Chaminade Basketball Rebounds 50-44 Over Brentwood

They say it's not how your start but how you finish.

For the varsity basketball team (5-1), the old adage still rings true following a 50-44 non-league win over Brentwood (0-2), thanks to a fourth quarter rally Saturday at the Chaminade Activities and Athletic Center.

In what was a sluggish first quarter for the varsity Flyers, senior captain Kevin Sheehy noticed his team's slow start. "We came out a little too laid back, a little flat and we paid the price for it early on," Sheehy said. "We were forcing the ball too much on the offensive end which led to a lot of turnovers."

Despite the slow start, Chaminade was still able to gain and keep the lead going into halftime, 22-21.

Brentwood head coach Anthony Jimenez had his team come out strong to start the second half, led by Kwashon McCastell and Devine Daniel's combined 10 second-half points and flashy play.

Feasting on the Flyer's mistakes and turnovers, the Indians used an aggressive, physical style of play to take a 6 point lead heading in to the final quarter. "It was one of our toughest games so far," Sheehy said. "They're up there, as far as physical teams, with St. Peter's."

Chaminade managed to compose themselves in the fourth, mounting a comeback on the shoulders of guard John Gallego. His five second-half points and scrappy play provided the spark that the Flyers had seemed to be missing.

With Sheehy, Gallego and Matthew Gonyon (6 points) slashing to the hoop, Zoller and Patrick Farrell (3 points, 7 rebounds) were there to crash the boards. Because of that inside presence by the Flyers, the outside shots began falling.

"The big thing for us is balance," Zoller said. "A strong inside game with a strong outside game. We really like to establish the down-low game to open up the outside. I trust my teammates to knock down the open shots."

Brentwood opted for a quicker style of play, one of high-risk, high-reward which allowed the Indians to take the lead and keep them in the game. This being only the Indian's third match of the season, Jimenez appeared to still be trying to harness his players' raw talents.

Flyers head coach Jim Quinn declined to comment on his team's performance after the game.

Senior swingman James McCaffrey added 6 points and 5 rebounds for the Flyers while Sheehy led all scorers with a game-high 14 points. Siy Ojugabelle led the Indians with 11 points and four rebounds.

Chaminade will scrimmage at Uniondale High School at 5 p.m. on Dec. 23 in preparation for their at 5 p.m. at Chaminade's AAC.