SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Vernon Alanzo and Alvin Dennis Excel

Suffolk CC's Streak Reaches 42

By Gregg Sarra
NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER
February 11, 2004

Suffolk CC-Selden won for the 42nd straight game. But the nation's longest collegiate men's basketball winning streak was in jeopardy until the final horn last night.

Suffolk CC-Brentwood left its Michael J. Grant campus in search of two things - some respect in Region XV and a huge upset win over previously unbeaten Suffolk CC-Selden.

The Longhorns left with the respect but lost in the waning moments of overtime. This one was about Suffolk- Selden's perseverance in the face of a tenacious Suffolk- Brentwood defense. It also was about survival.

Guard Alvin Dennis nailed a three-pointer with 44 seconds remaining in overtime and teammates Aaron Cummings and Maurice Manning hit two free throws each in the waning seconds as Suffolk-Selden edged Suffolk-Brentwood, 79-76, before a boisterous crowd of 600 at Brookhaven Gymnasium. The Clippers erased a 10-point deficit in improving to 24-0 overall and 14-0 in Region XV.

"They played a great game and we survived," said Suffolk-Selden coach Rich Wrase, whose team beat Suffolk- Brentwood, 102-64, on Dec. 4. "It was a fantastic game."

Jonelle Jones led a defense that stymied Suffolk-Selden as the Longhorns held a 56-46 lead with 5:42 left in regulation. Jones denied Manning the ball, but Selden's Vernon Alonzo took over, scoring 10 of his game-high 29 points in the final 5:10 to lead the comeback. Dennis' three-pointer with 11 seconds left in regulation forced overtime.

"They wanted it so bad," Manning said of Brentwood. "I could feel their intensity. They were fired up. But this streak means a lot to us and we weren't letting it get away from us."

Manning (19 points), who had two turnovers in the final minute of regulation, atoned for his transgressions when he banked in a 30-foot three-pointer to get the Clippers within 65-64 with 21 seconds left. Brentwood's Jermaine Russell hit two free throws for a 67-64 lead before Dennis drained his three-pointer from the baseline to tie it at 67. J.J. Walsh (26 points) missed a potential game-winning jumper just before time expired.

"The long Manning three-pointer off the glass killed us," Suffolk-Brentwood coach Tony Zajac said. "The shot got them back in the game and we missed too many free throws. I thought we handled them with our no-nonsense man-to-man defense."

Suffolk-Brentwood (13-8, 9-5) rode the hot hand of Walsh, who hit a short jumper and a layup in the first minute of overtime as the Longhorns took a 73-69 lead. Cummings then hit the first of two free throws, and when he missed his second attempt, the ball was tipped in by a leaping Manning to cut Brentwood's lead to 73-72.

Manning then faked a shot, drew triple coverage and passed to a wide-open Dennis for the crucial three-pointer.

"It felt great when it left my hand," Dennis said. "They didn't respect my shot and had three guys all over Maurice."

Said Manning: "He made the biggest shot of the night. It was beautiful."

SCC-SELDEN 79
SCC-BRENTWOOD 76
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc. 

 
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