.’’
Thanks in part to Elias Souleidis’ eight first-half points, the Pirates were able to build a 28-20 lead with just under 6:30 to go in the third quarter.
The Centrals occasionally pressed in the first half, but they didn’t hit on all cylinders until after halftime.
Hopkins’ troops outscored the Pirates 18-7 during the remainder of the third period behind Pizarro (two treys) and Batista.
When Batista opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back baskets, New Dorp owned a 42-35 advantage with 7:13 to go.
New Dorp’s Elijah Pizarro (3) is about two drain one of his two three-pointers while Tottenville’s Antonio Tarantino defends during Thursday’s PSAL 3A encounter in Huguenot.(Advance/SILive.com | Charlie De Biase Jr.)
“We believed in each other. We were motivated and the pressure helped us because we were confident,’’ said Batista. ”Everybody was working hard and doing their jobs.’’
“In the first half, we couldn’t buy a basket. We were just shooting threes and nothing was falling,’’ added Hopkins. ”We were only down six (at halftime) despite playing poorly, but the coaches kept telling the kids ‘get to the rim, get to the rim,’ and by causing turnovers, we were able to quickly transition to offense and get some easy baskets.’’
Billy Fraser and Batista, meanwhile, both delivered back-breaking left-corner threes off set inbound plays. Batista’s triple increased ND’s lead to 52-39 with 4:16 left and had Tottenville head coach Kevin Alesi signaling for time.
“I believe in my shot and my teammates do too and those shots falling that late in the game really mattered,’’ added Batista.
“That was good execution — it was all on (the kids),’’ said Hopkins. “They really came through and it was great to see.’’
Although Tottenville’s Shiloh Ezderman broke the spell with a putback, Batista, Josh Carter and Onwe (two layups) responded with consecutive buckets that increased the lead to 60-41 late in the period.
NOTES: The Centrals committed just six turnovers and only two after halftime … Ezderman (eight points) and Antonio Tarantino (seven points) also aided Tottenville’s offensive attack … Tarantino, meanwhile, drew three offensive fouls, including two via charges … Tottenville won the battle of the boards 37-26 behind Souleidis (11) and Danny Garcia (five). Batista paced New Dorp with seven caroms … Despite its success, New Dorp only took two free throws Thursday. Tottenville, meanwhile, was 7 for 15.