Milestones

700 Win Club

Ed Petrie, East Hampton

2000 Point Club

Ryan Creighton, Greenport

1000 Point Club

Billy Butler, Floral Park

Matt Cajuste, Jericho (1000 rebounds too!)

Marcus Edwards, East Hampton

Tobias Harris, Half Hollow Hills West

Jeriel Henriquez, LI Lutheran

Booker Hucks, Bay Shore

Chris Johnson, Lindenhurst

Robby Ptacek , Bayport-Blue Point

Nick Taldi, Bellmore JFK

We know we're missing names and categories.

                             LET US KNOW!

           Suffolk Senior All-Stars

Sayville's Vinnie Russo and Bay Shore's Booker Hucks helped lead a balanced attack that put the Blue Team up by 22, and a Gold Team rally led by East Hampton's Marcus Edwards and Copiague's Marcell Lattimore fell short in the Suffolk County All Star Senior's Game.

        Nassau Senior Stars Shine

The 2008 Nassau County Exceptional Senior Games were played at Molloy College on April 1st. In the first game the Grey Team defeated the Blue Team by the score of 89-76. The Grey Team was led by Baldwin's Chris Manning with 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Freeport's Julian Preval added 10 points and 5 rebounds. West Hempstead's Kevin Walsh led the Blue Team with 17 points. In the second game the Blue Team defeated the Grey Team 89-78. The Blue Team was led by Malverne's Dashiem Cherry's 15 points ,6 rebounds and 5 assists. Island Tree's Justin Heisig added 25 points. Bellmore JFK's Nick Taldi led the Grey Team with 18 points. All of the Nassau County Coaches wish all the participating players good luck in their future endeavors. Co-Chairmen of the games Eric Rubin and Brian McEvoy would like to thank sponsor Island Garden Basketball, all the volunteer coaches and referees, and especially host Molloy College.

            Click here for participating players

      LuHi Falls In Federation Final

Long Island Lutheran gave up an early lead, then rallied from an 11 point deficit, but couldn't get over the top and fell to Jamesville DeWitt 70-66 in the New York State Federation Class A Championship game. Trailing at the start, back to back 3's by Jeriel Henriquez and Rich Harkins put LuHi on top 14-8, and Matt Rooney capped off a promising first quarter on a drive that made it 19-12 at the end of one. But things gradually started to unravel for the Crusaders in the 2nd quarter. Their shots stopped falling, they missed a number of easy layups, and worst of all, they couldn't hit their free throws. They were fortunate to be tied at the half after shooting 11-35 from the field and 6 for13 from the line. Jamesville went for the knock-out punch in the third quarter, going on a 15-4 run as LuHi's shooting woes continued. After keeping the ball away from him in the first half, JD's 6'10 big man Nick Pascale scored eight points in the run, and it looked like it might be all over for the Crusaders. It was not. Jeriel Henriquez and Rich Harkins led a comeback charge starting with just over 6 minutes remaining in the game on a three pointer by Henriquez. Matt Carpenter tied it on a three pointer, and then Harkins topped it off with two free throws to give Lutheran a 61-59 lead with 3:46 to go. But DeWitt battled back, regaining the lead for good on two free throws by star Brandon Triche. Carpenter’s second 3-pointer of the game brought LuHi back within 1, but only 7 seconds remained and Jamesville iced it from the free throw line. Henriquez finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Harkins with 17 points. Both were named to the All-Tounament Team.                                                     3/29

        Williams Sinks Chaminade

In a battle between two seemingly evenly matched teams, Bishop Ford point guard Chaz Williams was the difference, scoring 32 points and handing out 12 assists to lead Ford to a 72-62 win and the CHSAA Class A Championship. Ford led pretty much wire to wire, with the Flyers falling behind by as many as 18 points. Sean Wildes led a late Chaminade rally, but it was too little too late. Bishop Ford will now face Private School Class A Champion Long Island Lutheran in the Federation Tournament.  Chaminade got off to a tough start, with Bishop Ford beating them in transition to jump out to 9-0 lead with three minutes gone by in the first quarter. Chaminade Junior Sean Wildes responded with two jumpers of his own, but  Williams and his teammates maintained a comfortable lead at the end of the first quarter 20-11. The Flyers stayed within striking distance of the Falcons for the rest of the first half, but Williams continued to have his way with the Chaminade defense, slicing his way to the hoop for layups and assists to teammates.  The lead at the end of the half was 31-21.  Sean Wildes' finished with 10 first half points for the Flyers. Ford jumped all over Chaminade in the third quarter, and Ford was able to build a 16 point lead halfway through the quarter. Chaminade went to the bench for some help,  and closed the gap heading into the fourth.  In the fourth quarter, the Flyers finally started to play with a sense of urgency and battled the Falcons on every possession.  A quicker lineup was able to match the speed of Bishop Ford, and shots started to fall for the Flyers.  Sophomore Dan Vanderhoef and guards John Orr, Dan Textor and Dan DiVietri harassed the Ford offense into some timely turnovers and soon the lead was down to just 6 points.  However, Williams responded with more of the same transition offense that led to easy scores for his teammates. Relegated to fouling, the Flyers were not able to mount the comeback they needed and lost 72-62.  Junior Sean Wildes led the Flyers with a career high 28 points while DiVietri and Orr chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.                                                        3/16

  East Hampton Will Play For Title

In the final minutes of a tight game, Mike Russell carried the East Hampton Bonackers past Buffalo East and on to the New York Public School Class A State Championship Game. The game will be played Sunday at 1 PM. The Bonackers got off to a flying start, with Russell opening the game with the first of his 3 first quarter three pointers. His third made it 16-4 East Hampton, but Buffalo East pulled within 9 at the end of the quarter on a three by Jamal Webb. Russell opened the second quarter with another three, and two free throws by Marcus Edwards made it 24-10, but the Panthers went on a 12-2 run, capped off by a three pointer by Webb and it was 26-22 with 3:59 to go in the half. After a steal and fast break layup by Jerome Russell, Webb hit another three pointer, and then followed it up with a nice drive, and it was a 1 point game with 1:22 remaining. Buffalo took the lead on an errant inbound pass by the Bonackers under their own basket, which turned into an easy hoop by Webb, but Mike Russell grabbed the lead right back with his 5th three pointer of the half, and East Hampton went into the locker room with a 2 point lead. Damien Goodwin opened the second half with a basket from underneath to tie the game for Buffalo East, but a looping shot from the lane by Russell, and a putback off a missed free throw by Hayden Ward, and the Bonackers were up 5 with 5:40 to go in the 3rd quarter. Ward's putback made it 46-39 with 2:25 showing, and then Edwards found Ward underneath for a 9 point lead. Webb's three pointer stopped the East Hampton run, and then the Panthers pulled within 2 on free throws as the quarter ended. Domonique Johnson's fast break basket tied the game as the fourth quarter got underway. Mike Russell made a steal and pulled up in front of a defender to reclaim the lead with 3:44 to go, and then he drove down the right side of the lane and hit a runner to make it 54-50 with 2:59 remaining.  With time running down, the Panthers had fouls to give, so there were only 31 seconds left when a Bonacker finally went to the line in the 1 and 1. East Hampton proceeded to miss 4 of 5 free throws down the stretch, but Buffalo could not capitalize until just 5.7 seconds remained, when Damien Goodwin hit a jumper . A desperation full court shot at the buzzer was off target, and East Hampton had the hard fought win.      3/15

            Friends Falls By One

Friends Academy pressed their way back into their New York State Class C Semifinal game, but fell one point short, falling to Mechanicville 52-51. The Quakers started slowly, and looked like they might be overmatched early on. It was 21-14 at the end of one, and it seemed the Red Raiders were scoring with ease, while Friends struggled for every basket. Still, Ramir Robinson's putback, followed by his hoop from down low made it 25-22 with 3:11 to go in the half, and then at the 1:55 mark, a steal and basket by Jon Williams cut it to one. The Quakers then took the lead on  two Williams free throws with 1:21 remaining, but Nick Lettrick, who would be a thorn in their side all game, scored from down low to retake the lead for Mechanicville at the half. The Red Raiders went on a bit of a run to start the second half, going up 35-29 on a bank shot by Lettrick from down low, but Mike Nattis stopped it with a three pointer, and then Robinson scored from the low post to make it a 1 point game. It was a three point game after three. Lettrick, who was taking advantage of the Friends trapping defense by cutting to the hoop and getting easy baskets, scored again from underneath early in the fourth quarter , and then with 6:14 to go in the fourth, Paul MacMillian nailed a three pointer from the left baseline to make it 46-38. Lettrick scored yet again the same way, and Mechanicville had a 10 point lead. Harrison Hefele hit a big three pointer for Friends, cutting the lead to single digits with less than four minutes to play, and Williams made it 50-44 with a three pointer of his own with 2:53 to go. Hefele pump faked at the three point line, pulled up in the lane and looped a shot in to cut it to 4 with 2:06 to go, and then a free throw by Williams and two by  Robinson and it was 50-49 with 58 seconds remaining. Friends took too long to foul though, and Pat Marra went to the line with just 10 seconds to go, making both shots for a 3 point lead. With the three point lead, Mechanicville decided to foul, but the strategy almost backfired. Williams hit both shots, and then Mechanicville was sent back to the line in the 1 and 1 with 7 seconds to go, and missed the shot. Friends had one last chance, but the potential game winner did not fall.                  3/14

       Baldwin Catches Hills West

Chris Mauldin's three pointer from the top of the key gave Baldwin the lead with 55 seconds remaining, and they went on to a 50-46 win over Suffolk Champ Half Hollow Hills West to capture the Long Island Class AA Championship. Baldwin took the early lead, but a three pointer by Cory Knox made it 14-11 Hills West as the first quarter came to a close. Knox scored again on the break to make it 16-11 as the second quarter got underway, and then with 5:10 to go in the half, Tobias Harris hit a three pointer and followed it up with a layup and it was 21-14 Hills West. A three pointer by Ashanti DePass brought Baldwin within 4, and then a traditional three point play by Matt Brown and it was a 1 point game with 3:32 remaining. Brown's turn around jumper in the lane gave the Bruins a 1 point lead, and after a Hills West free throw tied it, Chris Manning grabbed a long rebound and nailed a three pointer with 1:35 left in the half, and it was 27-24 Baldwin and that was the score at the break. Nick Thomas put back a missed shot to make it 30-24 Baldwin early in the second half, and then Brown went in for a layup and scored and the Bruins had an 8 point lead, but a hook shot by Alex Aurrichio from the low post, two free throws by Harris, and then a putback by Aurrichio and Hills West pulled within 2 as the third quarter ended. Harris tied it for  the Colts on a drive to start the fourth quarter, but two free throws by Depass and a driving layup by Derrell Brown put Baldwin up by 4. A three point play by Knox made it 41-40 with 4:54 to go in the game, and West regained the lead when Harris caught the ball in the low post, spun to the baseline and scored to make it 42-41 with 3:35 to go, but Mauldin answered back, drawing the foul and hitting both free throws. John Conneely, who was playing his first game since undergoing an appendectomy two weeks ago,  hit four straight free throws to put Hills West up 3 with 1:48 remaining, but Cailup Norris scored on a putback, and then after a Hills West turnover, Mauldin knocked down a three pointer for a 48-46 Bruin lead with 55 seconds left in the game. Another Hills West turnover gave Baldwin the ball with 28.7 seconds on the clock, and a free throw gave them a 3 point lead, but Hills West turned the ball over again as the seconds ticked down, and Mauldin iced it with two free throws.                                                          3/8

Friends Defends Title

Perhaps it was the experience factor, or just an off day, but Suffolk Champion Port Jefferson never really got it going consistently, and defending Long Island Class C Champion Friends Academy made them pay. The Quakers  led almost wire to wire, holding off repeated Royal rallies on their way to an 83-71 victory and another Long Island Class C Crown. It was a one point game with less than a minute to go in the first quarter, but Harrison Hefele scored on back to back putbacks and Friends led by 5 as the quarter came to a close. Ramir Robinson caught an inbound pass in the lane and scored on a jump hook to put Friends up 26-19 as the second quarter got underway,  and Billy Reggio's jumper from the baseline gave Friends a 9 point lead with 6:15 to go, but Chaz Powell, who came to play, hit a jumper in the lane to bring Port Jeff within 7, and Sam Davis hit two free throws and it was 32-27 with 3:38 to play in the half. Powell scored again, this time from underneath to bring the Royals within 5, and Trevor Parker swept down the lane and scored to make it a 1 point game with 2:30 to go in the half, but Hefele pulled up just inside the foul line and hit a short jumper to make 34-31, and a steal and fast break layup by Jon Williams put Friends up 5 with under two minutes to play. Freshman Robert Goldstein's three pointer from the left wing made it 36-34 with 1:30 to go, and a Davis putback tied it at 36 as the first half came to a close. Parker's two free throws gave Port Jeff the lead as the second half got underway, but Reggio tied it on a putback, and the Quakers reclaimed the lead when Hefele scored on a driving layup, drew the foul, and hit the free throw to complete the three point play. That made it 41-38 early in the third quarter. Port Jeff tied it again on a three pointer by John Nielsen,  but Reggio grabbed a rebound off the floor and scored, and Hefele hit two free throws to put the Quaker  lead at 4. The lead was 8 after Robinson scored again on an inbound play, but Powell came through again for the Royals at the 3:26 mark, scoring and drawing the foul call. His free throw brought Port Jeff back within 4, but Hefele responded with a bank shot from close up, Williams curled around a screen and pulled up for a jumper, and then Hefele scored again, this time from the baseline, and Friends had a 10 point lead. Nielsen's jumper made it 55-47 as the third quarter came to a close. Back to back baskets by Reggio and Hefele made it 61-49 Friends early in the fourth, but Goldstein's second three pointer cut the margin to 9. A Williams steal and basket put the Quakers up 13 with 5:18 to go, and then Williams hit two free throws to make it 67-52 with 4:34 to go. The teams then started trading baskets, which was not good for Port Jeff. It was 77-61 with 2:11 to go and an 83-71 final.                                            3/4

  Jericho Pulls Away From South Side

South Side put up a good fight, but top seed Jericho had too many weapons, and after some key South Side turnovers, pulled away for a 70-52 victory in the Nassau/Section 8 Class A Championship Game. As they had in the previous round, Jericho went right to their strength to start the game, getting the ball into big man Matt Cajuste, who scored the Jayhawks first 9 points, but the Cyclones were up to the task, scoring the last 5 of the first quarter on a three pointer by Brendan Meehan and a fast break basket by Kevin Brown to draw even at 11 all. Justin Resnick's three point play put Jericho up 17-13 early in the second quarter, but South Side tied it on Mike McDerby's fast break basket and two free throws by Meehan with 5:29 to go.Josh Witsell rebounded and scored for the Jayhawks, and then back to back three pointers by Resnick and Adam Sanders and South Side was forced to call time out trailing 25-17. The run continued for Jericho, with Witsell's two free throws giving them a 10 point lead, but Jesse Winter and Meehan responded to make it 27-21 at the 1:15 mark. Resnick's three pointer put Jericho back up by 9, and in the final moments,  two more free throws by Witsell and they had a 10 point lead at the break. Three straight free throws by South Side, the last two by Joe Vastola, and South Side was within 7 as the second half got underway,  but Resnick drained a three pointer from the top of the key to keep the lead at 10. Idris Alford answered with a three from the right baseline, but Resnick was on a roll, and he hit another one from the left wing to make it 38-28. The teams traded baskets until a baseline cut by Witsell gave Jericho a 49-35 lead at the end of three. Meehan scored on the break for South Side to start the fourth quarter, and then a three pointer by Winter and a steal and basket by McDerby made it 49-42 with 6:24 to go. Meehan's thee pointer cut it 49-45, but a free throw broke the run, and then Mike Romnanelli nailed a three pointer from the left wing and it was 53-45 Jericho. Meehan pulled up for a jumper with 3:01 to go in the game, making it 57-50, but Cajuste caught the ball at the shoulder and made a power move to the basket, scoring and drawing the foul, and his three point play gave Jericho a 10 point lead with two minutes to go in the game. Romanelli stepped back and nailed another three pointer, and followed it up with two free throws, and the Jayhawks were on their way to their second straight Nassau - Section 8 Class A Championship.  3/1

  East Hampton Defeats CM 87-76

People always have their doubts about East End  teams, despite their great success over the years. Have no doubt about East Hampton. The Bonackers beat an excellent Center Moriches team handily to advance to the Suffolk County Championship game against AA Champion Hills West. Mike Russell got East Hampton off to a strong start, hitting a driving layup off the tap and two three pointers in the first few minutes, but Class B Champion Center Moriches stayed right with the Class A Champs and it was 11-8 with 5 minutes to go in the first quarter.  The Red Devils kept getting excellent scoring chances,  but missed some point blank shots and East Hampton took advantage, with Jerome Russell's three pointer giving the Bonackers a it 20-11 lead with 2:10 to go in the quarter. Baskets by Jordan and Jonathan Ward-Adams cut it to 20-16 with 1:16 left, but an East Hampton free throw and it was 21-16 at the buzzer. J. Russell opened the second quarter with a baseline drive that he turned into a three point play, but Jordan Ward-Adams responded with a three pointer to make it  24-19. A Jon Ward-Adams three pointer cut the East Hampton lead to 4 a moment later, but two free throws by J Russell and a fast break basket by M. Russell, and the lead was 8.  A pair of free throws by Jordan Ward Adams at the 2:27 mark brought CM back within 3, but a putback by Hayden Ward and a coast to coast basket by M. Russell gave East Hampton a 36-29 lead with 1:05 to go in the half. Three straight free throws, two of them by Thomas Rowland, and it was a 4 point game at intermission. Marcus Edwards got things rolling in the second half on a putback, and his two free throws with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter made it 45-38 East Hampton. Ward scored from underneath for a 9 point Bonacker lead,  but a three point play by Rowland cut it to 6. A steal and fast break basket by Edwards put East Hampton up 10 with less than three minutes to go in the 3rd, and his jumper at the 2:08 mark made it 56-43. As the quarter wound down, J. Russell hit a devastating three pointer to give East Hampton a 15 point lead, but Alex Snead went coast to coast in the final seconds to make it 61-48 at the end of three. Snead's three pointer brought CM within 10 early in the final quarter, but a Ward putback and a short M. Russell jumper gave the Bonackers a 14 point lead. Mike Scott scored from down low to make it 72-61 with 4:49 to go,  but Ward answered for East Hampton with a nice move in the low post for a 13 point lead, and then his fast break basket and basket from the lane made it 79-61 with less than three minutes to play. Final, 87-76.  The Suffolk County Championship game should be a good one, with East Hampton taking on Hills West. Center Moriches is still alive in the New York State Class B Tournament. 2/29

Brentwood No Match For Hills West

Unbeaten, top seeded, and #2 ranked Hills West still has some doubters, who think they're a one man team, and if you stop Tobias Harris, you'll beat them. If you were at the Brentwood - Hills West Class AA Semifinal game though, you saw  the problems with that theory.  On paper, Brentwood had the perfect team to beat West, with two big, athletic forwards, and fast, good shooting guards. But that's on paper. In reality, they came to realize that no single player could stop Harris. That's the problem every team faces. He took the forwards outside - away from the boards - and shot over them or drove by them, and he posted up the guards and overpowered them. So help out on Harris and make the other guys beat you, right? That's problem number two. They can and they will. Alex Aurrichio is a big, strong, athletic forward with solid low post moves that can bang inside with anybody, and also plays excellent defense; Mike Meglio holds his own against both bigger and more athletic forwards and can score, and Will Hennep, John Conneely, and Steve Rollino are good, scrappy defenders that are above average ball handlers, and can shoot the jumper or take the ball to the hoop. They get overshadowed by Harris, but that's because they're smart players and  realize they are playing with a special talent, and he must always be their first option. But as Brentwood and a long list of other teams have found, options 2 through 6 aren't bad either! Here are their stats from the Brentwood game: Harris had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Aurrichio13 points,  21 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks, and John Conneely had 8 points, 10 assists, 7 steals, and 6 rebounds. Now what about Brentwood? No need to worry. They're

a young, talented team, and without a doubt, a preseason top 5 team next season.                   2/26

