By Marc Raimondi
That meant a ton of passing. It meant holding onto the ball for two to three minutes at a time trying to get an open shot (only the PSAL 'AA' divisions have a shot clock). Francis Lewis had the ball down by one, but missed three straight shots after getting offensive rebounds and Edison escaped with a 39-38 win Friday afternoon at Lewis in a Queens 'A' game. Despite the big bodies of the 6-foot-5 Brown (11 points) and 6-foot-4, 260-pound Greg Steele (11 points), the mini Patriots stuck around until the end. With no one over 6-foot-3, Francis Lewis did what Dortch has been preaching all year: play good defense and wait – even if it seems like all day – for an open shot. “We threw everything that we had at them,” Ulmer said. “2-3, 3-2, 1-3-1, man-to-man, box-and-one. What else more can we do?” But he'll take the win and Edison (11-2), the Lewis scare aside, has emerged as one of the top teams in Queens. The Inventors, tied for first in their division with John Adams, gave Queens A East leader Newtown its only loss and split a two-game set with the Queens A West co-leading Spartans. Led by Brown, who has gotten interest from Hofstra, Boston University and others, Edison looks primed for a deep playoff run in the 'A' division. Of course, run wasn't the first word to pop into Ulmer's head against Francis Lewis (2-11) and Dortch's snail-like offense. The Patriots, who were led by William Seaberry (12 points) and Mikaal Shamsiddeen (11) against the Inventors, have struggled this season under the first-year coach, who used to ply his trade at Martin Van Buren. But his sideline histrionics aside, Dortch's team presents a difficult match-up for foes if only because of its unique offense. He hopes that will only increase as the awareness Ð and talent level Ð gets better. “It's a style that a lot of the PSAL teams don't see,” Dortch said. “And we don't even do it that good yet.” Reach reporter Marc Raimondi by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
