Onur Gokce faced a difficult choice.
In fact, the Syracuse Academy of Science boys basketball coach had several issues to deal with midway through Tuesday night’s Section III Class C championship game at Cicero-North Syracuse between Gokce’s Atoms and cross-city rival Syracuse Institute of Technology.
Not only did SAS, the C-2 champions, trail the C-1 champion Eagles at halftime, but three of his top players – Dakeem McLain, Kaleel Johnson and Jamon Haddon – were each saddled with four fouls.
But instead of putting them on the bench, Gokce brought McLain, Johnson and Haddon out for the third quarter – and they proceeded to devastate IT in those eight minutes, turning a possible defefat into an eventual 83-67 victory.
“I really needed them,” said Gokce, explaining his decision. He added that his players also needed to show patience after squandering a five-point lead in the second quarter and falling behind by as much as seven before going to the half down 35-30.
“Defensively, we went to the 2-3 zone, and it really worked,” said Gokce.
IT would agree, especially after the way the Atoms treated them in the third quarter. All told, SAS amassed 36 points in those eight minutes, and by himself McLain, with 17 of those points, matched the Eagles’ entire output for that period.
“We’re a second-half team,” said McLain, whose two free throws in the final seconds helped ice the Class C-2 finals win over Onondaga last Saturday at Utica Auditorium. “We came out and played way harder than we did in the first half.”
Over and over again, SAS, utilizing its newfound zone, pressured IT into quick shots and, when they didn’t convert, zoomed out on fast breaks that led to a steady string of easy baskets on the other end – exactly the kind of high-octane style that has led the Atoms to a 20-2 record this winter.
If McLain wasn’t hurting the Eagles (he finished with 24 points), forward Ahmet Tumali was doing hard work inside, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots and finishing with 20 points. DeOndray Tape contributed 15 points and Johnson finished with 12 points.
Meanwhile, IT, who had rose from 4-14 a season ago to make an unlikely run to the C-1 championship, finally ran out of magic on this night. Mikell Clemons led the Eagles with 20 points, while Jahcin Ingram had 17 points – less than half of the total of 40 points he got in a loss to SAS back on Feb. 14.
So the Atoms, who beat IT three times this winter, now make the trip to Oneonta State Saturday for the Class C regional final against Section IV champion Moravia. The winner advances to Glens Falls for next weekend’s state final four.
McLain said his team’s fast style could work against any remaining opponent. “We can do this to anybody in the state,” he said.