   2nd Half Rally Carries Uniondale

Sometimes you're just not hitting your shots, and Uniondale wasn't in the first half of their Nassau Class AA Semifinal game. Give Farmindale's defense credit, but with only 16 first half points, you know even their open looks weren't falling. But after the intermission, the Knights came out of the locker room with renewed conviction, and found their shooting stroke somewhere along the way too.  Trailing 24-16 as the 3th quarter got underway, John Wigfall and Justin Brown led Uniondale to a 37 point second half and 53-46 come from behind win over a tough Farmingdale team.  Wigfall pumped up the intensity level for the Knights, playing underneath with great energy and determination, while  Brown caught fire, racking up 15 second half points.  Farmindale didn't go quietly however, matching their intensity  and holding off the top seeded Knights until mid way through the 4th quarter.                           2/24

  Chaminade Takes Catholic Title

Chaminade got all they could handle from Holy Trinity, holding off the Titan's big 4th quarter for 58-56 win. With the win, the young Flyers team clinched the top seed in the NSCHSAA playoffs.                                        2/24

   South Side Eliminates Floral Park

South Side is a junior dominated team, but they're not willing to wait until next year. They advanced to the Nassau County/Section 8 Class A Championship game by defeating 2nd seeded Floral Park 63-59, despite the heroics of Billy and Brandin Butler. South Side moved right out to the lead as things got underway, with back to back three pointers by Idris Alford's giving them a 16-6 advantage  Two free throws by Floral Park's Armsley Ulysse, and it was 18-10 at the end of the first quarter. Michal Klek's hook shot in the lane made it 25-18 with 1:30 to go in the half, and Billy Butler's three pointer from straight away moved Floral Park within 4, but Brendan Meehan's baseline cut at the buzzer made it 30-23 South Side at the half.  Jesse Winter opened the second half with a basket on a hard drive, but Billy Butler answered right back on a drive of his own and added two free throws to make it 32-27. Alford's looping shot as he cut across the lane put South Side up 38-28, and then Joe Vastola's basket from underneath gave the Cyclone a 12 point lead with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, but back to back three pointers by Brandin Butler and it was a 6 point game. Mike McDerby's basket from the baseline put South Side back up by 10 as the quarter ended. Ulysse scored from down low  for Floral Park to start the 4th quarter, and Billt Buller hit two free throws, and the Knights were back within 6 at the start of the 4th quarter. It was Butler again with 6:39 to go, hitting two more free throws to cut the deficit to 4, but Alex Cotsalas hit two on the other end and it was 50-44. Brandin Butler scored on a putback, and Ulysse scored from down low to make it 50-48 with 5:30 to go, but Alford's pull up jumper at the 4:30 Mark gave the Cyclones a 6 point lead.  A three pointer at the 1:49  mark by Billy Butler made it 60-57, but Winter's free throws with 43 seconds to go put South Side up by 5.

Butlers drive down the lane cut it to 3, but there were only 28 seconds remaining and the Knights would get no closer.                                                        2/23

      Jericho Hammers Westbury

Jericho was patient and methodical on offense, controlled the boards, and their shooters - particularly Justin Resnick - were red hot. The result was the complete domination of a young and talented Westbury team in the Nassau Class A Semifinals. Final score 90-47, and that was with the bench playing the entire 4th quarter.                                                                  2/23

St. Dominic Slips By St. Anthony's

Paul Bilbo's three point play with four seconds to go gave #10 St. Dominic a dramatic 63-60 win over #12 St. Anthony's.  The Bayhawks now await the results of Chaminade's game Sunday at 3PM at Holy Trinity. With a win, the Flyers will lock up the NSCHSAA regular season title                                                             2/23

 

        CM Upsets Southampton

Its hard to say a team as good as Center Moriches upsets anyone, but top seeded and 13th ranked Southampton had beaten them twice during the season, and the Red Devils were missing starting big man Michael Scott, so their 83-76 win for the Suffolk/Section 11 Class B title was more than a surprise.  The game itself was terrific. The two talented teams raced up and down the court, hitting acrobatic layups and knocking down three pointers the whole game. The lightning pace seemed to favor the Mariners who have a much deeper bench, but the well conditioned Red Devils, who had run out of gas in a similar game against St. Anthony's early in the season, were more than able to keep up. Both teams started the game red hot, and the points quickly piled up on both sides . It was 26 all at the end of the first quarter, and the second quarter began at the same clip, although the Southampton shooters cooled off a bit, while CM's did not. Thomas Rowland kicked things off with a three pointer, and Jordan Ward-Adams scored on a spinning move down the lane to make it 31-28 CM. A long range three pointer and a fast break layup by Rowland pushed the lead to 38-30, and then Rowland knocked down another three a few moments later from the left corner for a 41-32 lead. DeAngelo Smith scored from underneath and Anthony Reddick knocked down two free throws to keep Southampton close, and then a steal and fast break layup by Troy Pender brought the Mariners within four. Alex Snead weaved his way through traffic to put CM ahead 46-40, and that was the score at the half. Rowland and CM struck first in the 2nd half, as the senior took a pass at the foul line and swept to the basket for two, but Pender answered right back with a jumper from the left side for Southampton. Rowland's free throws put the Red Devils up nine with 5:17 to go in the quarter, and then he followed them with a fast break layup to make it 56-45, but a basket by Smith brought the lead back to single digits. A putback and baseline jumper off an inbound play by Jonathan Ward- Adams put CM up 15 with 2:30 to go, but a Donald Williams three pointer closed out the scoring in the 3rd, bringing the Mariners within 12. DeAngelo Smith, who seemed to hit a key basket every time he scored, got another one to start the 4th quarter when he put back a missed shot to bring Southampton within 10, but a traditional three point play by Snead and CM had an imposing 13 point lead. Southampton came right back though. A steal and dunk by Jerry Hart cut the Red Devil lead to 7 with 5:40 to go in the game, and then Smith scored again from underneath to make it 70-64 with 3:52 to go. Pender pulled up in the lane to bring the Mariners within 5, and then it was Smith from Underneath to make it 74-70. Jordan Ward-Adams took the heat off for a moment, going coast to coast  for a 6 point Red Devil lead, but Pender put it right back on, drawing Southampton back within striking distance with two free throws in the one and one. Then Kyrin Miller knocked down a huge jumper with 1:40 to go in the game, and Southampton was within two. But it was not to be for the Mariners. With a chance to tie or take the lead, they  turned the ball over with 56 seconds to go, and Jonathan Ward Adams took advantage, breaking free for a layup to make it 80-76. Three free throws later,  and Center Moriches had pulled off the upset and was on their way to a 83-76 win and a spot in the Long Island Class B Championship Game    2/22

        CM Defeats BBP In Thriller

Jeffrey Kanas put back a missed shot at the buzzer to give Center Moriches a thrilling 58-56 win over Bayport-Blue Point in the Suffolk County Class B Semifinals. CM was on their game right from the tap. Senior Alex Snead opened the scoring with a three pointer, and it was quickly 12-2 Red Devils on a steal and basket by Thomas Rowland. Jim Wentz hit a short jumper to bring BBP within six, and Miles Prendergast scored from underneath to make it 12-10, but a Jordan Ward-Adams three pointer gave CM a 15-12 lead as the quarter came to an close. Robby Ptacek's fast break layup made it a one point game as the second quarter got underway, and Prendergast scored on a putback to give the Phantoms their first lead.  Back to back baskets by Mark Koelbel and a putback by Billy Ray made it 26-19 Bayport, but six straight points by CM, including a nice steal and basket by Snead, and it was a one point game again. Prendergast scored again to get Bayport back on a roll, and Koelbel's basket put them up 31-23 at the half. It was Koelbel again as the 2nd half got underway, snaring a long rebound and scoring to put Bayport up by ten, but Jonathan Ward Adams hit his 2nd three pointer of the quarter at the 3:05 mark and CM had drawn within three. Snead followed it with another three from the right corner to tie it 37 all with 2:35 to go, and then Ward Adams connected  again to give  them a three point lead. The Phantoms surged right back on top with back to back fast break buckets by Reid Drzal and Ptacek, but Rowland buried another three pointer for the Red Devils and they had a two point lead at the end of three. Prendergast's two free throws were the first points of the 4th quarter, and they tied the score at 43, but the three point barrage continued as Snead spotted up at the arc and knocked another one down. Koelbel tied it at 46 with a half hook shot from underneath, and then gave BBP the lead with a short jumper in the lane.  Drzal followed it up with a basket down low to make it 50-46 Phantoms with 2:55 to go in the game. CM got back into it on a tough play by Snead, who powered up a shot from under the basket surrounded by Bayport's towering front line, scoring and drawing the foul. He converted the three point play to bring CM within one. Koelbel knocked down two free throws with 2:34 to go, but after a Red Devil free throw, Jonathan Ward Adams nailed another three from the right corner to put CM into the lead with 1:18 to go, and then brother Jordan Ward-Adams snuck in behind the defense and scored and CM was up by three. Koelbel wasted no time getting the Phantoms back within one on a fast break basket, but Snead's free throw and the Red Devils were now up by two with just 34 seconds to go. The Phantoms worked the ball around until Prendergast found Koelbel down low , and he tied it with 16 seconds remaining. CM quickly called time.  They inbounded the ball and worked it into corner, where they had found numerous opportunities against the BBP zone, but BBP came out of the time out in man to man, so instead of launching a three, Jordan Ward-Adams exploded to the hoop.  The defense converged as he lofted up a tough shot up under pressure that rolled off right into the hands of Kanas, who easily put it back in for the victory as the buzzer sounded.                                                 2/18

    VSC Can't Handle Tiger Press

Hempstead pulled away from Valley Stream Central for a 62-45 first round playoff win. A suffocating press and timely shooting by Terrell Williams were the difference.

The Tigers started pressing right from the start, and although it was effectice, they weren't hitting their shots on the offensive end and that resulted in a low scoring 6-5 first quarter. Williams got things going in the 2nd quarter with a three pointer for a 10-7 lead, and he followed that with another three and Hempstead was up 13-7. With 4:25 to go in the half, Williams broke free for another three pointer and it was 18-11. VSC cut it to 20-17 on a beautiful reverse layup by John Akiyemi, but a three pointer by Marquis Chestnut  and two free throws by Curtis Bostic gave Hempstead a 9 point lead at the half. Chestnut kicked off the second half with a looping shot from the lane to make it 30-19, and then he scored from underneath for a 13 point lead. Akiyemi's jumper brought Central within 5, but a basket by Wiliams with just under 4 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter and Hempstead was back up by 10. They led by 9 at the end of three. Najee Jeremiah put back a missed shot to open the 4th quarter and give the Tigers an 11 point lead, and a fast break dunk by Jihad Caesar and a jumper by Chestnut and it was 49-34.  Jeremiah scored from underneath to make it 51-34 with 5:30 to go in the game, and VSC never got closer than 11 down the stretch.                                     2/14

                          Games of 2/13

North Babylon came from out of nowhere to take the League 3 title with a come from behind road win over Copiague. The Bulldogs, who had been lurking just off the pace most of the season, picked up their 5th straight win to tie Copiague and East Islip for 1st place and were awarded the top seed on a tiebreaker. Chris Welsh finished with 30 points for North Babylon, and Jamaal Avery had 26, including the game winner.........

West Islip grabbed a playoff spot with a 50-42 win over Central Islip.......Riverhead snapped out of their slump just in time to save themselves a playoff spot with a big 92-83 win over Deer Park......Kings Park put up a valiant fight, but did not qualify for the playoffs after losing to Hills West 54-49.......Ward Melville denied Sachem East a playoff spot with a 59-57 win...... Connetquot is in the playoffs, thanks to a 64-55 win over Commack....

       Brentwood By A Free Throw

Longwood got hot from the arc as time ticked down, and Brentwood went cold from the line, and suddenly, what appeared to be a comfortable win for Brentwood became a close game with a  dramatic finish. Fortunately for the Indians, the thing that got them in trouble in the first place -  repeatedly hitting only one out of two free throws - ended up saving them. Jean Chery hit what turned out to be the winning shot on his second attempt , giving Brentwood an insurmountable four point lead with 7.7 seconds remaining. Another Longwood three brought the Lions within one, but that's the way it would end.  72-71 Brentwood. 

The game got off on a frantic foot, with both teams playing very aggressively and trying to push the ball on every possession. But nobody had a clear advantage, and at the end of the first quarter, it was 16-14 Brentwood. The Indians looked like they might take control as the second quarter got underway. Jean Chery hit a three pointer off an inbound play to make it 26-21, and then a short while later, JJ Moore hit another three and Kendall Harris drove the baseline, and Brentwood was up 31-23.  But a putback by Kevin Allen, and a steal and fastbreak layup by Kris Kelly and Longwood was within four at the break. Marcus Hunter put back a miss to start the 2nd half, bringing Longwood within two, and the Lions took a 33-31 lead on a fast break lay-up by James Knudsen, but Moore tied it at 33 on a putback, and the teams exchanged baskets until less than a minute to play in the 3rd quarter, when an incredible sequence occurred. Within thirteen seconds time, Brentwood scored 6 straight points as Cherry went to the line and knocked down two free throws for a four point Brentwood lead, then stole the inbound pass and scored for a six point lead, and then Tyrell Quinenchette stole the following inbound pass and scored, and in an instant, Brentwood was up 8 and the 3rd quarter was over. If it had been a prize fight, the referee would have given Longwood a standing eight count. They remained on their feet however, even though Brentwood maintained their lead deep into the 4th quarter, and looked to put the game away in the closing minutes. Moore followed up a missed free throw with a basket to put the Indians up 61-50, and then hit 1 of 2 free throws of his own and put back another miss for a 13 point lead with 1:50 to go in the game. But instead of folding, Longwood responded with a shooting spree, and after every basket, they would send Brentwood to the line for free throws. The strategy paid off, as the Indians hit 1 of 2 every time down the stretch. Knudsen's three pointer with 22 seconds remaining cut the lead to 5, and Kelly's three pointer cut it to 3, but then Chery went to the line with only 7.7 seconds remaining. He missed his first, and time out was called, but after the time out, he buried the second for a four point lead and the game                         2/11

                  Games Of 2/5/08

Copiague stayed in the hunt for a Suffolk League 3 title with a 55-45 win over Smithtown West. They remain 1/2 a game behind East Islip, who won 52-40 on the road at Centereach......Southampton and Center Moriches both moved to 10-1 in conference heading into their big showdown this Friday at Center Moriches. Southampton beat a good Port Jefferson team 65-60, while CM had to come from behind to beat a solid Hampton Bays team 70-63 on the road......Center Moriches outscored Hampton Bays 24 -10 in the 4th to come up with a 70 - 63 win. Sr. Alex Snead & Jr. Jordan Ward-Adams combined for 19pts of CM 24pts in the 4th. .........

                   Games Of 2/4/08

In a rare game against a Long Island team, Our Savior New American raced out to a 27-12 1st quarter lead, and then put the game away with a 27-14 3rd quarter for a convincing 101-71 win over Upper Room. Gerardo Suero had 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists for OSNA, while Victor Holder had 32 for Upper Room.... All three contenders in Nassau AA2 kept pace, with leader Great Neck South coming from behind and then holding off Long Beach 68-64, Valley Stream Central defeating Syosset 84-59, and  Bellmore handling Freeport 77-62.......Hicksvelle needed an Ike Ogbonna free throw to nick Mepham 43-42 and stay unbeaten....Great Neck North held on to 1st in Nassau ABC2 with a 49-32 win over Manhasset. Ben Dorman had 20 points and 10 rebounds........Mineola kept their grip on Nassau ABC4 with a 49-29 drilling of New Hyde Park....Wheatley rallied back in regulation and beat Division in double overtime, knocking them out of a 1st place tie with Cold Spring Harbor and Plainedge in Nassau ABC 5.

                        Games Of 2/1/08

On the road, Greenport crushed previously unbeaten Stony Brook by a score of 62-35. The Porters are now alone in 1st place in Suffolk League 8........South Side is gearing up for the playoffs, picking up a big 67-65 win over Malverne for their 3rd win in their last 4 games..... After a lackluster stretch that saw them drop out of the #1 ranking on Long Island despite remaining unbeaten,  Walt Whitman is rounding into playoff form, first beating highly regarded Bay Shore, and then racking up three sizable wins in a row, the most recent a 79-48 thrashing of Connetquot behind 22 points and 14 rebounds by Kyheem Green.........Huntington has reeled off 4 straight wins.......Hewlett gave Great Neck North their first league loss, holding on for a 68-67 win....

     Long Island vs New York City

Through the month of January, Long Island's lead is now at a record +15 games over New York City in head to head match-ups between the two regions.  We haven't projected forward yet, but since NYC teams don't participate in the Public School State Championships, we're pretty confident that Long Island has clinched the season series. Its been a fascinating experiment, and to be honest, we were expecting it to be closer than everybody thought it would be, but we really didn't expect Long Island to win, and certainly not by a commanding margin! It ain't over till it's over though, so stay tuned! 

                 Games Of 1/30/08

Great Neck South drew even with Bellmore in Nassau AA2, defeating the Cougars 69-64 despite 35 points from Nick Taldi.......Malverne fell two games behind first place Jericho in ABC1 with a loss to Floral Park.........

                Games of 1/29/08

LuHi continues to impress, jumping out to 50-24 halftime lead over Chaminade and cruising to victory..... Hicksville improved to 8-0,11-3 with a 47-42 win over Oceanside.....Bellport, playing their best ball of the season, crushed 2nd place Deer Park 76-46.......Cold Spring Harbor stayed alive in the race for a playoff birth in Nassau Conference V with a win over 1st place Division......After playing the league leaders tough, but falling just short, Patchogue-Medford finally got over the top with a big 73-66 win over 1st place Longwood........ St. John The Baptist snapped out of their funk, rallying for 70-59 win over St. Mary's after trailing by double digits......Great Neck North held off Roosevelt to improve to 8-0 in Nassau ABC2.......Mike Romanelli continued his tear, leading Jericho to 8-0 in Nassau ABC1 with 20 points and 8 assists in a 70-42 win over Island Trees.

       St. Dom's Holds Off Judges

Several of Long Island's better teams have been hit by the injury bug this season, missing key performers for long stretches. St. Dominic was one of them, but now the Bayhawks are healthy and just starting to round into midseason form. They took on Cordozo, one of the  PSAL's top teams according to some polls, and came away with a solid 73-67 win. St. Dom's jumped all over the Judges at the start, leading by as many as 19 points, but Cordozo got back in the game when Bayhawk big man Paul Bilbo got into foul trouble and the Judges were able to go inside. The shooting of Dan Kenny and Brian Katz held them off  though, and when Cordozo pulled within 4 as time wound down, St. Dom's hit all their free throws down the stretch to ice the win. Kenny finished 26 points, and Katz 19.                         1/27

              LI/NYC 3-3 At Crotty

Very sorry, but the people that run the Crotty Classic do not provide us with any  information whatsoever, so we thought winless Carey had been replaced in the line-up by Massapequa, who we did not show as a participant. That is not so. Carey did play, and played well, losing to St. John's Prep 42-40. So that means the 73-67 win by St. Dominic tied the match-ups between the two regions in the event at 3-3, and kept Long Island's lead at +13 for the season. In other games, Long Island Lutheran beat Xaverian 59-43, while Kellenberg rolled over Bayside 66-46 to join St. Dom's in the winners column. Bishop Ford squeaked by Massapequa 60-54, and Archbishop Molloy beat St. Mary's 78-54 to join Carey on the losing side. By the way, if anybody out there has an email address or phone number for the organizers of the Crotty Classic, please send it to us. We would love to help them promote the event, which nobody on Long Island seems to be aware of, even though it is now played at Hofstra. We would also be glad to offer some advice on choosing the Long island participants, since expertise on both NYC and LI basketball is rare, and whoever chooses the teams seems to have better knowledge of NYC ball. Of the 6 Long Island teams participating, only 2 had winning records going into the event. We have to say though that we were proud of all of them. With a break here and there, it could easily have been 5-1 Long Island.

