BY Jake Williams | STAFF WRITER
The Miller Place Panthers may be in second place in League VI with as many wins — 10 — as they suffered losses last season, but coach Brian Sztabnik, though pleased, is hardly satisfied.
"Each day we've had practice, I tell the kids that we want to be better than we were the day before," Sztabnik said a day after the Panthers won their sixth straight game, beating Westhampton on the road, 57-42. "If we do that, we will constantly be improving as a team."
The Panthers are doing just that. During their current winning streak, which extended their record to 10-2 in League VI and 14-2 overall, the Panthers have held their opponents to 50 points or fewer in five contests and averaged nearly a 14-point victory margin. And, Sztabnik said, the better the Panthers play on defense, the more opportunities they will have to play to their offensive strength, turning those stops into fast breaks.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary, offensively, of the team's defensive improvement has been guard Taylor Sowah, who is averaging 17.7 points per game for the season. In the past three contests, wins against Westhampton, Eastport-South Manor and Amityville, Sowah has averaged nearly 26, capping that with a season-high 31 in the Panthers' 48-42 victory over Eastport-South Manor.
"[Sowah] has been creating opportunities for himself," Sztabnik said. "He has great anticipation skills on defense, and that allows him to get steals and go in transition. He is really effective in the full court because he handles the ball well, and with his height, he can shoot over defenders."
Against Amityville last Friday, the Panthers' most impressive performance in the past three weeks, Sowah scored 24, and was joined in double figures by Tim Lutz with 16 and Brian Campbell's 11.
Miller Place took command in the game's second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 19-10, and eventually winning 61-46. The Warriors scored barely half as many points as they had in the teams' first contest, which Amityville won, 81-73.
"[In the first meeting] we knew that we were going to be pressured, but still we succumbed and had far too many turnovers, got into foul trouble, and we were down early and down a lot," Sztabnik said. "Afterward, we watched the tape and just shook our head at foolish mistake after foolish mistake."
After the second meeting, it was the Warriors who were left shaking their heads after what Sztabnik called a huge win for the Panthers.
"We were able to face their pressure with poise and confidence," Sztabnik said. "We weren't rattled and as a result we were able to get good, effective shots. We got a lot of layups because we were able to pick apart their defense."
The six-game winning streak allowed the Panthers to secure a trip to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Only two starters remain from last year, but the new parts have come together well for Miller Place . Sztabnik said his players' offseason commitment has paid off, at least so far.
Before Sztabnik can see how far the team can get in the postseason, Miller Place has two home games left. Thursday the Panthers host an East Hampton squad they beat by four last month. Then on Tuesday, they close the regular season with a home rematch against Bayport-Blue Point, the only team ahead of the Panthers in the League VI standings.
The Phantoms won the first meeting, 65-36. The Panthers have not lost since. Sztabnik did not want to look too far ahead, but will want the Panthers to respond to the Phantoms in the same manner they rose to the challenge in their second game against Amityville.
jwilliams@northshoresun.com
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