The Jericho Jayhawks Boys Basketball team earned its first conference title since 2013 with a 55-51 road win over the New Hyde Park Gladiators on Thursday, Feb. 5, at New Hyde Park Memorial High School. With the win, Jericho (16-3) sits atop the 7-team Nassau League III. New Hyde Park (10-8) is currently in third.
Junior Co-Captain Casey Deutsch led all scorers with 17 points. The all-county guard’s court composure when things got hectic was just as crucial as all the points he poured in.
“I thought we dealt with their pressure very well, and we stuck with our game plan,” Deutsch said. “We knew it was going to be a heated game with high tensions and we came out ready.”
Heated indeed.
After a largely Jericho-dominant first half with the Jayhawks raining threes like a Steph Curry tribute band, the Gladiators came out with fiery energy in the second half, ratcheting the game up to fever pitch with scrappy defense and timely deep threes by Chris Notine and Bipreet Singh that electrified the home fans.
The Jayhawks, briefly rattled by the Gladiators’ newfound intensity, soon steadied the ship and held their lead, showing the poise and teamwork that have marked their standout season.
The score was all knotted-up 43-43 with 6 1/2 minutes to play, when Jericho started finding holes in the home squad’s defense. Backdoor cuts led to easy buckets.
While New Hyde Park never let up, keeping it a one-possession game down the stretch, they gave Jericho repeated trips to the free throw line, where guard Max Deutsch sank one to ice the win with a few seconds left.
Raucous student fans and proud parents in attendance weren’t the only ones impressed by the high level of play.
“There were some athletes out here tonight,” said Romello Ford, interim head coach at Manhattanville University, who was scouting New Hyde Park senior star Charlie Avallone. “Great three-point shooting, great rebounding, and great all-around competitiveness.”
Ford praised Avallone’s well-rounded skill set and court smarts. Avallone had a team-high 15 points.
For Jericho Head Coach Wally Bachman, it was all about defense and heart.
“They played with their hearts tonight. When you play defense with your heart, you win games,” Bachman said. “They’re a tough bunch of kids. They work very hard. And they did some wonderful things tonight.”
Bachman added that “having a player like Casey on the court helps tremendously,” and noted the effectiveness of having Casey’s twin brother, Max Deutsch, running point, allowed Casey to move to shooting guard. “Between the two of them they make good decisions and they make things happen,” Bachman said.
With just one regular season game to go, the Jericho win not only guarantees the team a higher playoff seeding, but also inspires confidence about just how far they might go.
“We’re not done yet,” Deutsch said.