   Impressive Win For St. Dominic

The St. Dominic Bayhawks rode a strong performance by center Paul Bilbo to a convincing 67-54 win over St. Anthony's.  Bilbo was at his best, particularly in the first quarter when he  took it to the very capable St. Anthony's big men, scoring, rebounding, and blocking shots. Yet after the Bayhawks had moved out to an 11 point lead, St. Anthony's rallied back and it was 19-15 at the end of the 1st quarter. St. Dominic rebuilt their lead  in the 2nd quarter and were up by 11 once again after two Dan Kenny free throws, but there was no rally this time and 11 was the margin at the half.  A Brian Katz fast break layup with 4:50 to go in the 3rd quarter made it 39-27 St. Dom's, but Chris Jimenez cut it to 6 on a three pointer with 20 seconds to go in the quarter. Katz opened the 4th quarter with a three pointer for the Bayhawks,  and after a Friar basket by Jon Francois, hit another three and it was a 10 point St. Dom's lead. A Bilbo putback widened the lead to 12, but when Francois ducked under two defenders and scored, he brought St. Anthony's back within 8. A Jimenez three pointer cut it to 7 with 4 minutes remaining, but two nice defensive plays and two free throws by St. Dom's George Jackson gave them a 10 point lead, and a driving layup by PJ Walters and they were up by 12 with 2:30 to go.                                                               1/25

       Whitman Takes Round One

In a battle for 1st place in Suffolk League II, undefeated and #2 ranked Walt Whitman pulled away down the stretch to hand #6 Bay Shore their first league loss by a final score of 63-55. Both teams were a little tentative and turnover prone at the start, with Whitman taking a small lead and Bay Shore drawing even as the first quarter wound down.  Bay Shore's Barry Ingram got things rolling with a three pointer to start the 2nd quarter, and Jordan Allen added a reverse layup and the Marauders were up 16-11.  Kyheem Green then went to work for Walt Whitman, scoring on a driving layup, hitting a short jumper off an inbound play, nailing a baseline jumper, putting back a missed shot, and then dunking a missed shot and when he was done, it was 25-21 Wildcats. Two free throws by Allen made it a two point game at the half. Brandon Turner tied it up when he rebounded a missed shot and scored to start the 2nd half, and a three point play by Marcus Damas gave Bay Shore a 30-26 lead.Hanif Malloy then put back his own shot, and Nick Barrotta scored on the break for Whitman and it was 30 all. Malloy's two free throws put Whitman up 36-33 with 1:44 to go in the 3rd, but the lead was only one as the quarter came to a close. Bay Shore went back ahead 41-40 on a Hucks putback to start the final quarter, and then Hucks scored again to make it 43-40 with 5:40 to go, but CJ Humphries tied it up at 43 with a three, and Malloy  put Whitman ahead by four with two free throws and a fast break layup. Green hit a pull up jumper from the foul line for a 6 point lead, and after a Bay Shore free throw, Humphries scored to make it 51-44 with 3:10 remaining.  John Mills hit two free throws to stretch Whitman's lead to 9, but back to back baskets by Hucks and it was 53-48 with just over 2 minutes to go in the game. Barrotta looped one up from underneath over outstretched arms for a 7 point lead, and then Green added a free throw, but Turner kept Bay Shore alive with a baseline jumper to cut it to 6 with 1:25 to go. Malloy hit two free throws to put the lead at 8 again, and then a free throw by Mills and a layup by Barrotta and it was Whitman's game.       1/24

  Hills West Over All Hallows

Hills West didn't bring their A game to the city with them, but their B game was enough to beat All Hallows 57-46.  The Colts got on top early, leading 18-14 at the end of one, but fell behind briefly in the 2nd quarter. Steve Rollino's three pointer tied it 24, and a steal and fast break basket by John Conneely and they were quickly back on top. Mike Meglio's basket from underneath gave them an 8 point lead, and that's the lead they took into the locker room. Tobias Harris opened the 3rd quarter with a pull up jumper on the baseline, and followed it with a putback of a missed shot for a 12 point lead. A free throw by Will Hennep gave West their biggest lead at 43-30, and it was 43-33 at the end of three. Back to back fast break hoops by All Hallows cut the lead to six early in the 4th quarter, but a Rollino three pointer made it 49-40 with 5:11 to go. The Gaels battled back again, cutting it to five on two free throws, but Harris responded with a baseline drive, Hennep hit a jumper from the right side, and then Harris pulled up in the lane and the game was theirs.                   1/21

  Long Beach Rallies Past Freeport

Dashaun Moye and Brian O'Toole scored 20 of Long Beach's 22 points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 43-37 third quarter deficit and defeat Freeport 59-54.  Moye had 25 of his 33 in the second half.  O'toole had 9 of his 11 in the fourth quarter.  Moye finished with 33 points and 12 rebounds shooting 15 of 20 from the field.  Shamir Wilkinson had 14 points for Freeport.  Though only scoring 1 point, Corey Lovrich for LB had 13 rebounds to help Moye inside.                               1/18

Whitman Defeats W.I. Without Green

Hanif Malloy led Walt Whitman to a 48-37 win over West Islip, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Whitman played without star Kyheem Green.     1/18 08

                 Games of 1/18/08

Longwood kept pace with Lindenhurst in Suffolk League I with a hard fought 69-62 victory over Brentwood.... Anthony Brown hit a  three-pointer at the buzzer in double overtime to carry Huntington past Sayville 59-58......St. Dominic pulled away from Kellenberg 69-54 with a 29-16 fourth quarter.....Anthony Porcelli scored with 7 seconds on the clock to give Wantagh a 54- 53 win over Valley Stream South...Mike Romanelli had 8 three pointers for the second time this season and Matt Cajuste picked up his 1000th career point as Jericho rocked West Hempstead 74-34...........

        Chaminade Takes Uniondale

It was #7 versus #8, so you'd expect a close game, and it turned out to be one as Chaminade held on to defeat Uniondale 55-53. Chaminade started the game off well, with junior Sean Wildes getting to the rim with ease and the Flyers running good half court offense to lead the Knights 14-8 at the end of the first quarter.  The Knights made some adjustments on the Flyers motion offense and forced them to take more outside shots, but .  senior John Orr continued his hot shooting from the night before and the Flyers were able to extend their lead to 31-20 at the half.  Uniondale responded with a surge in the third quarter, getting to the rim and crashing the offensive glass, and at the end of three it was the Flyers leading 43-37.  In the 4th quarter,  the Knights made a furious comeback and pulled within one, but Matt Johnson stepped up and made tough shot after shot for the Flyers With 1:30 left, he hit a a 10 footer to push the score to 55-50.  The Knights responded with a three pointer to come within 55-53, but Chaminade got some key defensive stops and held on for the win. Justin Brown spearheaded Uniondale's attack and finished with 17 points, while Johnson led the Flyers with 15 points and 7 assists and Sean Wildes had 11 points and 8 rebounds                                1/16

Lindenhurst Rocks Sachem North

Lindenhurst is looking good these days, making a reappearance in the Sweet Sixteen as they continue to rack up impressive wins. The latest featured a 49-21 first half blitz of Sachem North en route to a 82-59 victory. It was Chris Johnson leading four Bulldog double digit scorers with 29 points.                   1/15

  St. Anthony's Bullies Chaminade

Chaminade couldn't stop St. Anthony's big man Shahab Syed, who registered a game-high 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in leading the Friars to a wire to wire 59-39 win. Chris Jimenez improves with every game, and finished with 13 points.                                  1/15

  Bay Shore Shakes Northport Jinx

Seems like every year, Bay Shore loses to Northport at Northport. Barry Ingram wouldn't hear it this season. The junior point guard led the Mauraders to a 74-55 road win, scoring 20 points and handing out 10 assists. Booker Hooks had another good game, finishing with 19 points and 9 rebounds.                                         1/15

  Uniondale Doing It With Defense

Usually, Uniondale teams feature a powerful offense with a variety of options, but this year's team is getting it done with defense. They moved to 5-1 in conference with a 50-40 win over Elmont. Their opponents are averaging just 43 points a game in their 8 wins.  1/14.

OSNA Falls/Leek Leaves School

Reeling from the defection of star player Leek Leek, Our Savior New American lost a heart breaking game to Life Center Academy from Burlington New Jersey. Life Center hit a three point shot from the right corner with 5 seconds to go to put them ahead by the score of 77-76. Our Savior called time out and drew up a play to get the ball to superstar guard Gerardo Suero. Suero got the ball and went coast to coast dribbling through the Life Center press. He went to the basket with the clock winding down and several defenders draped on him, layed up the ball and it rolled around the rim before not going in. Suero was dynamite all night long scoring a game high 36 points while facing double and triple teams. Sophomore Ishaq Pitt contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds for Our Savior while Jr. Rayner Moquete added 14 points.  Life Center was led by Staten Island sophomore Derrick William's 27 points and 13 rebounds. Our Savior falls to 11-3 and  faces Sol Johnson HS from Savannah GA in the Primetime Shootout in Atlanta. Leek Leek and his bother apparently have withdrawn from the school, but no details are known.                                                  1/12

    Chaminade Downs Doms

With Chaminade leading by one and less than a minute to play, Sean Wides scored on a baseline cut, and then Dan Divietri hit two free throws to put the Flyers up 5 with 28 seconds to go, and they held on for a big 54-51 win over St. Dominic. The Bayhawks had a chance to tie, but a tough shot from the corner did not fall. You could tell right from the onset that it was going to be a hard fought game. The sound of sneakers squeaking filled St. Dom's gym from the opening tap and didn't let up till the final buzzer. Chaminade grabbed the early lead, with Daniel Textor's three pointer putting them up 9-3, but a reverse lay-up by George Jackson tied it at nine. Paul Bilbo powered up a shot from underneath, and then spun to the basket for another two and it was 15-11 St. Dom's, but Divietry pulled up and hit a short jumper and it was tied it at 20 with just over three minutes to go in the half. The Bayhawks were up four after Jackson's fastbreak layup, and finished the half with a 29-23 lead on Bilbo's jumper from the foul line. Divietry tied it at 29 on a three pointer early in the 3rd quarter, and again at 31 on a looping drive down the lane, but back to back baskets by Brian Katz gave St. Dominic a four point cushion. PJ Walter drove the right side of the lane to put the Bayhawks up six, but back to back three pointers by Textor tied it at 37 with 1:20 to go in the 3rd, and Chris Dooley's two free throws put Chaminade up two as the quarter came to a close. Textor for three again, and the Flyers were up five to start the 4th, but a basket and two free throws by Katz and St. Doms was up one with 5:26 remaining. A short jumper by Dooley in the lane put Chaminade back on top, and Divietry hit two free throws for a three point lead, but Walters responded by drawing the foul and hitting two free throws of his own to make it a one point game. After a Chaminade free throw, Katz tied it at 49 all when he pulled up for a jumper in the lane, but Chaminade went back ahead on a free throw by Matthew Johnson, and that's when Wides made his move down the baseline.                                 1/11/08

  LuHi Squanders Lead; Holds On

Long Island Lutheran methodically built a 58-33 third quarter lead with good defense, solid board work, and great patience on offense, only to see it all but disappear on an Adelphi Academy run that brought them within 5 with 2:08 remaining in the game. But a clutch three pointer by Matt Rooney broke the run, and then four straight free throws in the one and one by Jeriel Henriquez,  and LuHi was able to hold on for a 73-63 victory.                                                              1/6/08

       OSNA Over Boys Club Of NY

Our Savior New American captured the Our Savior New American Invitational championship by defeating a very tough Boys Club of New York team 63-58. Our Savior was led by tournament MVP 6'6" junior Leek Leek who had 13 points 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.  The best block came at a key point in the second half when the Boys Club made a run at Our Savior. Leek went up against 6'7" Sammy Obetoh who looked like he had an easy dunk until Leek Leek grabbed the ball out of his hands right near the rim. Our Savior was missing their leading scorer Gerardo Suero, who averages 30 ppg). The slack was picked up by soph Ishaq Pitt with 13 pts, jr Rayner Moquette with 10 pts and outstanding freshmen Deng Leek with 9 pts. Our Savior had only 8 players available to them for the tournament because of injuries and illness. Our Savior New American is 10-2 on the season and plays next Friday at home at 4:30 pm against the Master's School from Simsbury CT with UMass recruit David Gibbs.                                    1/5

Longwood 69, Patchogue-Med 65 

It looked like it was going to be the Marcus Stroman show, as Pat Med's star drilled shot after shot, even with defenders draped all over him, to put Pat-Med up 37-29 at the half.  However, the third quarter was all about Longwood junior Anthony Cavaluzzo.  The smallest player on the court for either team, he scored 18 points in the 3rd quarter alone (including 4 three's), outscoring Pat-Med all by himself, and Longwood now led 55-48 after three (a 15-point swing).  After drilling another three early in the 4th, Pat-Med finally clamped down on Cavaluzzo, and that's when 6'5" forward Marcus Hunter took over.  Though a defensive presence for the entire game with 11 blocked shots, he was virtually non-existent offensively, largely in part to Cavaluzzo's shooting, until the 4th quarter.  Hunter's late buckets and free throws helped seal the Longwood win after a three by Pat-Med's Erol Stone had knotted it at 65 all.  That was the last time that Pat-Med would score.  Cavaluzzo finished with 31 points, Hunter had 10, and Kevin Allen added 18 for Longwood.  Stroman finished with 20 for Pat Med.  Unsung hero for Longwood was guard Kris Kelly, who contained Stroman defensively in the second half.  Stone had a great game for Pat-Med, scoring 26 points.                                                 1/5/08

       Uniondale Rally Falls Short

#13 Baldwin grabbed the lead in the 3rd quarter after trailing at the half and held on for a 69-68 win over #3 Uniondale. The Bruins were up 10 with about 3 minutes to go. Nick Thomas hit 6 big free throws for Baldwin down the stretch. Chris Manning had another terrific game with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists  1/4/08

                Games Of 1/3/08

Vinny Russo completed a Sayville comeback by nailing a three pointer to tie it in regulation, and then Sayville went on to a 69-64 OT win over Eastport SM. Russo finished with 30 points...... Trailing 0-5 Northport 11-6, #1 Walt Whitman went on a 24-0 run and never looked back, defeating the Tigers 55-37. Hanif Malloy led Whitman with 17 points......Longwood held Sachem East to 13 second half points en route to 61-40 victory. Kyle Weeks led Longwood with 13 points.........Kamil Parzych returned to the Lindenhurst line-up and picked up a tripple double, scoring 17 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. Teammate Chris Johnson scored 36 points and the Lindenhurst defense held William Floyd to just 13 points in the first half. The result was a 78-47 victory......... #10 Bay Shore came from behind to defeat Central Islip 60-58. CI held Booker Hucks to just 8 points.........Hills West started the game on a 17-1 first quarter run and cruised to a 65-45 win over Smithtown West.  Tobias Harris had 29 points,11 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Alex Aurrichio dominated the inside with 8 points,15 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 blocks.............Islip battled #6 East Hampton from buzzer to buzzer before dropping a 76-74 decision.......Senior Jon Selby iced the game for Hills East with 2

free throws with 13 seconds to put his team up by 4.  Senior Keenen Chisholm was on fire from downtown hitting 4-5 for 3 on his way to a career high 17 points(he hit 5 three pointers for 15 points last season at home against the same smithtown east team which was his previous high). Senior Chris Minor provided the toughness down low by snatching 11 rebounds to go along with his 6 points. Nick Travers had 18 for Smithtown East including 4 three pointers.

  East Hampton Handles Riverhead

Riverhead is off to a good start this season, and was starting to get a Sweet 16 vote here and there, but they hadn't really been tested yet. Well, they got their first serious test of the year at The Eastern Suffolk Officials Tournament, and the results were mixed. In fairness, their opponent, East Hampton,  has proven that they are one of Long Island's top teams - even without Mike Russell. But for Riverhead to also be considered a top team, they needed to at least give them a good game, and for the most part they didn't. They kept it close for a quarter, and then Marcus Edwards, Jerome Russell, and Hayden Ward took over and the Bonackers steadily pulled away. Final score, East Hampton 63, Riverhead 46. In retrospect, what seemed like a potential disaster for East Hampton - Mike Russell's suspension - is turning into a blessing. His teammates are all stepping up and learning to be "go to" players, and when he returns, they will be formidable indeed!. Riverhead has a ways to go, but the season is young and they do seem to have potential. A win tonight over Bayport-Blue Point in the consolation game would be a big fist step. 12/29

  Whitman Over Uniondale By Six !

#3 Walt Whitman met #4 Uniondale in the final of the Frank Gugliotta Tournament at Whitman, and after slugging it out for 4 quarters, Whitman came away with a 63-57 victory. The two big men - Whitman's Kyheem Green and Raenard Reid from Uniondale - took turns dominating the game, but it was Hanif Malloy from Whitman that was the difference. His passing and scoring were the perfect complement to Green, and nobody from Uniondale could match him.  The game started out as the Kyheem Green show, with the athletic Green dazzling the crowd with an assortment of speed, power, and skill. But it was five straight points by Molloy that gave Whitman a three point lead heading into the 2nd quarter. The teams played mostly even in the 2nd,  and Whitman led by four at the break. Green had 16 of his team's 30 points. Back to back hoops by Reid tied it at 34 all with 3:40 to go in the third quarter, and after a Malloy basket, Reid tied it again at 36. Green swept across the lane to put Whitman back up by two, and as the quarter wound down, Molloy hit two free throws and Green scored at the buzzer and suddenly Whitman was up by eight. They kept it going as the 4th quarter got underway. Billie Joyce and Green both scored coming off screens, and John Mills scored on a putback to make it 52-38 Whitman with 5 minutes to go in the game. James Ockimey's jumper broke the run, but Whitman struck right back. Malloy scored on a drive and drew the foul, and a technical foul was also called on the play. Malloy hit two of the three free throws to put Whitman up 56-40 with 4:34 to go. Moment of truth time for Uniondale. Reid hit two free throws, put back a miss, and Ockimey hit two free throws, and followed those with a three pointer, and the lead was down to eight with 2:25 to go. Everything had to go right for the Knights at this point with time running out, but Nick Barrotta  scored a big basket for Whitman on a baseline cut, putting them up ten with just 1:30 to go. Two free throws by Steven Johnson in the 1 and 1 kept Uniondale hopes alive, but Green was fouled going to the hoop, and his two free throws iced it for Whitman. John Wigfall scored on a drive, and Reid off an inbound play, but it was too little too late.                          12/28

   Baldwin Easily Over Glen Cove

Baldwin improved to 5-0 with their 85-40 win over Glen Cove in the first round of Baldwin's Holiday tournament.  Derrell Brown had 14 points and seven rebounds, Chris Manning had 10 points, seven assists and six steals. Chris Mauldin had 11 points and 6 steals.  Baldwin plays Lawrence tonight at 8 p.m. for the championship of the Chanee Brown Bruins Holiday Classic at Baldwin.                                                                                 12/27

  East Hampton Stuns Bay Shore

Playing without star Mike Russell, #13 East Hampton defeated #7 Bay Shore 64-62! DETAILS LATER    12/27

        Three More Wins vs NYC

Long Island teams continued to build their lead over New York City Teams in head to head match-ups between the two regions, as Westbury beat

Manhattan Center 63-45, Lawrence beat John Adams 56 - 48, and St. Mary's beat St. Francis Prep 67-42. In the Westbury game, which was part of the Elmcor Classic held at the Louis Armstrong Center in Queens, Travis Troiano scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half to guide Westbury to a 32 to 18 halftime lead. Paris Abrams led the Green Dragons with 17 points and Paul Dail had 5 steals and 7 assists. Westbury, which lost it's opener to Chaminade, has bounced back to win their last 3 in a row.                                                       12/27

   Roosevelt Holds Off Hills East

Roosevelt defeated Half Hollow Hills East by a score of 81-73.  Hills East rallied from a 16 point deficit to cut it to 5 points on 3 pointers from Aknouk, Chisholm, and Selby late in the fourth,  but it wasn't enough.  Roosevelt was led by Jamal White, who finished with  37 points despite Half Hollow's box and 1 defense.  He hit (5) 3's in the 3rd quarter alone. White has been averaging 31.2 points per game for the season.   Steven Nelison added 18 points and 13 rebounds in the first round of the Haggerty Tournament at Chaminade                         12/27

Whitman Dominates Smithown W.

