St. Francis Prep bounces back

Keith Nandin noticed a different attitude, a feistier, more aggressive approach, among his teammates in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Friday night. Mike Cavataio saw it too, in the form of court burns earned in exchange for hustle. And when St. Francis Prep Coach Tim Leary looked out onto the court, his Terriers resembled the scrappy, hard-nosed group that was the surprise of the Catholic League until two straight losses pushed them slightly off track.
“They did the right thing today,” he said.
It all added up to perhaps their most complete effort of the season, a 67-48 pasting of Xaverian. “We were pretty hungry,” Nandin said. “We definitely needed a win.”
As usual, Cavataio, the St. John’s-bound small forward, led the way with a complete floor game - 30 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists.
But he had help. Nandin added 10 points and seven assists, small forward Kevin Cheddie had 11 points and five rebounds and four other players - John Matzelle, Jason Philippe, Chris Aviles and Robert Nacer - each had four. “That’s what’s good about this team,” Nandin said, “everybody plays together. That’s what we have to do the next few games - we have to get balanced scoring.”
“If everyone’s scoring and everyone’s helping out,” Cavataio noted, “that’s the best way for us to win games.”
The flying start - St. Francis led by eight after the opening quarter and 13 at halftime - isn’t a bad plan either. After intermission, the Terriers put their feet on the gas, keeping the high-powered Clippers down. They led by 16 entering the final quarter, never allowing the deficit to get to single digits the rest of the way.
“We wanted it more,” Cavataio said. “We got all the loose balls, the hustle points.”
Consecutive double-figure losses to Molloy and Christ the King, games in which Leary felt the Terriers (14-3, 4-3 CHSAA AA East) took their winning ways for granted - “we stopped working as hard,” he said - reminded them of seasons past when winning against league opponents was uncommon. The victory over Xaverian (10-6, 3-4 CHSAA East) reinforced the belief that this winter is unique in Fresh Meadows.
“We just wanted to make a statement that we’re not going down lightly, that we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Cheddie said, who then paused, thought about the complete victory, before predicting: “We’re going to make some noise in the playoffs.”