East Falls 59-42 in League Battle at Floyd

It was predicted to be the biggest test East has yet had - leading off 2011 on the road against a scrappy Colonials squad.

While the work ethic was there - chopping Floyd's lead down to two at one point during the third quarter - Floyd's hard-nosed, high-pressure defense found its momentum again later in the game, converting a series of turnovers into fast breaks and finally beating East, 59-42.

"Give them credit, they played very well," said East head coach John Finta said of Floyd. "I thought we played great in the first half and into the third, but we ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Brian Corbett drew a foul at the top of the game, hitting one of two free throws for East's only lead (1-0) at 7:52. Floyd's outside shooting heated up early, leading off with Ray Ducoing's three-point field goal 30 second thereafter. East's defense succeeded in limiting offensive threat Anthony White to two points at the outset on double teams from Corbett and Randall Colson, but other threats soon popped up elsewhere.

East trailed by nine before breaking the cycle with Ryan Morahan's two-pointer with 3:08 left. Corbett and Colson teamed up on offense for back-to-back two pointers to trim the Colonials' lead to three. Colson kept East alive inside with 40 seconds left, recovering a rebound from Tim Doherty and returning it to the hole.

Floyd's second-quarter push gathered steam although a rally to break out, as East countered quickly off transitions to keep it a sub-10-point game. Aaron Willis' fast break two-pointer was answered by Dan Candemeres' two 20 seconds later. Corbett took a pass in the paint in and up for an unguarded two at 4:35, responding to a three 15 seconds earlier from Floyd's Shabazz Thompkins.

East finished up the third quarter in its best position, outscoring Floyd by five and closing the gap 37-33. Improving its defense down low and smoothing out its transitions, East's offense turned it on when Alec Daniello sunk a three-pointer at 5:30 to go. He and Colson traded off for two two-pointers apiece through 3:35, when Colson's two made it the closest game yet - 33-31 - as a time-out was called. 

The fourth quarter was far less fortunate for East: Floyd's White emerged as the biggest threat in the final analysis, scoring nine of the Colonials' 22 points for the quarter, leading the Colonials with 15 game points. Corbett drew two more fouls and went 4-for-4 on the subsequent free throws, but Floyd's defense hindered significant scoring, pulling away for good on the strength of its own foul shooting - White, Aaron Wigger, Devin Burney, and Malik Dennis combined at the line to shoot 6-for-9.

Corbett led East with 13 points and had the best effort from the line (5-for-6). Colson chalked up eight points. Candemeres and Daniello each tallied seven points. Doherty added four points. Morahan chipped in two points, and Joe Santarpia scored a single point on a free throw.

East will host Commack (0-1 in League I, 2-3 overall) this Friday, Jan. 7, at 6:15 p.m.