#3 Walt Whitman played the game on cruise control. Smithtown West played hard, and had talent, but they were not in the same league as Whitman. Few teams are. Final score 54-33.                                      12/26

  Bonackers Fall To Southampton

Playing their second game without star Mike Russell, #5 East Hampton could not overcome their biggest rival on the road,  falling to Southampton 67-57. Troy Pender had 21 second half points for Southampton.      12/22

   Brentwood Holds Off Deer Park

Defense and three point shooting sparked a second half rally that carried #16 Deer Park back into the game, but Brentwood held on for a 68-65 victory. Deer Park shot poorly in the first half, and with key players on the bench in foul trouble, they found themselves in a 39-23 halftime hole. But after Kendall Harris opened the second half with a basket for Brentwood, Kenny Quarles caught fire, and his 3rd three pointer of the quarter brought Deer Park within 8. Then a steal and three pointer by Marques Charlton and it was 49-43 at the end of three. Another three by Charlton made it 61-57 with 4:08 left to play, but a big time basket by Harris, slicing across the lane and jump-hooking it in, stopped Deer Park's momentum and made it 64-59 Brentwood with 1:50 to go. Deer Park and Charlton wouldn't let it die though. Charlton nailed another big three, and it was 66-65 with 30 seconds left. Deer Park fouled and sent Marck Pabon to the line, but he proceeded to knock down two huge free throws to give Brentwood a three point lead with just 19 seconds remaining. Deer Park had  their chances as time wound down, but the potential game tying shot was no good and Brentwood had what turned out to be a hard fought win. J.J. Moore finished with 27 points, and Harris finished with 17 for Brentwood. Josh Malone had 25 points for Deer Park and Charlton 18.                                                      12/22

Another Impressive Win For East

Put a star next to the game if you see Sachem East on your schedule. Paul Gallagher hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to carry them to a dramatic 60-57 win over conference favorite Lindenhurst. Add that to wins over Copiague and Kings Park, and you've got one dangerous team on your hands. Gallagher finished with 12 points, and Tom Doherty led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds.                                      12/21

          Freeport Moves To 4- 0

I guess we better start keeping an eye on Freeport. They're 4-0 now after beating a solid Garden City team 53 - 45 on the road. Ryan Rowe was high man with 17 points, and Phillip Hyland had11 points and 8 assists in the win.                                                             12/21

        CM Holds Off Wyandanch

Trailing by two with 40 seconds remaining after a Jonathan Ward-Adams basket gave Center Moriches the lead, Wyandanch had two chances to tie the game and could not convert and CM held on for a big 69-67 victory. Center Moriches was led by Sr. Alex Snead with 25 pts. and 6 assists, and Jr. Jordan Ward-Adams who added 25 pts. Soph Jonathan Ward-Adams finished with 12pts. and 6 assists.                                    12/20

  Roosevelt Defeats W. Hempstead

Roosevelt moved to 3-0 on the season with a 72-67 win over West Hempstead. Jamal White had 45 points in the come from behind victory. Steve Nelison put them ahead 68-67 with less than a minute to play, and White iced it from the free throw line. Because of budget constraints, the Roosevelt program didn't have a Junior Varsity team for two years straight and no middle school basketball up until this year , so the kids in the program have really had to work hard to make up for it and they have. White has become one of the top players on Long Island, and he and fellow senior Brian Taylor, who's averaging 16.3 points and 6 assist so far this season, lead a solid squad with a lot of upside.    12/19

             Glenn Tops Amityville

Two teams that stumbled out of the gate, but are expected to contend for the title in League 6, went at it in Elwood and John Glenn came away with a solid 69-57 home win over Amityville. It was even early on, with Glenn holding a 2 point lead after the 1st quarter, but Phil Izevbehai's three pointer with 4:10 to go in the half gave Glenn a 28-18 lead and the lead was nine going into the locker room. Glenn pushed the lead to eleven a number of times in the third quarter, and it looked like the quarter would end that way when Mack Scott completed a three point play to make the score 47-36 with seconds left in the quarter, but Archie Alexander got off a quick shot at the buzzer that fell through and Glenn's lead was down to eight as the 4th quarter got underway.  A putback by Steve Medard cut the lead to 51-44 with 5:30 left. but layups by Izevbeha and Scott and Glenn was up 12 and on their way to the win.  Scott had a game high 26 points,  Izevbehai 20, and  Sean Kessler 13. Medard led Amityville with 18           12/18

                   Games of 12/17

Levittown Division Defeated Valley Stream North 62-51 behind the 16 point effort from Mike Agunzo. Agunzo had four 3 pointers. Kevin Dexter added 12 points and had 5 rebounds. Bobby Nagelberg added 12 points. Division is 2-1 (1-0) .......With solid team effort Center Moriches held off Longwood in the second half to come up with a 79 to 67 victory. CM, led by Sr. Alex Snead with 19 pts., 5 assists, and 6 boards and Jordan Ward-Adams with 24 pts., 4 assists, and 5 rebounds, fell behind early but finished up strong with the win . Soph. Jonathan Ward-Adams scored 7 straight points in the fourth to seal the victory. He chipped in12 pts., 6 assists, and 4 rebounds .. ... Miller Place 57 Wyandanch 47. For the second game in a row, Miller Place held its opponent to 2 first quarter points as it jumped out to a 16-2 lead. It was their 2nd upset win in a row. They defeated William Floyd Saturday. Derrick Knudsen led all scorers with 19 points, 16 of those in the first half. Miller Place has now won four straight.......SJB, led by Josh Elbaums 15 pts. 12 assists and 6 steals, defeated MSGR. Scanlon of the Bronx 77-39.Pete Sutton led 4 other Cougars in double figures. The win gave Long Island schools a 22-15 lead over NYC in head to head meetings between the two regions,

     Upper Room Finishes Fifth

The Upper Room Royals went 2-1 and finished in 5th place at the Lake Erie Shootout. After losing their first game, they defeated King Christian Academy (M.D.), 69-49. Victor Holder had a double double with 25 points and 15 rebounds and senior David Jack had 10  points. In the 5th place game against Grace (M.D.), UR won 65-39. Holder had 23 points and 13 rebounds and 10th grader Ramel Anderson had 21 points and 5 assists. Holder was named to the All Tournament Team.   12/15

        William Floyd 49 Mercy 32

Freshman Elijah Gonzalez led Floyd with 12 in his second career start. Floyd had 11 players in the scoring column. They will face Miller Place Saturday at 4 in the finals of the Floyd Tip-off.                                        12/14

        Chaminade 48 Regis 47

The Flyers got all they could handle and more out of a tough and well coached Regis High School team from NYC.  The game got off to a late start with some terrible NYC traffic plaguing the trip of the Raiders from Regis.  The Flyers jumped out to an early 9-2 lead but Regis battled back to be down just one after the end of the first quarter.  The Flyers went ice cold in the second quarter and Regis took advantage behind the shooting of Dan Friel and the great point guard play of Sean O'Connor.  The Flyers were down 22-19 at halftime.  In the third quarter, the Flyers were able to get back on track behind the great passing of Matt Johnson and some timely shooting from junior Dan DiVietri.  The Flyers were still down by 3 entering the fourth quarter.  Chaminade battled back with back to back three pointers by DiVietri and Johnson and a key breakaway layup by senior John Orr.  Regis hung tough and traded baskets down the stretch with the lead changing 4 times in the last two minutes.  The Flyers had the ball up 1 with under a minute to go but the Regis pressure made them turn it over.  Regis' O'Connor went to the rim and was fouled but missed both foul shots to give the Flyers another chance.  The Flyers had to use two time outs to get the ball in off the Regis defense.  With 9 seconds to go and down one, Matt Johnson found DiVietri in the left corner and DiVietri continued to be Mr. Clutch making the 17 footer with 5 seconds to go.  Regis called timeout and ran one last play, but the Flyers FINALLY got the defensive stop they needed to prevail 48-47.   Dan DiVietri led the Flyers with 22 points including 8 in the critical fourth quarter, he also had 5 assists.  Senior Matt Johnson continues to be a "rock" at the point guard position contributed 8 points and 8 assists to only 1 turnover.                          12/14

     Upper Room Falls To Jericho

No not that Jericho. Upper Room traveled to Ohio for the Lake Erie Shootout, and lost to Jericho Christian from Maryland by a score of 61-48. It was a close game most of the way, but Upper Room trailed as time started to run down, and Jericho hit their foul shots down the stretch for the win. Victor Holder had a double double with 18 points and 15 rebounds and Greg Simon had 13 points.  Jericho is coached by  former Georgetown Hoya star Reggie Williams.                                                     12/11

                  Games of 12/10

Tim Marchica's shot at the buzzer gave Seaford a 55-54 win over Valley Stream North in overtime. Marchica finished with 13 points.....No letdown for Jericho after their big win over St. Mary's. The Jayhawks took a 19-5 1st quarter lead over Calhoun en route to a 66-33 win... ........George Beamon brought Roslyn from 10 down to a 77-66 win over a solid Hewlett team. Beamon finished with 34 and is averaging 30 points per game after 4 games.......Back to back three pointers by Derrick Lee and Timmy Hernandez and two key free throws by Wesley Clarke with 5.4 seconds left gave Lexington a  54 to 52 come from behind win over Schecter......

   Sweet 16 Shake-up At St. Dom's

A 12 hour hoops marathon took place at St. Dominic on Saturday, and it was filled with great basketball and plenty of surprises that shook up the Sweet 16.

                            GO TO RECAPS OF:      

               KELLENBERG vs FLORAL PARK

              CHAMINADE vs WALT WHITMAN

               ST.ANTHONY'S vs HILLS WEST

                   HOLY TRINITY vs BALDWIN

                     ST. MARY'S vs JERICHO

      ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST vs LINDENHURST

           and ST. DOMINIC vs AMITYVILLE         12/8

#16 Hills West Over W. Hempstead  

Tobias Harris had a career high 31 points (6 of 9 shooting from 3 pt.range) and 7 rebounds as Hills West hammered West Hempstead 73-54. West took a 20-9 1st quarter lead and never looked back. Senior guard John Conneely had 13 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals and senior guard Will Hennep had 7 points and a career high 8 steals. Kevin Walsh had 18 for West Hempstead.  12/5

   Lexington Rolls Over Waldorf

Lexington cruised to their 2nd win of the season with 63-36 win over Waldorf in IPPSAL action.  They were up by only 7 at the half, and pulled away with solid defense and good movement on offense. Timmy Hernandez

grabbed 19 rebounds -  10 offensive - and chipped in 17 points. Nelson Dos Santos grabbed career high 9 rebounds and scored 8 points. Tobi Adedeji helped with 15 points along with 4 steals.  Rookie Angel Ortiz played for the 1st time and in his varsity debut and chipped in 6 points.                                                 12/5

                    Games of 12/4

15th ranked Baldwin pulled away from Valley Stream Central with a 21-6 fourth quarter for a 85-67 win. Chris Manning had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight steals and Nick Thomas added 19 points. Hashim Mitchell was game high with 22 for VSC........Roslyn shocked Farmingdale 61-53 behind St. Dom's transfer George Beamon's 29 points and Lydell Wilson's 20 points and eight assists....... John Glenn's All-Star duo of Phil Izevbehai and Mack Scott combined for 45 points in Glenn's 64-47 route of Smithtown West......Vinny Russo was unstoppable, scoring 25 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in Sayville's convincing 48-33 win over Shoreham-Wading River......

Kellenberg Rallies Past Long Beach

Long Beach led 39-36 with 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, but Kellenberg went on a 10-0 run to take a  46-39 lead on their way to a 58-48 victory.Kevin Minella led Kellenberg with 16 points,  Derrick Soufrant had 13 points,  and Chris Lyons had 9 points - all on 3's. Dashaun Moye was a force for Long Beach, finishing with 22 points and 16 rebounds.                             12/3

    Lexington Wins Home Opener

Lexington hosted defending IPPSAL League Champion Lake Grove and came away with an impressive  62 - 49 victory.  Lexington led by 13 at the half, and then withstood a furious Lake Grove rally that cut the margin to one before they pulled away for win.  Timmy Hernandez picked up a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Tobi Adedeji chipped in 17

points and dished out 5 assists, and Derrick Lee scored 18 points (team high).                                             11/29

We're Off ! Early High School Action

It starts with a trickle.....an IPPSAL game here.......a CHSAA game there....and BOOM! We're off to another great high school basketball season! We're still in the trickle stages, but the public school season is off and running now too as Shoreham - Wading River dug themselves out from an 11-2 first quarter hole and defeated Comsewogue 52-43. Mike O'Donnell exploded for 31 points for SWR...... LWA opened their home season in style, coming up with a thrilling 69-66 overtime win over Berkeley Carrol. Sean Henry was the hero, knocking down two big three pointers in the extra period for the win.........Greenport and Ryan Creighton were dominant in their opener, building a 47-24 halftime lead and cruising to a 70-54 victory over Westhampton. Creighton finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds...

       St. Agnes CYO Champions

In the CYO Fall Senior Division, made up of 11th and 12th graders, the St. Agnes team from Rockville Centre won the LI Diocesean Championship by beating a strong St. Bernard’s team from Levittown.  The CYO Fall season is a double elimination playoff format, and since St. Bernard’s had beaten St. Agnes in the first round of the tournament, St. Agnes was coming out of the losers bracket and had to win two back to back games for the title.  With St. Bernard’s in foul trouble, St. Agnes beat them 67-53 to force another game.  In the nightcap, St. Agnes held on by hitting 12 of 14 from the line in the 4th quarter to take the title, 78-70.  The St. Agnes team was led by Matt Johnson and Chris Flatley of Chaminade and Pat Fanning from Holy Trinity.  The St. Bernard’s squad was led by Justin Heisig from Island Trees and Mike Gattus from MacArthur High.  The CYO Fall Season is a short season designed to get varsity level athletes ready for the upcoming season, and this year had over 30 teams competing.

    Upper Room Makes Lemonade

The Upper Room Royals had a fantastic season last year, falling one game short of facing Malverne in the Federation State Class B Championship Game, but this season has gotten off to a very rocky start. The Lyons brothers, who were being counted on to lead this years team to even higher heights, moved to Atlanta, and then to top things off, paperwork problems with their New York State certification made them ineligible for this season's State Tournament. But the coaches and players have decided to do what your grandfather always advised you to do when you got stuck with a lemon...make lemonade! They have put together another very tough non-league schedule, and have registered for a very competitive National Tournament to cap off their season. With a lot of talent still on the roster, it could end up being another memorable year! 

Varsity Preseason Playoffs

The Lightning Varsity Preseason Playoffs are underway, and the quarter final match-ups are set in both divisions. In The East, the LI Dribs take on Hersh, LIL Silverstein faces Flyers-Johnson, the Titans battle the LI Lasers, and the NY Storm face the Rising Stars. In the Western Division, its LIL Ruh versus the Dix Hills Storm, the Silver Bullets against the LI Lakers, Great Neck United plays Oceanside, and Valley Stream Graziano squares off with the Levittown Generals

Two Memorable Games In Suffolk

The Suffolk Top 40 All-Stars put on a memorable show, going to triple overtime in game one and right down to the wire in game two in a night filled with first rate hoops action. You don't go to double overtime without some great  performances, and there were plenty in game one. Jordan Ward Adams won the game in the second OT when he calmly hit back to back free throws in the 1 and 1 with time running down. He was all over the court the whole game and finished with 16. Hanif Malloy led all scorers with 37 points and seemed unstoppable at times; Josh Malone, whose 3 pointer sent the game into double overtime,  finished with 30; Phil Izevbehai, who opened some eyes, had  26; Jordan Allen, a freshman, seemed to counter every big basket by the opposition late in the game and finished up with 24; and Mack Scott, who scored 5 straight points and dug his team out of a deep hole when all seemed lost in the first OT,  finished with 17. 

In game two, another terrific game, Barry Ingram stepped back and drained a jumper from just beyond the foul line to give his team the lead with  about 2 minutes remaining and followed it up with  two clutch free throws with 1:39 remaining to put them up by four and they went on to a 86-80 win. Mervin Springer led all scorers with 18 points, while Booker Hucks, Robby Ptacek and Steve Edwards all finished with 16.  The matchup in this game between Ptacek and Kamil Paryzch, two of Long Island's top players,  was something to see.    PHOTO ALBUMS

    Suffolk County All-Star Rosters

The players that will participate in tonight's Suffolk County All-Star Doubleheader have been chosen. The games will begin at 6PM St. Joseph's College in Patchogue. This is the only opportunity you'll get to see all of Suffolk County's best players together in one gym! The All-Stars are:

                               6:00 PM GAME

                                  White Team

Coached by John Ward Adams, Center Moriches

#1 Alex Snead, 5'9 Senior Guard, Center Moriches

#2 Josh Malone, 6'3 Junior Guard, Deer Park

#3 Christian Colavito, 5'10 Senior Guard, Smithtown E.

#4 Mack Scott, 6'0 Senior Guard, John Glenn

#5 Rob Carroll, 6'2 Junior Guard, Connetquot

#6 Steve Velazquez, 6'3 Senior Forward, Hauppauge

#7 Jordan Allen, 6'5 Freshman Forward, Bay Shore

#8 Raymond Cavaliere, 6'3 Senior Guard, Commack

#9 Steven Jackman, 6'6, Junior Center Northport

#10 Marcell Lattimore, 6'5 Senior Forward, Copiague

                                 Black Team

Coached by Kevin Carpenter, John Glenn

#1 Jon Ward Adams, 5'10 Soph Guard, Center Moriches

#2 Jordan Ward Adams, 6'0 Junior Guard, C. Moriches

#3 Phil Izevbehai, 6'2 Junior Guard, John Glenn

#4 Anthony Valerio, 6'3 Senior Forward, Deer Park

#5 Vincent Russo, 6'3 Senior Forward, Sayville

#6 Stephen Davis, 6'3 Junior Forward, Newfield

#7 Hanif Malloy, 6'0 Senior Guard, Walt Whitman

#8 Jesse Seymour, 6'1 Senior Forward, Amityville

#9 Jerry Hart, 6'4 Senior Forward, Westhampton

#10 Anthony Gulotta, 5'10 Junior Guard, Smithtown East

                              7:45 PM GAME

                                 White Team

Coached by John Albano, Lindenhurst

#1 Kamil Paryzch, 6'3 Sophomore Guard, Lindenhurst

#2 Reid Drzal, 6'5 Sophomore Center, Bayport Blue Point

#3 Mike Prendergast, 6'4 Soph Forward, Bayport BP

#4 Drew Acocella, 6'3 Senior Forward, East Islip

#5 Booker Hucks, 6'6 Senior Forward, Bay Shore

#6 Barry Ingram, 5'9 Junior Guard, Bay Shore

#7 Shaquan McLeod, 6'3 Senior Forward, Harborfields

#8 Jamie Sawicki, 6'2 Senior Guard, Southold

#9 Brendan Hayes, 6'0 Senior Guard, Eastport So Manor

#10 Mervin Springer, 6'1 Junior Guard, Copiague

                                 Black Team

Coached by Skip Hart, Bayport Blue Point

#1 Rob Ptacek, 6'3 Senior Guard, Bayport Blue Point

#2 Mark Koebel, 6'4 Senior Forward, Bayport Blue Point

#3 Steven Edwards, 6'4 Senior Forward, Bellport

#4 Jonathan Moore, 6'3 Soph Forward, Brentwood

#5 Derrick Knudsen, 6'0 Senior Guard, Miller Place

#6 Alexander Aurrichio, 6'6 Senior Center, Hills West

#7 Jean Cherry, 5'8 Sophomore Guard, Brentwood

#8 Alex Finta, 5'10 Junior Guard, Miller Place

#9 Sahaem King, 6'4 Sophomore Forward, Wyandanch

#10 Kendall Harris, 6'6 Junior Center, Brentwood

The Suffolk County All-Star Team will be selected from these players, and will face the Nassau County All-Stars on Monday 10/8/07 at Stony Brook University in the Long Island All-Star Game.

