STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Tottenville’s Elias Souleidis finished with a double-double on Thursday, yet you can make the argument his biggest contribution was a pass he made in overtime.
The senior said dishing has its rewards.
“I love passing. I love it,’’ said Souleidis, who missed all of his junior year because of an injury. ”It’s a great feeling — especially when (my teammates) get buckets.
“Then everyone is happy.’’
Souleidis, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, made a nifty pass to Michael Cinque for the go-ahead basket in overtime as the Pirates went on to a 49-45 PSAL 3A division victory over host New Dorp.
Fellow senior Danny Garcia tied Souleidis for the team high in points with 14 while Antonio Tarantino and Shiloh Ezderman (game-high 14 rebounds) combined for another 13 markers. The Pirates (3-1 overall, 2-0 PSAL) won their third straight game.
New Dorp senior Omari Onwe, who spearheaded a fourth-quarter surge by the Centrals to force OT, finished with a game-high 17 points, including three treys.
“I liked the way we were playing — slow and in control, going inside to (Souleidis) and (Garcia) creating. We were going to live with the result whether we missed or scored,’’ said Tottenville head coach Kevin Alesi. “Anytime we come in here, we know (New Dorp head coach Pat Hopkins) is going to do a good job and they’re going to be ready to go and they made a run (in the fourth quarter).
“But going into overtime, it’s 42-42 and on the varsity level, that’s exactly the game we want to play,’’ continued the coach. ”If we find ourselves in the 60s or 70s, the other team is probably in the 100s because we’re not good enough to play at that speed. We want to play like the 1994 (Cleveland Cavaliers).’’
Tottenville’s Elias Souleidis (10) guards New Dorp’s Omari Onwe during a PSAL 3A division contest on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Charlie De Biase Jr.)
In other words, winning ugly, so to speak.
When Souleidis opened the fourth by converting a rebound into a bucket, the Pirates had a game-high, nine-point lead (37-28) and a world of momentum.
But the Centrals (3-1 overall, 2-1 PSAL) wouldn’t go quietly and slowly but surely chipped away behind Onwe. With Tottenville’s lead down to 37-31, the southpaw scored New Dorp’s last 11 points — including two treys and a conventional three-point play — in the last 5:17 to force extra session.
The score remained 42-42 until the Pirates finally took control at the halfway point of the four-minute overtime.
The 6-foot-4 Souleidis got a touch in the post just below the left elbow and had prepared to take a short jumper when he found Cinque cutting to the hoop along the left baseline. The latter proceeded to lay it in to give the visitors a 44-42 lead with 2:10 on the clock.
“I took one dribble, put my shoulder into (the defender’s) chest and jumped up, looking to score, but I saw my teammate wide open cutting in,’’ said Souleidis. ”I made a great pass, he made a great shot and that was probably the biggest play of the game.’’
“I saw (Souleidis) make a great move and I cut to the basket,’’ explained Cinque. ”I wasn’t nervous. Just playing basketball. I thought ‘don’t miss the layup’ and it feels amazing (to come through with a big shot).’’
The Pirates weren’t done.
Ezderman, who was a monster on the boards all game, had a put back with 1:26 left and after the Tots got another stop, point guard Tarantino drove left and scored to make the score 48-42 with just 47 ticks left.
“(Ezderman’s) motor was excellent and he just plays hard. He outworked everyone today and got rewarded‚’’ said Alesi. ”And I thought (Taratino) added a big bucket late in the game and it made a difference.’’
Garcia hit 1 of 2 freebies with 15.8 seconds left before New Dorp’s Rocco Fiorenza nailed a three at the buzzer.
NOTES: Souleidis’ 10 points and seven boards helped the Pirates take a 25-22 lead into the lockers during a nip-and-tuck first half … The Pirates won the battle of the boards 38-30. In addition to Ezderman and Souleidis, Cinque chipped in with four boards. Sergio Batista led ND with eight caroms … Josh Carter chipped in with 10 points for the Centrals … New Dorp committed 14 turnovers, Tottenville 17 … The Tots connected on 13 of 20 free throws (Garcia 5 for 7); ND was 8 for 13 (Carter 6 for 8). … Onwe and James Flores took charges for ND, while Tarantino drew one for Tottenville.