Sachem North Takes Brookhaven

Sachem North defeated Sachem East 43-32 to capture the Town of Brookhaven Large School Championship. Senior Will Slinkosky was named Playoff MVP. Junior

John Bellion supplied 15 points in the final while Junior Craig Geoghan and Soph Devon Lawrence dominated the boards. Senior Rob Kjellman, Juniors Dan Leahy and AJ Gallina, and Soph Chang Ju Chang held down the defense. North defeated Centereach while East beat Newfield Thurs. in the semis

     Lindenhurst Babylon Champs

Lindenhurst defeated Deer Park, 61-57, in the Town of Babylon Summer League Championship. Lindenhurst beat Bayport Blue Point and Brentwood to advance to the finals.  Deer Park beat East Islip, Copiague, and St. Anthony's to advance to the finals. On the Girls side Wyandanch defeated John Glenn for the title

   John Glenn Takes Summer Title

A revamped John Glenn team upset Walt Whitman to capture the Huntington Town Summer League Championship.  Whitman had the ball trailing by two with 30 seconds remaining, but Mack Scott, who finished with 16,  drew a charge to preserve the win.

  Full List Of  College Commitments

The following Long Islanders will be playing basketball in college starting this fall. If you know someone that belongs on this list, let us know.: New additions in orange.

Jeremy Abrams, Syossett, Kenyon College

David Akinyooye, Elmont, Adelphi

Ryan Alexander, St. Mary's. Union College

Ben Atkinson, Northport, Williams College

Andrew Ayodeji, Amityville, Columbia State JC

Stephen Atkinson, Hempstead, Dowling

Chris Barnes, Lindenhurst, NYU

Andrew Beinert, Chaminade, Holy Cross

Richard Byrd, Copiague, Adelphi

Stanley Calixte, Deer Park, Tampa

TJ Carey, St. Dominic, Harvard

Nick Carter, Walt Whitman, Stony Brook

Bruce Chong, Westbury, Virginia Union

Andrew Cobian, St. Dominic, Centenary College

Djibril Coulibaly, Upper Room, Manhattan

Pat Croutier, South Side, Hartwick College

Chris Cullen, East Islip, Moravian College

Marial Dhal, OSNA, Hillsborough Junior College

Errol Daniyan, Longwood, SUNY Plattsburgh

Roland Davis, St. Dominic, C. of Charleston

D.J. Dinota, East Islip, USMMA

Frank Dolisi, Syosett, Baruch College

Tom Dowling, South Side, Bentley

Matt Duell, Greenport, St. John's

Willie Emanuel, Upper Room,  Eastern Wyoming CC

Nick Epley, Southhampton, Elmira College

Danny Franchese, Hicksville, Adelphi

Michael Grant, St. Anthony's, Dickinson College

Rashad Green, St. Mary's, Manhattan

Quincy Hankins, Roosevelt, Polk CC(Florida).

Cory Harville, East Meadow, Fort Valley State

Brian Hutchinson, Elmont, Molloy College

Chuka Iloegbu, Brentwood, Coppin State

Larry Intrabartola, Oceanside, Utica College

Tolulade Jegede, Elmont, Molloy College

Tyson Johnson, St. Mary's, U of Wyoming

Ray Jones, Amityville, Dowling

Ed Kenny, Kellenberg, Mount St. Mary's

Jason Liberman , Roslyn, Princeton

Quamel Lyerly, Lawrence, Southern New Hampshire

Christopher Lyons, Kellenberg, Eastern University

Brandon Mays, St. Mary's, SUNY Old Westbury

Michael McPartland, St. Anthony's, CCNY

James Merril, Uniondale, Farmingdale State

Gil Montalvo, St. Mary's, CW Post

Terrence Moore, Uniondale, Prarie View

Tyrone Nash, LWA, Notre Dame

Chris Obi, Bay Shore, Lewis & Clark CC

Ryan O'Grady, St. Dominic, Stevens Tech

Steven Priestley, Uniondale, Siena

Travis Roher, Wheatley, Claremont McKenna

Geno Romanelli, Bethpage, Marist

RJ Rutledge, LWA, Monmouth

Mike Sands  Carey, Yale

Max Schiallies, Lawrence Woodmere, Hamilton

Connor Sheehy, Chaminade, Connecticut College

Matt Sherwood, Sachem East, RPI

Prentice Small, St. John TB, Lehigh

Mateusz Sowa, Upper Room, CW Post

Michael Stayne, Sachem East, Valley Forge Christian

Marcos Tamares, St. Mary's, UMBC

David Vallins, Friends Academy, Hofstra

Torek Williams, William Floyd, Suny Cortland

Craig Wilson, Malverne, Robert Morris IL.

Steven Yien, OSNA, Presberteryian College

Ed Zajac, Lindenhurst, Qunnipiac

McCloud AD, Edwards Head Coach

Wyandanch Head Coach Ken McCloud has been promoted to Director of Athletics at Wyandanch UFSD, and he has appointed his Assistant Coach Andre Edwards as the new Head Coach. McCloud and Edwards revived the basketball program at Wyandanch and brought it back to prominence. Under McCloud, the varsity compiled a  39-13 record with a total of eight championships and the schools first Suffolk County Championship. He is now being asked to spread that magic throughout the athletic department. Coach Edwards has coached numerous student-athletes through-out the Island while serving as Director of Team Underrated.  This year the Warriors will be without star Chris Barber,  but they have a host of young talent and hope to continue their winning ways. Abdur Kareem has been appointed Assistant Varsity Coach and Barry Baker will take over as the JV Head Coach.

   McEvoy Takes Over At Division

Brian McEvoy is the new Head Coach at Division Avenue High School in Levittown. He was the Assistant Coach last year.  Brian has been a Long Island Lightning coach for the past four years, and is a well respected coach with great basketball knowledge and an extensive resume as a Head Coach (Valley Stream North High School). Brian is a true student of the game who also does a great job of communicating with and encouraging his players.

          Faith Academy Closing

Faith Academy, one of the founding members of the IPPSAL, will be closing its doors and its students transferring to other schools. The small private school based on eastern Long Island rose to basketball prominence in the late nineties behind the high scoring duo of Chris Ciccarello and Greg Cerillo Jr., capturing two IPPSAL league titles and one division title in the process. Ciccarello would go on to score over 1,000 career points and Cerillo became the 3rd leading scorer in the history of Long Island Boys Basketball with 2,320 career points. Commenting on the closure, Cerillo said " I am saddened by the closure of my former school. What saddens me most is not necessarily the loss of the athletic programs or the difficulty in connecting our athletic and academic accomplishments to a place or building, but the loss of good peoples jobs and livelihood's. Hopefully in the very near future the community will realize what a loss the closure of such a school is and support the re-opening of Faith and schools like it."

       Returning All State Players

The following returning Long Island high school basketball players were named All-State last season by the NY State Sportswriters:

Kyheem Green, Mike Russell, Matt Cajuste, Mike McSloy, Marc Edwards, Matt Rooney, Cameron Barber, JT Pate, Alex Snead, Jon Williams, Mitch Singer, Jamie Sawicki, Ryan Creighton, and Irving Fayman.

               Interesting Tidbit

Four of the seven coaches in the NSCHSAA have been with their team two years or less!

     Updated New Varsity Coaches

Here is our 2007-8 list of new boy's varsity coaches. The ones we know of so far are:

Kevin Carpenter, John Glenn

Andre Edwards, Wyandanch

Bill Harkins, St. Mary's

Bill Hempfling, Westhampton Beach

Jay Kreutzberger, Calhoun

Dave Masino: Hauppauge

Brian McEvoy, Division

Jim Plate, St. John The Baptist

John Rossetti, Riverhead

If you know of others not listed here, let us know!

            Empire Team Rosters

Every year, many of Long Island's finest players come together to tryout for the teams that represent Long Island at The Empire State Games. This year, the games will be held in Westchester. The opening ceremonies are 7/25 and basketball gets underway Thursday, 7/26. This year's rosters are:

Scholastic Team

Cajuste, Matt   6'7 F

Edwards, Steven  6'3 G

Green, Kyheem  6'4 F

Hehir, Sean  6' 8 F

Johnson, Chris  6' 0 G

Khan, Azfar  6' 0 G

Lattimore, Marcell  6' 5 F

Malone, Josh  6' 3 G

Parzych, Kamil  6'3 G

Russell, Michael  5'10 G

Open Team

Agudio, Antoine  6'3 G

Carter, Nicholas  6'2 G

Cox, Anthony  6'9 F

Lassiter, Bryant  5'10 G

Parzych, Adam  6'4 G

Pitt, Rio  6'8 F

Priestley, Steven  6'6 F

Schmidt, Jonathan  6'1 G

Seawright, Kahiem  6'8 F

Washington, Greg  6'10 C

Congratulations for making the team and good luck!

     Scholastic Team Goes Quietly

The NYC Team played the roll of spoiler yesterday, preventing Long Island from advancing to the Gold Medal Game in the Scholastic Division.  The team could not regroup from the loss and was pummeled by Western New York 93-51 in the bronze medal game.

      Empire Team Falls To NYC

Mike Russell had 18 points and Josh Malone 11, but nobody could stop Sylven Landesberg, who finished with 36 as the NYC Scholastic Team defeated the Long Island Scholastic Team 78-67 at the Empire Games. Long Island needed a win over NYC to advance to the Gold Medal Game, but will now play for the bronze.

  LI Lutheran 77    Bishop Ford 66

Trailing by 7 at the end of three quarters, Long Island Lutheran took the lead at the 4:09 mark on a three pointer by Jeriel Henriquez, and then made 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch to pull away from CHSAA Champion Bishop Ford in the Semifinals of the Federation Tournament Of Champions. Henriquez and Kevin Johnson combined for 21 fourth quarter points, and LuHi finished the game on a 15-4 run. They will now  face Jamesville -DeWitt in the Class A State Championship Game on Saturday at 7:30 PM. DeWitt defeated Transit Tech of NYC 66-49. Bishop Ford jumped all over the Crusaders at the start, taking an 11-2 lead, but 8 first quarter points by Henriquez and back to back three pointers by Rich Harkins and Matt Rooney brought the Crusaders within 3 as the quarter drew to a close. Ford's Andre Robinson  closed out the quarter with a steal and basket however, and it was 23-18 after one. Lutheran tied it in the second quarter on another three pointer by Harkins, and moved in front on a basket by Shamar Stephen, but the teams traded baskets the rest of the way, and Ford's Don Marbury scored on a putback at the buzzer to make it 36 all at the half. Bishop Ford came out of the locker room on a tear, scoring the first 7 points of the second half, but Henriquez and Johnson responded with three pointers to keep Lutheran in the game, and with 3:10 to go in the quarter, Rooney tied it at 47 on a three pointer. Ford tried to seize control again, closing out the third quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 7 point lead, but LuHi opened the fourth with an 11-4 run of their own, and it was all tied up at 60 with 5:20 to play. LuHi went in front for good on the Henriquez three pointer with 4:09 remaining, and he pushed the lead to 5 on a jumper with 2:32 to go. Two free throws by Johnson at the 0:53 mark made it an 8 point game, and LuHi was on its way to the Finals. Henriquez finished with 28 points and 8 rebounds.

  

       Malverne Falls In State Final

Olean is the Public School Class B State Champion because they did a good job against the press, never seemed to tire, and shot very well from the free throw line. Malverne is not because they never really got rolling offensively, which spared Olean from experiencing the Malverne pressure at its intimidating best, and because the officials called a much tighter game than other crews had in previous Malverne games, which meant Olean spent much of the game at the foul line. Ironically, Malverne got off to a pretty good start in this game, which seemed like a bad omen for Olean. With no big holes to climb out of, it was only a matter of time before the full weight of the Mule press took its effect, as it had against all of the other teams in Malverne's terrific playoff run. But it never really did, for the reasons mentioned above, so Olean actually led most of the way in a tight first half, then got some breathing room in the third quarter, which finished 43-31,  and held on for a 10 point win. I'm not sure the better team won, but Olean was the better team when it counted. No shame for the Mules - They had a great season, and are a young team. Chances are they'll be back next year!                  3/16

       Greenport Rally Falls Short

Greenport rallied from 12 down to tie it, but lost a heartbreaker 61-58 to Chateaugay in the New York State Class D Semifinals. It was a hard fought game right from the start, but Chateaugay grabbed the early edge, with Zack Peck's jumper from the baseline giving them a 12-7 lead with just over a minute to go in the first quarter, and then they held it for most of the game. They extended the lead to 21-14 on a steal and basket by Andy Cook with less than two minutes to go in the half, and led by 6 at intermission. Peck's fast break hoop gave Chateaugay a 10 point lead mid way through the 3rd quarter, but a putback by Ryan Creighton and a fast break hoop by Wally Sorenson brought the Porters within 6 with 2:17 to go in the quarter. Sorenson's three pointer made it 38-33 at the 1:36 mark, but the Porters fell asleep and gave up an easy hoop at the buzzer off an inbound play, and found themselves in another 10 point hole as the fourth quarter got underway. Brad Dumont opened the final quarter with a basket from underneath to give Chateagay a 12 point cushion, but Creighton's three pointer cut the margin to 9. Peck's fast break basket gave Chateaugay their last 12 point lead with just 3:26 to go in the game. Creighton got the rally started, hitting two free throws to make it a 10 point game, and then he scored again off a drive following a steal, drawing the foul and hitting the shot to make it 56-49 with 2:59 to go. Sorenson's three pointer cut it to 58-54 just under the two minute mark, and then Creighton capped it off, tying it with just 50 seconds showing. Chateaugay regained the lead and extended to 3 on a free throw with 8 seconds on the clock, and the Porters had a chance to tie, but the three pointer rattled out as the game ended.                                      3/14

  Malverne Defeats #2 Team In State

Whenever you ask someone how good Malverne is, you'll hear that they're good, but not as good as last year. Well, the Mules took a big step towards defending last year's State Championship by upsetting #2 ranked North Salem 57-56 on a tip-in by Shamel White with 4 seconds remaining in the game. North Salem had won 25 games in a row coming into the contest. Dashiem Cherry hit a three pointer to give Malverne a 12 point lead at the end of three quarters, but North Salem tied the game with 2:11 to go, and then took a 4 point lead on two free throws with 36 seconds remaining. DJ Wiliams saved the day for the Mules, hitting a huge three pointer to make it a 1 point game with 23 seconds left, and then making a clutch steal - his 1th of the game. White put back the miss for the win. Malverne advances to the Final Four, and will play their next game Friday 3/14.           3/8

               Friends Advances

Friends Academy, who was not ranked at all coming into the game, beat the #7 ranked Class C Team in New York State - Tuckahoe, by a score of 61-59. Jon Williams hit the game winning shot. Friends got off to a slow start against the bigger Tuckahoe team, but rallied for a 29-23 halftime lead. The Quakers extended their lead to 8, but Tuckahoe took a 2 point lead with 1:12 remaining. A basket off a missed free throw by Harrison Hefele put Friends up 59-58 with 1:05 left, but Tuckahoe tied it on a free throw with 30 seconds to go.

The big basket by Williams came with just 15 seconds remaining, and the potential game tieing shot rolled out for Tuckahoe. Friends advances to the State Class C Final Four.                                                           3/8

Chaminade Wins CHSAA Semifinal

The Chaminade Cinderella run continued, as the Flyers defeated St. Joseph's of Buffalo 65-56 in a CHSAA State Semifinal. The Flyers took control late in the third quarter with a 10-2 run, and although St. Joe's cut it to 4 around the 4 minute mark, they never got any closer. St. Joseph's took the early lead as the game got underway, but a three point play by Sean Wildes put Chaminade on top 9-7 with 3:29 to go in the first quarter. Wildes pulled up for a jumper to make it 11-7, but Matt Spitler scored for St. Joseph's as the quarter came to a close, and the visitors from Buffalo had a 12-11 lead. Chris Dooley reclaimed the lead for the Flyers, making a strong move to the hoop and scoring to make it 13-12, and then two free throws and a driving basket by Sean Wildes off a nice pump fake gave Chaminade a 6 point lead with 5:06 to go in the half, but a three point play by Evan King with 4:04 remaining brought St. Joe's within 2, and after a Patrick Wildes basket, Spitler's three pointer made it a 1 point game with 2:48 to go. Scaffidi spun into the lane and scored to put St. Joe's up by one with 1:30 on the clock, but a three pointer by Matt Johnson and it was 26-24 Flyers. It was 27-24 at the half. The teams traded baskets to the 3:05 mark of the third quarter, when John Orr's long three pointer gave Chaminade a 36-31 lead, but two free throws by Maiarana  and a putback by Spitler made it 36-35. Two free throws by Sean Wildes and a three pointer by Dan Divietri put the Flyers back up by 6, and after two free throws by Scaffidi, another three pointer by Orr made it 44-37 Chaminade with 1:25 to go in the quarter. Divietri's basket on the break gave the Flyers a 9 point lead, and that's the way the third quarter ended. Orr cut to the basket and scored to give Chaminade a 48-37 lead to start the fourth quarter, but two straight putbacks by Wojciechowski  and King made it 48-41 with 6:50 to go in the game. Wojciechowski scored on a drive to bring St. Joe's within 6 with under five minutes to play, and Maiarana's drive from the wing made it 54-50, but two free throws by Sean Wildes and two by Dooley gave the Flyers an 8 point lead, and then a basket by Sean Wildes made it 60-50. Two free throws by Spitler and a drive by Wojciechowski brought St. Joe's within 6 with 1:16 to go, but Dooley' scored the backbreaker, breaking free against the press to make it 62-54 with 45 seconds remaining.                                                                  3/8

       Malverne Press Dooms CM

The Defending State Champion Malverne Mules were in serious trouble early in this year's Long Island Class B Championship Game. Alex Snead's spinning move in the lane gave Suffolk Champion Center Moriches a stunning 15-2 lead with 4 minutes to go in the first quarter. But then a three pointer by Dashiem Cherry changed everything. The Mules were finally able to get into their vaunted full court press, and before you knew it, a  three pointer by Robert Williams made it 21-19 with only two minutes gone in the second quarter and Malverne was back in the game to stay. Snead curled to the basket and scored to put the Red Devils back up by 7 with 3:40 to go in the half, but  6 straight points by Justin Williams brought Malverne within 1, and then after a jumper by Jordan Ward-Adams, another 6 straight points by Williams and it was 36-33 Malverne. It was 38-35 Malverne at the half. A reverse layup by Jeff Kanas, who had an excellent game for the Red Devils, brought CM within 1 as the 2nd half got underway, but a steal and basket by Justin Williams gave the Mules a 4 point lead. Two free throws by Snead tied it at 45 with 3:51 in the quarter, but another steal and basket by Williams and Malverne was suddenly up 10 as the quarter wound down. A fastbreak layup by CM's Jordan Ward Adams made it 51-47 at the end of three.  A fast break layup by Justin Williams put the Mules up 12 with 4:40 to go in the game, but a Jon Ward-Adams three pointer and two free throws by Snead brought the Red Devils within 7 at the 2:30 mark. Robert Williams responded with two free throws of his own, and a steal basket by Justin Williams made it an 11 point game with just 2 minutes remaining. Another fast break basket by Justin Williams gave Malverne a 69-56 lead with less than a minute to play, and once again the Mules were Long Island Class B champions. Justin Williams finished with 32 points!                                       3/4

  Chaminade Crushes St. Dominic

The Chaminade Flyers have a very young team, but it is talented and very well balanced. Now they are NSCHSAA Champions after beating two time defending champion St. Dominic for the third time this season, this time by a convincing score of 58-38. Chaminade led the whole way, taking an 8 point lead into the halftime locker room, and building it up to 14 in the third quarter. St. Dom's showed some signs of life, going on a brief run to pull back within 8, but a Dan DiVietri three pointer broke their momentum, and the Flyers pulled away for the 20 point win.              3/4

  East Hampton Suffolk Champion!

It's been a long road filled with victories these past two seasons for East Hampton, yet despite their total of 40 in that time, focus inevitably turns to their only two  losses. The first was an upset at the hands of John Glenn in last years playoffs that spoiled their perfect season, and the second an early loss to Southampton this season, well before we all realized how good the Mariners were, and that they would have playoff dreams of their own. The Bonackers erased all of those memories  and fulfilled all of their promise in one fell swoop, with an equally surprising 69-65 overtime victory over undefeated Class AA Champion Half Hollow Hills West in the Suffolk County Championship Game. They did it with an impressive display of teamwork, a balanced attack, and an excellent defensive scheme that limited the touches of Hills West star Tobias Harris, particularly in the low post. The win set up an epic battle with Jericho for the Long Island Class A Championship. Jericho has followed a very similar path to the Nassau County A Title. Once the game got underway, It took very little time to realize that it was going to be a good one. East Hampton grabbed the early lead, with a Marcus Edwards baseline jumper putting them up 13-7. A three pointer by Steve Rollino and a short jumper by Harris for Hills West and it was 15-13 East Hampton at the end of the first quarter. Cory Knox swept from left to right and hooked one in to tie the game at 17 with 6:20 to go in the second quarter, but the Bonackers regained the lead on a steal and fast break basket by Jerome Russell. Back to back baskets by Jerome and Mike Russell with just under three minutes to play gave East Hampton a 4 point lead, and then a long range three pointer at the buzzer by Mike Russell and the Bonackers had a 32-26 advantage at the half. East Hampton surged to an 11 point lead as the second half got underway on a  basket down low by Hayden Ward and a three pointer by Jerome Russell, but the Colts got 4 of it back on baskets by Mike Meglio and Will Hennep. Back to back three pointers by Harris brought West within 3 as the third quarter came to a close.  Hennep pulled up and made it a 1 point game as the fourth quarter got underway, but Edwards hit a short jumper on the break to put East Hampton up 5 with less than five minutes to play. Hennep's three pointer made it 46-44 under the 3 minute mark, but Edwards scored from down low and then hit two free throws and it was 50-45 with 1:53 to go in the game. Rollino's jumper brought West within 3, and then Harris plucked the inbound pass out of the air, scored and drew the foul, and his free throw tied it with 1:35 to go. Ward scored from the low post to put the Bonackers back on top, but a Hennep three pointer gave West the lead.  Edwards hit a free throw to tie it at 53 with 41.6 seconds to go, but Rollino's free throws made it 55-53 Hills West with 22.7 to go. It was Edwards that sent it into overtime, putting back a missed shot with just 1.2 seconds remaining. East Hampton struck quickly in the OT on a three point play and a free throw by Edwards, and then J. Russell drove the baseline and scored and it was 61-55 with 2:30 to go. M. Russell's runner from the left side made it 63-56 with 1:50 remaining, but David DiMarra's reverse layup brought West within 5. A steal and basket by Harris and it was 65-62 with 54 seconds on the clock, but J. Russell's two clutch free throws put the Bonackers up 6 with 19 seconds remaining, and they were on their way to the County Title. For you Hills West fans, the Suffolk County Championship Game is separate from the State Tournament and isn't an elimination game, so Hills West is still alive in the New York State Class AA playoffs.                    3/2

         Baldwin Stuns Uniondale

Both teams had won at home during the season, so you knew this game, on a neutral court for the Nassau County - Section 8 Class AA Championship, was going to be a tight, hard fought game, and it was. Uniondale had the lead most of the way, but Baldwin caught them in the 4th quarter and battled their way to a 50-46 victory. It was 15-8 Uniondale at the end of the first quarter after Jerome Floyd's three pointer, but Ashanti DePass answered back with a three pointer of his own as the second quarter got underway and Baldwin was within 4. Jeff Thomas scored from the baseline with 3:30 to go in the quarter to bring Baldwin within 2, and a three pointer from the right wing by Derrell Brown tied it at 20 at the 2:20 mark, but both teams hit some free throws down the stretch and Uniondale went into the locker room leading 23-21. James Ockimey's jumper to start the second half put the Knights up 25-21, and Justin Brown's three pointer gave them a 7 point lead still early in the third quarter, but Cailup Norris scored off an inbound play  for Baldwin to keep it close. The two teams traded baskets until just before the third quarter buzzer, when Chris Mauldin's three pointer brought Baldwin within 1. Norris spun his way to the hoop to give the Bruins their first lead with under 6 minutes to play in the fouth quarter, but Raenard Reid's powerful drive brought Uniondale back within 1. Two free throws by Norris made it 43-40 Baldwin with 2:38 to go, but an off balance jumper by Ockimey and it was 43-42. Mauldin answered right back to put the Bruins up by 3, and then he added a free throw with 57 seconds to go and Nick Thomas added a free throw to put them up 5 with 39 seconds to go, but Uniondale scored on a putback by Reid with 27 seconds remaining and there was still hope for the Knights.  Mauldin's free throws gave the Bruins a 5 point lead, but Greg Hampton came right down and scored to make it a three point game again with 13.5 seconds to go. The Knights needed a steal, but the Bruins got the ball in and Chris Manning's free throw gave them the 50-46 win.                    3/1

         Hills West 41 Whitman 39

It wasn't a classic game by any means, but it was close and exciting down the stretch, and that's all you can ask for. Trailing most of the way, Whitman had taken the lead, but Tobias Harris hit two free throws to put Hills West back on top, and then Will Hennep's three pointer put them up 4 with 1:50 to go, and the Colts held on for an exciting 41-39 win and the Suffolk County - Section 11 Class AA Championship. Playing in front of a packed house of screaming fans, the game started with a lot of energy. Hills West got off to the early lead behind the inside work of Mike Meglio, and held it through the first quarter, but none of the jump shooters were hot, and lots of fouls were being called. Tobias Harris scored from underneath to make it 11-8 with 2:20 to go in the quarter, and Steve Rollino's fast break basket made it 13-8 at the end of one. Rollino's three pointer from the right wing made it 18-12 West at the 5:06 mark of the second quarter, and six straight free throws by Harris and the Colts had a 25-12 lead with 1:20 remaining. Whitman was on the ropes, with star Kyheem Green on the bench in foul trouble, but Hanif Malloy hit a clutch three pointer, cutting it to 25-16 at the half. Nick Barrotta kept it going for the Wildcats, barreling down the lane and scoring  to start the second half, and then he followed it up with a putback to make it 25-20. Malloy then swept to the hoop and scored with his left hand to cut the West lead to 3, but Harris broke the run with a basket from just to the left of the lane and it was 27-22. Whitman kept coming though, and Malloy's fast break basket off a steal tied it at 27 with 3:50 to go in the quarter. Harris answered with 5 straight points, knocking down a three pointer, and then scoring from the low post to make it 32-27 with 2:30 showing on the clock. Another big three by Malloy made it 32-30, but Cory Knox scored off an inbound play with 4 seconds left, and West led by four after three quarters. Green's jumper to start the 4th quarter made it a 2 point game, and then at the 4:15 mark, Malloy's three pointer brought Whitman within 1. Another Green jumper gave Whitman a 37-36 lead with 3:10 to go, but Harris, who like everybody else struggled to find his shooting stroke most of the night, came through for Hills in the clutch as he had all game, hitting two big free throws to put them back on top with 2:50 to go. Hennep followed them up with his big three pointer at the 1:50 mark, and it was 41-37 West.  Whitman was not done yet though, drawing two fouls down the stretch as they attacked the basket. But they made only 2 of the 4 free throws and were running out of chances. They got one last one, getting the ball back trailing by two with 25 seconds to go after Hills had missed a big free throw of their own in the one and one. They called time to set up a play, but once play resumed, they could not find an open shot, and as the seconds ticked down, turned it over trying to force it inside.                                                                    2/29

  East Hampton Rocks Harborfields

In the Suffolk-Section 11 Class A Championship game, Hayden Ward and his East Hampton teammates dominated the boards, getting multiple opportunities almost every time down the court, and then Mike Russell reeled off a string of three pointers, and East Hampton had Harborfields in a hole they could not dig their way out of.                                               2/26

Baldwin Survives Scare From Port

Port Washington came to play in their Nassau/Section 8 Class AA Semifinal against number 2 seed Baldwin, and the two teams went at for four quarters before the Bruins caught the Vikings and then held on for a 63-59 victory. The game was highlighted by two outstanding performances. Baldwin's Chris Manning dominated the game in his own unique way, racking up 16 clutch points, while adding 11 assists, 10 rebounds, and 8 steals. On the other side of the ball, Port's Adam Epstein seemed to score whenever his team needed a big basket, and usually with an acrobatic move in heavy traffic. He finished wit a game high 20 points. Epstein got Port rolling in the first quarter, hitting back to back shots for a 16-10 Viking lead, but Chris Mauldin's turn around jumper and three pointer brought Baldwin within one. Epstein's steal and basket put Port Washington up 23-15 early in the second quarter, but a drive by Manning, a jumper by Ashanti DePass, and a jumper by Anthony Lee  brought Baldwin within 2 with 30 seconds to go in the half.  Epstein caught a pass on the baseline and scored to stop the Baldwin run, and it was 31-27 Port at the half. Nick Thomas opened the second half with a three pointer from the top of the key, and the Bruins were within one, and Manning's drive put Baldwin on top 33-32 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Manning then knocked the ball loose and Thomas scored on the break for a 3 point Baldwin lead, and Matt Brown's jump hook put them up 5, but a big three pointer by Ryan Goldstein kept the Vikings within striking distance, and then they retook the lead on a fast break layup by Amad Reid and a baseline jumper by Dan Bernstein. Maudlin answered with a three pointer from the right side for a 42-41 Bruin lead with 1:05 left in the 3rd quarter, and then as the seconds ticked off, DePass hit two free throws to give them a four point lead at the end of three quarters. Reid drove right down the heart of a converging Baldwin defense and scored to start the final quarter in dramatic fashion, but another clutch basket by Manning, this time a three pointer, squashed thoughts of a Viking rally, and back to back fast break baskets by Caleb Norris and Thomas made it 52-43 with 5:48 to go in the game. DePass put Baldwin up 12 with a three pointer, but another big three pointer by Goldstein gave Port Washington new life. Chris Ryder's four straight free throws cut the lead to 6 with 2:59 to go in the game, and then he put back a missed shot and Epstein put back another one  a moment later, and it 56-54 with 2:21 to go. At the 1:50 mark, Baldwin lost the the ball out of bounds after a mad scramble for a rebound, and Epstein came down and drained a three pointer to give his team a stunning 57-56 lead, but Manning wasted no time reclaiming it, drawing the defense on a drive and then dishing to Thomas underneath for two. With 45 seconds to go, Thomas drew a foul and knocked down both free throws in the one and one, the first dancing around the rim before falling through. Epstein's drive with 28 seconds to go cut it to one, but Mauldin hit three out of four free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory. Final 63-59                                                                                     2/24

  Bay Shore Too Much For Lindy

Bay Shore took an early 1st quarter lead and never looked back, going on to defeat Lindenhurst 68-56. The Bulldogs made their runs to be sure, but never really seriously threatened for the lead again. Lindenhurst scored the first 4 points of the game, but it was 15-5 Bay Shore after Booker Hucks came off a screen and drained a three pointer and Brandon Turner followed it with a jumper from the left side of the lane. A Kamil Parzych steal and dunk closed out the quarter, and brought Lindenhurst with 8. Morales hit a three pointer to bring Lindenhurst within 3, and following a basket by Turner, Parzych hit a three pointer to cut it to two, but back to back basket's by Jordan Allen made it 27-19 Bay Shore with 3:27 to go in the half. Hucks rebounded a missed free throw and scored to make it 32-21 with 2:45 to, but Lindenhurst cleared out for Chris Johnson, and he scored to make it 34-26 at the half. Allen got out on the break and scored to give Bay Shore a 10 point lead as the 2nd half got underway, and he scored again on a nice baseline cut at the 6:30 mark of the third quarter to make it 38-27. Johnson's three pointer from the left side made it 40-34 with 3:10 to go, but Orayne McEachron ripped down a rebound and found Allen for another dunk and a 12 point Bay Shore lead. Parzych hit a three pointer at the 3rd quarter buzzer, and Lindenhurst was within 7 as the 4th quarter got underway. Parzych cut down the lane and scored with 6:10 to go in the game and Lindenhurst trailed by two, but 5 straight points by Barry Ingram put Bay Shore back up by 7, and a Hucks three pointer and it was 57-47 with 4:24 to go. A Marcus Damas fast break layup made it 68-56 with less than a minute to play, and assured Bay Shore a date in the semifinals.                            2/23

         Other 2/23 Playoff Action

Bellport had given Hills West fits during the regular season, and they did again,  taking a 32-26 lead into the locker room, but Hills West came out and played some of their best basketball of the season in the 2nd half, seizing control of the game with a 25-12 3rd quarter and going on to an emphatic  74-61 victory.......

.........Brentwood took an early lead against arch rival Longwood, and then fought them off before prevailing 73-63.......Malverne repeated as Nassau/Section 8 Class B champions, getting a surprising battle from Oyster Bay in their 71-58 victory.... 

 

South Side Catches W. Hempstead

Jesse Winter's off balance three pointer at the buzzer sent it into overtime, and then South Side pulled away for a 66-61 victory over West Hempstead. The last time these two teams met, South Side raced out to a big lead and won easily, but that was not the case this time around.  It was all tied up at the end of the first quarter, with Kevin Walsh giving West Hempstead the lead as the 2nd quarter got underway, and then Matt Higgins scored from underneath to put the Rams up by four.  Two free throws by Jamel Flash and it was a six point lead, but as the half came to a close, a looping shot from the baseline by Jesse Winter and a basket and foul shot by Tim Krutzler put South side on top 21-20 with seconds remaining. A determined Walsh swept to the hoop to regain the lead, and his free throw made it 23-21 West Hempstead at the end of two. Daniel Hinto banked one home to start the second half for a four point Ram lead, but Mike Murphy answered with a three pointer for South Side to cut it to one. Jordan Jackson's two free throws with 4:10 to go in the foul plagued quarter put WH up by five, but Krutzler's putback gave the Cyclones the lead with less than two minutes to go.  A three pointer by Walsh and the Rams were back on top, and Vincent Riservato's putback made it 35-32 with 30 seconds remaining. Add in a  West Hempstead  free throw, and it was 36-32 at the quarter buzzer. Jordan Jackson pulled up and nailed a short jumper to start the 4th quarter, putting the Rams  up six, and a Walsh three pointer made it 41-32 West Hempstead. Jackson followed it with a bank shot, and Flash with a basket from underneath, and the Rams had a thirteen point lead with under six minutes to go in the game.  Then at the 3:45 mark, two free throws by Wash gave them a 15 point lead,  but Jesse Winter came down and nailed a  three pointer and the South Side rally was underway.  Brendan Meehan knocked down another three pointer for the Cyclones,  and Leon Taylor two free throws, and the Cyclones were within 10. Then Meehan rebounded a missed free throw and scored, and the margin was eight. After a West Hempstead free throw, back to back steals by Taylor and Mike McDerby made it 53-48 with 1:40 to go, and then a McDerby three pointer and it was 53-51 with 44 seconds remaining.  West Hempstead had three chances to ice the game in the finals moments, but they made just one out of six crucial free throws and were clinging to a three point lead with 6 seconds still on the clock. South Side got the ball into Winter's hands, and as he rose up for the game tieing shot, the defense rose with him, forcing him to double clutch in the air before sending it on its way and through the net. Overtime! In the extra period, following a West Hempstead free throw, Meehan hit a spinning move in the lane and drew the foul for a two point South Side lead. Walsh stole the ball and scored in traffic to tie it with 2:06 remaining, but after another 1-2 at the line for West Hempstead, a basket by Taylor and a three pointer by Winter and South Side was up four. A South Side free throw put them up five, but Walsh went coast to coast to bring the Rams within three. There were just 24 seconds to go however, and they never got any closer. Final score 66-61 South Side.                 2/20

      Glenn Holds Off Huntington

John Glenn rode the hot shooting of Phil Izezbehai to  the lead in their 1st round Class A Playoff game, and then fought off a Huntington rally for 63-57 win. Glenn got off to a 12-3 lead, with their full court zone press disrupting the Huntington offense, and Izezbehai hitting the first two of his 7 three pointers. Huntington's Ted Calligeros cut it to 12-8 with 55 seconds left in the first quarter on a putback, but Izezbehai's 3rd three pointer of the quarter gave Glenn a 15-8 lead after one. A baseline drive by Calligeros made it 16-10 with just under 6 minutes to go in the half, but Malcolm Eugene's fastbreak layup put Glenn up 23-15 with 2:30 to go. A traditional three point play by Calligeros cut it to 23-18, and a three pointer from the left side by Anthony Brown made it 24-21, but Mack Scott answered with eight straight points - a three, two free throws, and another three, and it was 32-21 with seconds left in the quarter. A pull up jumper at the buzzer by Calligeros, and the teams went into the locker room with Glenn holding a nine point lead.  Eugene's turn around jumper in the lane opened the 2nd half scoring and put the Knight's up eleven once again, and Xavier Leftridge followed it with a basket from underneath and it was a thirteen point lead, but Anthony Brown countered with a drive for two, and Alex Brown with two free throws, and the Blue Devils were within eight. Then at the 2:42 mark of the quarter, Anthony Brown was fouled on the break and hit both free throws to bring Huntington within five. A Leftridge basket off the break stopped the run however, and another Izezbehai three pointer made it 48-37 Glenn at the end of three. It was Izezbehai with another three from straight on that put Huntington in a 54-39 hole early in the 4th, but Anthony Brown answered with a three and one out of two free throws, and Matt Duffy snaked his way down the lane to get the game back to single digits. Izezbehai kept the pressure on though, hitting another three from the top of the key, but Anthony Brown's three and a Calligeros bank shot made it 57-52 with 2:30 to go in the game. Calligeros had the Blue Devils knocking on the door as he scored again, this time on the break to bring them within three with 2:04 to go, and then Duffy tied it with a three from straight on with 1:20 to go, sending the Huntington faithful into a frenzy, but the joy was short lived.  Izezbehai answered right back with his biggest three pointer of the game, putting Glenn up three again with just under a minute to go. Then as the clock wound down, Glenn's defense jumped into the spotlight, forcing a crucial shot clock violation that gave them the ball back with 19 seconds to go and the lead.  Huntington had no choice but to foul, sending Scott to the line, but he hit both shots to ice the game and send Glenn onto the next round.       2/18

 

     VS South Upsets Island Trees

In the first upset of the Section 8 playoffs, 13th seed Valley Stream South pulled away from 4th seed Island Trees for a 64-52 victory behind a monster game by Dariel Concha. Concha had 31 points and 14 rebounds 2/15

               2/15 Playoff Action

#14 Mineola had #3 South Side on the ropes, but the Cyclones escaped with a 51-47 win........Kevin Walsh out dueled George Beamon 25-23, and his teamates took care of the rest in a 72-55 West Hempstead win over Roslyn.......David Fogel had 36 points and 15 rebounds as Hewlett squeaked by Roosevelt 67-66.......It was tight for 3 quarters, but then Floral Park rocked Lynbrook with a 25-9 fourth quarter and ended up with a 59-41 win.....Jericho hammered Plainedge 86-42...........Great Neck North beat Lawrence for the 3rd time, this time 55-49.......Westbury defeated North Shore 82 to 70. The game was close throughout until Paris Abrams scored 10 of his 33 points in a 29 to 25 fourth quarter to help # 5 Westbury advance to the quarter finals. Josh Core had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Travis Troiano added 17 points, three steals and four assists.

   Other Playoff Action From 2/14

There were no surprises from 12th seeded Hicksville this year, as 5th seeded Massapequa led most of the way and picked up a 45-41 victory.......6th seeded Port Washington had to dig themselves out of a big hole against #11 MacArthur, but they finally took the lead late in the 4th quarter on an Adam Epstein layup, and went on to a 49-42 victory...  Great Neck South poured it on in the 3rd quarter and picked up a comfortable 58-41 win over Bellmore. Bellmore senior Nick Taldi picked up his 1000 career point in his final game

   Bay Shore Topples #1 Whitman!

Everyone new Bay Shore was capable, but would they pull it off? Yes! The Marauders, who have sometimes looked like  underachievers this season,  defeated unbeaten and top ranked Walt Whitman 72-54 behind 30 points from Booker Hucks.  If you missed the game, you can catch it on www.sportswebnet.com       2/13

Chaminade 3 Downs St. Anthony's

It was a terrific game, and it was only fitting that it had a terrific ending. Matt Johson launched a three pointer with seconds left on the clock that found its target and gave Chaminade a dramatic 61-59 home win over St. Anthony's. The win solidifies the Flyers hold on 1st place in the NSCHSAA.                                             2/13

               The Playoff Picture

Nassau is all wrapped up, so attention turns to the Catholic League tonight, where there is a big game between 1st place Chaminade and 3rd place St. Anthony's, and then Wednesday night, where Suffolk's last playoff qualifiers will be determined. In League 1,

Sachem East needs a win @ Ward Melville. In League 2, the winner of Central Islip @ West Islip will advance,

while Connetquot needs a win @ Commack. In League 4, its Deer Park @ Riverhead and Riverhead needs the win, while Kings Park hosts Hills West and needs a win to qualify.

  Nassau Playoff Picture In Focus ?

Valley Stream South surged ahead in the 3rd quarter and then held on for 61-59 win at Garden City. The win gave VSS the last playoff spot in Nassau ABC 3..........

In AA2, things are not so clear. MacArthur (11-7, 7-7) lost at Great Neck South 68-55. while Long Beach (7-11, 7-7) lost at Bellmore-JFK. MacArthur and Long Beach split the season series, and both went 2-5 against AA playoff teams, so now the final say on who qualifies goes to a committee set up for just this kind of situation. .......No controversy in ABC4. Lynbook grabbed the last playoff spot after beating Seaford 69-45, while Clarke fell to Mineola 62-56                                          2/11

  Manning Gets Quadruple Double!

Baldwin beat Farmingdale 76 to 66 led by Chris Manning who had a quadruple double with 28 points, 12 steals, 11 rebounds and 10 assists                       .2/11

     Jericho Finishes Undefeated

Jericho wrapped up their Nassau ABC 1 schedule undefeated, digging themselves out of an early hole and going on to a 82-75 win over Malverne.  The Jayhawks had 5 platers in double figures.                               2/8

Hills West Escapes From Deer Park

You figured this one would be a battle after the  two teams had played a close game at Hills West.  It sure was srappy, but most of the way West had the upper hand. A 4th quarter run by Deer Park made it close, but the Colts held on for a 58-52 victory.                        2/8

     Marcus Edwards To Babson

Marcus Edwards of East Hampton, who will be playing  basketball at D-III Babson College next year, scored his 1000 career point in East Hampton's 73-47 win over Huntington. He finished game 12th on East Hampton's career scoring list, picking up 15 points for a total of 1014. Mike Russell had a pretty good night too, hitting 7 three pointers and finishing with 25 points.             2/8

 

Chaminade Has St. Dom's Number

Chaminade beat St. Dominic for the 2nd time this season, using the momentum from a strong 3rd quarter to carry them to a 56-53 victory. The Flyers featured a balanced attack, with the Wildes brothers combining for 24 points.                                                                    2/5

    Longwood Drops Lindenhurst

Junior Cameron Roundtree came off the bench to score 23 points, including 5-5 on three-pointers, to lead Longwood past Lindenhurst 71-62. Roundtree, who has played sparingly this season, missed most of his sophomore year  with a knee injury.  The win enables Longwood to keep pace with Brentwood, who defeated Ward Melville 78-35, and drops Lindenhurst one game back in the three way race in Suffolk League 1.    2/5

        New York State Rankings

Long Island teams are slowly creeping up towards the top of the state rankings as those outside the region begin to realize that it is NOT a down year for Long Island after all. In Class AA, Walt Whitman has moved up to 14th, and Hills West 17th. New York City's Abraham Lincoln is rated #1. In Class A, where we are almost always very  strong, Jericho is ranked 5th, LI Lutheran 9th, East Hampton 10th, Roslyn 12th, and Great Neck North 19th. Defending champ Peekskill is #1. Class B has LWA 10th, Center Moriches 13th, and Bayport BP 18th, with Nichols from Buffalo ranked first. Class C shows Stony Brook 8th and Port Jefferson 9th, and Section 3's West Canada top rated,  and finally Class D, where Greenport is ranked #3, with Chateaugay of Section 10 in the top slot.  Poll is a/o 2/3

LI Lutheran Falls To Mount Vernon

Long Island Lutheran was on a roll, racking up one impressive win after another in a 10 game winning streak, but it all came to an end with a tough 71-61 road loss in Westchester. Leading at the end of one, the Crusaders were outscored 44-28 over the next two quarters.                                                                2/2

   Uniondale Takes Control In AA1

In a battle between Nassau's Class AA heavyweights,  Uniondale defeated Baldwin 64-51 to take sole possession of 1st place in Conference AA1. It was the visiting Bruins that struck first,  jumping out 6-0, but this would be Uniondale's game and the Knights quickly settled in, drawing even before two Caleb Norris free throws gave Baldwin a 15-13 lead as the 1st quarter ended. Justin Brown's jumper from the left corner tied it up early in the 2nd quarter,  and then his jumper from the right side gave Uniondale the lead for good. His third straight basket, this time a three pointer, made it 20-15 Uniondale, and then Raenard Reid banked in a shot off the glass on an inbound play for a 7 point lead. James Ockimey's jumper made it 9, and he followed that with a fast break layup and the Knights had a 26-15 advantage with 1:40 to go in the half. The Bruin shooters were cold, and the Knights were controlling the boards, so Baldwin had to feel fortunate to pull within 7 on a Nick Thomas putback at the halftime buzzer. Uniondale did not let up though. Three straight baskets by John Wigfall gave them a 36-22 lead with just under 5 minutes to go in the 3rd, and it was 14 again off Reid's basket from underneath as the quarter ended. Jerome Floyd's off balance jumper made it 45-29 early in the 4th quarter, and Reid's baseline drive 47-29, but Baldwin still had some life left in them. Chris Manning led a late charge, hitting shots and drawing fouls to stop the clock, and he brought the Buins within 10, but time was running out, and it got to the point where they had to foul and hope the Uniondale shooters would choke. They didn't. Jeffery Lorick, who went to the line four times in the closing minutes, hit 6 of 8 to ice the victory.                                                         2/1

       Brentwood Moves Into First

Brentwood moved into a first place tie with Lindenhurst and Longwood in Suffolk League 1, defeating Lindenhurst 65-54, while rival Longwood was surprised by Patchogue-Medford 73-66. The Indians led most of the way, but Lindenhurst closed to within 1 in the 2nd half before Brentwood pulled away for the win. The Bulldogs struck first, moving out to a small 1st quarter lead, but a three pointer by Jean Chery put Brentwood ahead 13-12 with just under 2 minutes to go in the 1st quarter,  and back to back baskets by JJ Moore and a turn around jumper in the lane by Kendall Harris and the Indians had a 19-12 lead at the end of the quarter. They would never trail again. The 2nd quarter was even most of the way, with Brentwood extending their lead to 10 at the half, but Lindenhurst got back into the game in the 3rd quarter. Obi Agbimson got the quarter started, plunging down the lane to give Brentwood a 12 point lead, but a few moments later, a three pointer from the right side by Kamil Parzych made it 38-31, and then another three by Parzych from straight on made it 38-34 with 4 minutes left in the quarter. A tough spinning move by Harris in the lane made it 40-34, but Parzych answered with a drive.. Back to back hoops by Moore and Brentwood was up 8, but a putback by Joe Chismar and a steal and basket by Chris Johnson and it was a four point game at the end of 3. Johnson pulled Lindenhurst within one on a three pointer to start the 4th quarter, but back, to back, to back putbacks by Chery, Jamie Jennings, and Moore gave Brentwood a 7 point cushion, and then another turn around jumper in the lane by Harris and they were up 9 with 5:31 remaining. Another Parzych three pointer gave Lindenhurst new life, and he followed it up with a pull up jumper and a driving layup to bring the Bulldogs back within one, but two big free throws by Billy Lubin kept Brentwood on top, and Harris scored in the lane again to put the Indians up 5. .A three pointer by Chery with 1:40 to go made it an 8 point game, and a Harris  fast break basket against the Lindenhurst press and it was 61-51. Two more free throws by Lubin, and Brentwood was ahead to stay. EDITORS NOTE: The three teams are tied with two league losses. However, Brentwood and Longwood have 7 wins, while Lindenhurst has played one more league game and has 8 so Lindenhurst actually has a 1/2 game. Our apologies.                                   1/29

     Bellport Puts Scare Into West

The Bellport Clippers came in sky high for their match-up with undefeated and #3 ranked Hills West, but after trailing most of the way - at times by double digits, the Colts came back for a 60-54 victory. You knew Hills West was in for a battle right from the get go. The Bellport players were visibly fired up, and once the game got under way, quickly gained confidence with every basket as they built a 10-4 lead. But when Tobias Harris tied it at 10 all with a basket and free throw, and Will Henep put the Colts ahead 12-10 on a fast break layup, everybody in the gym figured West would pull away from there. Everybody but Bellport. The Clippers ratcheted up their intensity another notch,  retaking the lead on a jumper by Chris Torres. A three pointer by Torres made it 18-14, and then two baskets and a free throw by Antonio Scott and it was Bellport by 7. Connor Fedge scored from underneath to give them a 9 point lead with 3 minutes to go in the half, and then Steve Edwards scored on the break and drew the foul for a 12 point lead. West was clearly in trouble. Aaron McCree stopped the Clippers run, hitting a jumper from the left side, but Torres answered right back. Harris scored off an inbound play and drew the foul, cutting the lead to single digits, but a basket by Jack Nickla and it was an 11 point game at halftime. Alex Aurrichio hit a jumper to start the 2nd half, cutting the Bellport lead to 9, and then Harris put back a miss. A three pointer by John Conneely made it 35-30, and then Harris picked up a loose ball and scored to cut it to 3 with 4:39 to go in the 3rd. After a West free throw, Harris banked one off the glass to tie it at 35 and THEN Hills West pulled away for the win, right? Wrong! Edwards rebounded and scored to put Bellport back on top, Scott exploded down the lane for a 4 point lead, and then Fedge rebounded and scored and Bellport was up by 6 with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. Conneely hit a big shot for the Colts, knocking down a three pointer to keep them close, but Scott answered from the right corner with a three pointer of his own, and then a reverse layup by CJ Morell made it an 8 point game as the quarter drew to a close. Do or die time for Hills West. Aurrichio got things rolling with a fast break basket to start the 4th quarter, cutting it to 6. After a Bellport free throw, back to back three pointers by Hennep and Steve Rollino brought West within a point. A baseline drive by Fedge put Bellport back up by 3 with just under 6 minutes to go, but Harris scored four straight point on a basket and two free throws and Hills West was in the lead. Harris grabbed another loose ball and scored for a 3 point margin, and Aurrichio's spinning move in the lane with 2:05 to go put West up by 4, but a short jumper by Torres kept Bellport within a basket. Then in a crucial sequence, Aurrichio picked up a huge offensive rebound on a missed free throw,  and then Harris broke open underneath and scored and West was up 4 with less than a minute to go. After a Bellport miss, Harris hit two free throws for a 6 point Hills West lead, and although Bellport had their opportunities,  the two teams ended up exchanging free throws in the final seconds and West held on for the win.                                  1/26

          Kellenberg Rights Ship

Entering MLK weekend having lost three of their last four games, Kellenberg reaffirmed their status as a top team with a decisive win over Roosevelt and then another decisive win over league rival Chaminade to start off the new week.                                           1/22

   LuHi Defeats Forest Hills

A first half shooting barrage by Matt Rooney, including 5 three pointers, led Long Island Lutheran to a 76-66 win over Forest Hills. The Crusaders jumped on top from the opening tap, with Rooney's third three pointer of the opening quarter putting them up 17-10, and his 4th making it 22-14 at the end of one. A power move underneath by Brian Wilson pushed the lead to nine, and Rooney's 5th three pointer made it  34-22 Lutheran at the half. With the defense now focused on stopping Rooney, things opened up for his teammates, and they took advantage. A steal and fast break layup by Rich Harkins made it 37-22, and as the third quarter wound down, a Harkins steal, layup, and three pointer gave LuHi a 20 point lead. A beautiful alley-oop dunk by Jeriel Henriquez made it 58-36, and Henriquez followed it up with a three pointer off an inbound play and it was 61-36 Lutheran early in the 4th.  A steal and basket by Kevin Johnson made it 63-36, and a fast break basket by Harkins and it was 65-36 and time to pull the starters.                     1/21

     LWA Fights Off John Bowne

Lawrence Woodmere jumped out to a 19-7 lead and then withstood several John Bowne rallies for a 61-54 win.  It was 14-3 after Chris Williams closed out the first quarter with a drive, and LWA extended their lead to 12 on a three pointer by Sean Henry, but Bowne cut it to 8 on a four point play - a three pointer plus a foul - with 1:50 to go in the half. It was 25-18 at the break. Henry's turn around jumper in the lane made it 30-19 LWA early in the 3rd quarter, but back to back three pointers brought Bowne within 5. A fast break basket with 2:53 to go in the 3rd and it was a 3 point game, and a three pointer and we were tied at 35 with 2:09 left. LWA regained the lead on a basket and free throw by Williams, and then Henry made two free throws for a 5 point lead, but Bowne scored on a putback and it was 40-37 at the end of 3. Williams opened the 4th quarter with a driving layup, Collick's two free throws with 2:58 to go made it 46-40, and then a Williams jumper from the top of the key and LWA was up by 8. A Bowne three pointer cut it to 50-44 with 2 minutes to go in the game, but Williams struck back on the break, and then two free throws by Tadone Wilson and it was 54-47 with 1:34 left. Williams dunked for a 56-47 lead, but a three pointer and it was 56-50 with 47 seconds to go. Bowne needed a stop, but Williams drew the foul and his 1 for 2 at the line made it a three possession game. A foolish foul by LWA gave Bowne new life, and their two free throws brought them within 5 with 40 seconds still on the clock, but Williams iced it with four straight free throws.                                                                    1/21

                 Games of 1/19/08

Riverhead bounced back nicely from their loss to Hills West with a 80-65 win over Southampton....... LuHi defeated Wings Academy 73-66 behind a big game from Rich Harkins........... Mineola is now 6-1 in conference after their 45-36 win over Seaford....

  VS Central Surges Past Freeport

Valley Stream Central came out of the halftime locker room firing on all cylinders, making up a 7 point halftime deficit in minutes, and then outscoring Freeport 37-18 the rest of the way for a resounding 81-62 victory. Central's balanced attack featured Danny Jones with 17 points, and Darryl Dennis and Hashim Mitchell with 16 points each.                                                           1/17

  Upper Room Nationally Ranked

Upper Room improved to 12-3 with a 78-35 win over Kew Forest. Ramel Anderson had 17 points and 10 assists and Victor Holder 13 points and 14 rebounds  for the Royals. The Dix Hills school is now nationally ranked in two Christian school polls, finishing 8th in the NACA Poll, and 17th in the NCSAA Regional Poll.   1/16

  Hills West Passes Deer Park Test

Hills West has not played a lot of close games this season, so it was interesting to see how well they would do when they were finally tested in league play. Deer Park, also unbeaten in Suffolk League IV, provided the test and it was a tight game almost the whole way. Nick Malone scored on a fast break basket for Deer Park to end the first quarter, tying it up at 16, and Josh Malone scored on the break to start the second quarter, and Deer Park was up by two. A Tobias Harris three pointer made it 19-18 Hills West, and it was no more than a three point game either way until 4:02 to go in the 3rd quarter, when Will Hennep scored on a putback to put West up by 5. Harris extended the lead to 8 when he scored on a drive, was fouled and completed the three point play, but Josh Malone rebounded his own miss and scored, and then got a beautiful feed from Anthony Valerio,  scored and drew the foul and Deer Park was back within three. A Hennep jumper from the left side made it 51-46 Hills West, but Valerio hit Nick Malone cutting to the basket and it was a three point game, and then Mark Richards rebounded a miss and scored, and Deer Park was within one as the 3rd quarter came to a close. Harris opened up the final quarter with a fast break bucket, and Hennep followed it with a fast break hoop of his own and it was 55-50 with about 6 minutes to go in the game. Kenny Quarles found the range for Deer Park, knocking down a three pointer to cut the lead to two with 5:35 to go, but Harris hit two free throws, put back a missed shot, and then Hennep hit a driving fast break layup, and the Colts were suddenly up 7 with 3:10 to go. Jonathan Smalls' basket for Dear Park cut it to five with just under a minute remaining, but Deer Park couldn't cash in on some free throw opportunities and Hills West held on for a 67-61win 1/15

        Jericho Shreds Malverne

In the top offensive display of the season, Jericho sprinted out to a 32-7 first quarter lead on their way to 102-71 win over Malverne. It was Malverne's first league loss. Mike Romanelli, who was used sparingly

in the teams lone loss to Uniondale, scored 40 points, including 8 three pointers. Matt Cajuste had 21. Jericho has 5 players who have scored 18 or more points in a game.                                                                1/14/08

     LuHi Dominates St. Anthony's

You wouldn't know it by the 65-55 final score, but Long Island Lutheran dominated St. Anthony's at St. Anthony's. Matt Rooney''s three pointer put them up 18 as the 3rd quarter wound down, and his NBA range three pointer put them up 22 with about 5 minutes to go in the game and it wasn't long after that both teams had reserves in the game.                                       1/13/08

Baldwin 5-0 After Massapequa Win

Baldwin improved to 5-0 in the conference and 9-1 overall with a 71-66 win over Massapequa.  Chris Manning hit a 3-pointer, 2 free throws and had two steals in the final 1:30 to secure the win for Baldwin.  Manning had eight points, seven assists, eight steals and six rebounds.  Chris Mauldin had 10 points and seven assists.  Nick Thomas had 13 and seven rebounds.                                                           1/12/08

Hills East Rallies Past West Babylon

Facing a 19-4 1st quarter deficit, Hills East fought all the way back for a 72-65 win. The comeback was

sparked by an effective full court press that allowed

junior Mike Marcelin to pick up 7 steals. Dan Aknouk's

three pointer with two minutes to go put East up

64-60, and Jon Selby's two free throws with 46 seconds to go gave Hills East, 2-2 in League III, its final

margin. Senior Brooke Folk led the way with 17 points, Jon Selby had 15 points, and .Ricky Scarabino was consistent all night long, picking up 14 points and 11 boards.  His frontcourt mate and fellow senior Chris Minor added 10 boards.                                 1/11/08

          Games of 1/10/08

Southampton had a big 4th quarter and came away with a 75-63 win over Center Moriches. It was the Mariner's  second win over a ranked team. Troy Pender had 23 points and Anthony Reddick 21.......Lindenhurst grabbed a 14 point first quarter lead and outlasted Longwood 63-56. Kamil Parzych led the way with 25 points and Brian Cervantes had a strong game with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The win put Lindenhurst on top in League 1.......Riverhead  scored the first eight points of the second overtime to beat Smithtown West 81-75. Rasheen Moore had 10 points in the final period after  hitting the shot that sent the game into the second OT. He finished with 22 points and Robert Skeeter had 20

                 Games Of 1/8/08

Mike Russell returned to the lineup for East Hampton, chipping in a modest 7 points, as his Bonackers clocked Rocky Point 73-48 behind Marcus Edwards and his 27 points and 10 rebounds........Bellmore grabbed the lead in Nassau AA2 by beating fellow division leader Freeport 60-49. The Cougars closed out the last 2:30 minutes of the 3rd quarter with a 12-3 run to take a

47-35 lead into the 4th. Nick Taldi and Harris Richard have been a lethal combination for Bellmore, and they led the way again, combining for 30 points.....Can you be a surprise team two years in a row? Hicksville is off to a good start again, going 4-0 in AA3 with a win over Mepham. Ernestas Steponas had 19 points and Ike Ogbonna 18 .......Hills West dismissed 7-1 Hauppauge 64-34. Tobias Harris was "held" to 24 points. The sophomore is already Hill West's all time leading scorer........St. Dominic is finally getting healthy, and the still unknown team showed they may be one of the top teams on the Island after all with a 67-45 win over St. John The Baptist.......Next Monday's game at Malverne is setting up to be a big one, as both Malverne and Jericho picked up key wins leading up to it. Jericho came from behind without Matt Cajuste to clip South Side 64-57  and Malverne pulled away  for a  60 -51 win over Westbury. Both teams are now 4-0 in conference

........... Roslyn moved to 4-0 behind another 30 point game from George Beamon. He finished with 31 and 10 rebounds in a tough 65-64 win over Valley Stream South.......It was Bayport-Blue Point all the way against Miller Place, although Miller Place would never quite go away. Robby Ptacek had 29 points........Division is loving Conference ABC-V, going into overtime to defeat Wheatly and move to 4-0. Wheatly rallied from 15 down, but couldn't .get over the top....Holy Trinity beat St. Mary's 73-66.  Pat Fanning had 28 points and 7 rebounds.  Freshman Tyler Seidman scored 14 of his 17 points in the 4th quarter. Holy Trinity is 6-6 overall and 2-0 in the NSCHSAA........Deer Park christened their new gym with a 81-52 win over Smithtown West. Josh Malone had 22 points and 7 rebounds and Anthony Valerio had 18 points and 6 rebounds for DP.......Jon Williams hit the game winning shot with 14 seconds on the clock as Friends beat Hewlett 54-53. Harrison Hefele finished with 22 points and Williams and Ramir Robinson had 13. Robinson added 15 rebounds....... 

                Games Of 1/5/08

Amityville has improved dramatically, in a large part due to the emergence of freshman Darien Croft , who had 15 points in a 59-42 win over Bayport-Blue Point........St. Anthony's wasn't ready for prime time, dropping a 53-37 decision to Peekskill - New York State's top ranked Class A team. Thr Friars didn't shoot well, despite getting open looks......LWA was upset by Long Island City. Missing one of their key players and playing their first game after a long layoff, they had a tough time scoring......Babylon came from behind to beat Southampton, their second big Class B win in a row. The Panthers led at the half 27 - 20,  but Southampton quickly closed the gap in the 3rd quarter and then raced out to a 9 point lead midway through the 4th, a run of 32 - 16 that made it 52 - 43 Southampton.  That was it for them, however, as Babylon closed out the game with a 14 - 0 run of their own to win 57 - 52.  The game was intense in the 2nd half and it had all the signs of going into overtime.  But JT Pate stepped up with a jumper from the top of the key to put Babylon up by one and followed that with 2 free throws and an offensive rebound put back (6 pts in about the last 2 minutes)..........The battle of Sachem was a wild one! North took a 23-4 lead, only to be outscored 42-8 over the next two quarters.! East held on for a 60-55 win....

East Islip By 12 Over North Babylon

After a slow start, East Islip roared past West Babylon, outscoring them 36-14 over the second and third quarters for a 53-41 victory. Drew Acocella led EI with  19 points.                                                          1/4/08

  Bellmore Fends Off  V.S. Central

After the Bellmore JFK Cougars went on an 11-0 run to

build their biggest lead of the game at 51-28 with

4:26 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Valley Stream

Central Eagles responded with a run of their own.

Hashim Mitchell and Everod Bisnauth led a run that cut

the Cougars lead to 60-53 with 5:00 remaining in the

game.  Bellmore would answer with a 10-2 run to secure the victory.  Nick Taldi shot 10 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter to finish with 37 points and

Harris Wichard added 18 points.  Hashim Mitchell

scored 25 points and Dan Jones added 12 points for

Valley Stream Central.                                          1/4

Westbury Tops South Side In 2 OT's

In a classic high school game, Westbury beat Southside 60 to 56 in double overtime.The game was a back and forth battle and was tied at six different times in the second  half. Southside had the last shot at the end of regulation, but Westbury's Nedal Brown blocked it to force overtime. At the end of the first overtime Westbury had a three point lead as time was running out, but Jesse Winter hit a long three for Southside to send

the game into double overtime. In the second OT Westbury held Southside to 2 points and Travis Troiano scored 5 of Westbury's 6 points to lead the Green Dragons to the win. Trioano lead Westbury with 16 points. Westbury is now 2 and 0 in league play and 4 and 2 overall. Jesse Winter lead Southside with 24 points including 6 threes.                                   1/2/08

  East Hampton Avenges Only Loss

Two big rivals in a big game, and it was a good one, with East Hampton finally pulling away for a 58-49 win. Jerome Russell was the man tonight with 23 big points.

                                                                              12/30

  Bayport-Blue Point Bounces Back

After an uncharacteristic performance in a loss to a good Southampton team, Bayport-Blue Point bounced back with a vengeance, hammering Riverhead 82-59. Rob Ptacek and Mark Koelbel had 20 points each, and Reid Drzal finished with 14                                    12/30

St. Anthony's Pulls Away From CM

First off, let me say that it was a terrific game between two talented teams,  and great fun to watch.  I have to confess that beforehand, I wondered if CM could stay with St. Anthony's,  but they answered that question right from the start,  jumping out to 13-4 lead. Three straight 3 pointers by St. Anthony's, the last by Chris Jimenez, tied it at 13, and i didn't realize it at the time, but the outburst of three pointers set the tone for the game. Another Jimenez three pointer put St. Anthony's up 16-15, and then then a putback by Jonathan Francois made it 21-16.  A three pointer from the corner by Olivier Laurent made it 27-18 with 6:18 to go in the half, and again I must confess, my thought was "game over". CM was struggling badly against the Friar's trapping defense and the St. Anthony's shooters were on fire. Another three by Jimenez made it 30-18, and I checked my watch to see if I had time to make it to a game in East Islip if I left at the half. Oh yee of little faith! A jump hook by CM's Michael Scott broke the run, and then a pull-up jumper by Jonathan Ward-Adams made it 30-22. Jeffery Kanas scored from underneath to cut the lead to six before a three pointer by Laurent broke the Red Devil's run. CM was right back at them though. A three pointer from the corner by Thomas Rowland and back to back three pointers by Jonathan Ward-Adams and it was 37 all! Shahab Sayed got St. Anthony's going again with back to back power moves in the lane, but Jonathan Ward-Adams nailed another three pointer and it was 41-40. A Sayed tip in made it 43-40 St. Anthony's at the half. Great half!  Unofficially, the two teams combined for15 three pointers! CM's big man, Michael Scott, opened the second half scoring with a jumper in the lane to make it 43-42. A technical foul call on St. Anthony's and two free throws put CM up one, but a steal and pull-up jumper by Kevin Kerr put the Friars back on top. Kanas rebounded a miss and scored for CM, but it was Sayed again, this time with a turnaround jumper and then a jump hook and it was 49-46 St. Anthony's. Jonathan Ward-Adams tied it at 49 on a driving lay-up, but Sayed went up and under for a two point lead. CM's Scott took an elbow to the mouth and had to come out of the game at this point, and the momentum swung to St. Anthony's. Joe Dolisi nailed a three pointer for the Friars with 1:25 to go in the quarter, then two free throws by Sayed, a basket off an inbound play by Laurent, and a pull up jumper by Dolisi and it was 60-51 at the end of three. CM looked tired now. They don't have a deep bench, and they definitely had some of the wind taken out of their sails when Scott came out of the game, even though he later returned. Still, Jonathan Ward-Adams opened the fourth with a drive down the lane,  and then two free throws, and it was 60-55. Right back in it! But CM would score only five more points in the quarter, and Sayed's putback, followed by a jump hook, put the Friars up by nine and they pulled away for a 79-60 victory.   (Note: see full story about CM's win over KIngs Park below)  12/29

         LuHi Starts 2-0 Out West

#2 Long Island Lutheran got off to a good start at the Above The Rim Tournament in San Diego, beating Westview (Ca) 74 - 35 in their first game, and then Army-Navy Academy (Ca) 70-66 in their second. The team flew out of JFK at 7am our time Wednesday morning. and their first  game was a scheduled 7:30pm tip off in San Diego that night.                                                       12/27

          Holy Trinity Falls Short                  Holy Trinity lost to Connecticut's 5th ranked team, St. Joseph's of Trumbull, 67-64 in the Northeast Catholic Classic. Trailing 29-11 after the 1st quarter, they rallied all the way back, only to have Tyler Seidman's halfcourt shot rim out at the buzzer.  Pat Fanning had 22 pts and 9 rebounds, Tom Hurley had 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Tony Sims had 8 assists and 5 steals. They play Trinity Catholic on Saturday.                                  12/27

Center Moriches Making Believers

Center Moriches advanced to the Championship Game of the Kings Park Tournament with a 68-54 win over a good Kings Park host team. You could see the visitor's confidence grow with every basket and defensive stop. Falling behind 18-9 at the outset, CM tied it at 20 all on a three pointer by Thomas Rowland,  and then they grabbed the lead on a putback by Jeffery Kanas. The lead grew to 26-20 on a fast break lay-up by Alex Snead at the halftime buzzer. Rowland scored on the break to start the second half for an eight point lead, but Matthew O'Leary responded with a three pointer to bring Kings Park within five. Another fastbreak lay-up by Rowland pushed the lead to double digits, and Jonathan Ward-Adams followed that with a lay-up to make it 38-25 with 2:40 to go in the quarter. Kings Park fought back to within five again, but a three pointer from the corner by Ward-Adams  and it was 43-33 CM at the end of three. Two free throws by Michael Scott to start the fourth gave CM a 45-33 lead,  but a three pointer by Brendan Ujvary and a steal and basket by Mike Campisi and Kings Park was back within striking distance. Another three, this time by Patrick Thompson, cut CM's lead to eight, and with 3:12 remaining, it was Thompson again on the break making it 53-47. But that's as close as Kings Park would get. CM's Jordan Ward-Adams hit both ends of a 1 and 1, and so did Alex Snead and it was 57-47 with 2:44 showing.  A pull-up jumper by Jordan Ward-Adams and a shot from down low by Scott made it 61-47, and CM was on their way to a date with St. Anthony's in the finals. Final score 68-54. Jordan Ward-Adams led a balanced attack for CM that  featured six players with 8 or more points. He finished with a game high 18, despite missing much of the game with foul trouble.                                                          12/27

      SJB Beats Host At Gulfshore

St. John the Baptist , led by Josh Elbaum's 15 points,7 assists and 6 steals and Shake Pryzby's 9 points and 6 assists, defeated the host Golden Gate Florida H S 73-55 in the opening round of the Gulfshore Shootout in Naples, Florida. SJB advances to play a tough Jupiter H S in the quarter finals                                             12/27

     Uniondale Takes Bay Shore

When these two teams met a few weeks ago, #2 Bay Shore had to rally from a halftime deficit for the win. There would be no rally for the win the second time around, as 14th ranked Uniondale took control in the 4th quarter and pulled away for a 70-57 road win. The first half was tight most of the way, but as it wound down, Raenard Reid drove the baseline for a basket and drew the foul, putting the Knights up 35-26 at the half. Then just as they had in the first game, Bay Shore made a 3rd quarter run, with Orayne McEachron's putback bringing the Marauders within 3, and then a spinning drive by Barry Ingram making it 46-44 after three quarters. But Justin Brown answered back for Uniondale to start the fourth, drilling a three pointer from the left corner. Steven Johnson added two free throws, and then Brown drove the baseline, and Uniondale was back up by nine with 6:24 remaining. Johnson followed Brown with a baseline drive of his own, and it was 55-44 with 5:45 to go. Bay Shore would cut it to 8 three times after that, but never got any closer. Brown led Uniondale with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Reid had 17 points. 12/22

     John Glenn Over Kings Park

It was Glenn this time in the rematch of last year's Suffolk County Class A Championship game. Kings Park had a chance to win it in regulation, but Glenn dodged the bullet and went on to a 68-61 win in OT. Izevbehai had 22 points and Scott 15 for John Glenn. 12/22

           Hills West Goes to 6-0

For the first time in school history, Hills West has started the season 6-0 as they shook a scrappy Rocky Point team and rolled to a 81-48 win. West went on a 43-14 run to finish the game. Tobias Harris had 31 points while he was double teamed the entire game, and senior forwards Alex Aurrichio (12 pts./13 rebs.), who had his second double-double in a row, and Mike Meglio (11 pts./16 rebs)., also had big games.     12/22

             Jericho Keeps Pace

#1 Jericho faced a St. John The Baptist team fresh off a beating at the hands of #3 Long Island Lutheran, and although the Cougars regrouped nicely and played a much better game, the top ranked Jayhawks prevailed by a score of 51-46. It was a very close game throughout, tied at 36 at end of the third quarter and with 5 lead changes in the final quarter. A Josh Elbaum jumper gave SJB its final lead at 44-43, and then Matt Cajuste, who had a huge game for Jericho, came back with a left handed hook to put Jericho back in front to stay. The Jayhawks iced the game with 6 free throws down the stretch. Cajuste and Josh Wittsell each had 17 for Jericho, while Elbaum led SJB with 14.    12/20

Suffolk CC Brentwood Over Nassau

Suffolk Community-Brentwood slipped by Nassau Community by a score of 63-62.  Corey Johnson (Hills East) had 16 points and Rakeem Vanertpool (North Babylon) had 15 points for Suffolk, while John Dabney (Freeport) led Nassau with 29.                         12/20

        Westbury Over Floral Park

In the first league games for both teams in  ABC1 Westbury defeated Floral Park 69 to 61. The game was tied after the first quarter at 15. Westbury went on a 21 to 9 run in the second quarter to take a 36 to 24 halftime lead. Westbury maintained the lead in the second half. A long three by Billy Butler cut the lead to 6 with two and half minutes left but Westbury was able to break the press for a score and hold on for the victory. Josh Core led the green dragons with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Paris Abrams knocked down 6 three's for Westbury and Brian Hailey came off the bench to chip in 12 points and 6 rebounds. Westbury is now  2 and 1 overall and 1 and 0 in league.                                                           12/20

      SJB No Match For Lutheran

Long Island Lutheran staked their claim to the top spot in the Sweet 16 by hammering 5th ranked St. John The Baptist 70-39. SJB's fate was sealed early in the 2nd quarter when their shooters went cold and Lutheran responded with a 26-4 run to put the game away. Back to back three pointers by Rich Harkins opened the first half floodgates for the Crusaders, and then a looping shot in the lane by Jeriel Henriquez topped it off and made it 32-15 at the half. It was more of the same in the 3rd quiarter, as two three pointers by Matt Rooney, sandwiched around a fastbreak layup by Henriquez made it 44-17 and put the game out of reach. Henriquez led LuHi with 17 points, Kevin Johnson 15 points, Harkins 12 points, and Rooney 9 for LuHi. Josh Elbaum had 12 for SJB.                                                   12/19              

                 Games of 12/18

#2 Bay Shore fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 64-56 loss to Xaverian. They had a four point lead at halftime. Booker Hucks was high man for Bay Shore with 21 points. Even with the loss, Long Island teams lead NYC 22-16 in head to head match-ups between the two regions so far this season......Babylon shocked # 11 Lindenhurst 58-56, handing them their third loss in a row. JT Pate led Babylon with 14 points......Vinny Russo exploded for 32 points, leading Sayville to a 55-53 come from behind win over Huntington........... #12 Baldwin rocked Hempstead 83-61. Nick Thomas had 18 points for Baldwin and Terrell Williams led Hempstead with 31......#4 Walt Whitman jumped out to a 31-12 halftime lead and coasted past Massapequa 67-51. Kyheem Green had 16 points and 16 rebounds and Hanif Malloy had15 points.......

                  Games Of 12/15

In was a day of big blow-outs. Led by Josh Malone and Marques Charlton, Deer Park ran up a 46-18 first half lead and hammered Ward Melville 81-32.....Center Moriches ran up a 56-19 first half lead on their way to blistering Bridgehampton 92-22. CM had a balanced attack, with four players scoring in double digits....Not as dramatic, but equally impressive was Bayport-Blue Point's 73-53 win over Copiague, especially after their unexpected loss to Kings Park the day before. Robby Ptacek had a huge game with 40 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.......Kendall Harris was named MVP of the Brentwood Holiday Hoops Tournament. He  led all players in the tournament averaging 17 rebounds a game, as his Brentwood team defeated Commack in round 1 and then went on to beat North Babylon in the finals. Super sophomore JJ Moore also pitched in with 18 points a game to help lead Brentwood to victory.

           LWA Over St. Anthony's

The State Championship banners hang all over the gym at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, and if that's not enough to remind you that they have one of the top basketball programs on the Island year in and year out, then all you need to do is shift your focus to the court, and they'll be glad to show you. After having what was considered to be a rebuilding year last year, LWA served notice that they are back with a big 56-48 win over 12th ranked St. Anthony's. LWA grabbed the early lead, going up 16-9 on a pull up jumper by Chris Williams, but Mike Capozzi's baseline drive tied it 16, and then his jumper from the lane put St. Anthony's up 20-18 as the half drew to a close. Kevin Kerr put the Friars up 23-14, nailing a three pointer to start the second half, but a fast break lay-up off a steal by Matt Freeman cut it to 26-24, and then Holden Collick tied it from underneath with 4:35 to go in the quarter. Shahab Syed scored to put St. Anthony's up by four, but Freeman kept it close with a three pointer, and then put them ahead  33-32 with another three with 1:10 left. St. Anthony's regained the lead on another low post hoop by Syed, but Collick countered from underneath again and it was tied at 35 going into the 4th quarter. Another three pointer by Freeman put LWA up 40-39, but Capozzi lunged down the lane for two to make it 41-40 Friars.  A traditional three point play by Williams gave LWA a two point lead, but Syed tied it up again at 43.  Williams knocked down another big shot,  this time from behind the arc, to give LWA a  three point lead with under two minutes to go, and then added  two free throws in the one and one to make it a five point game and LWA pulled away from there.  Williams finished with 27 points, and Freeman had 13. Syed led St. Anthony's with 16.                                                                           12/14

            Games of 12/14

In what some are describing as the best game they've ever seen between the two rivals, Great Neck North defeated Great Neck South for the first time in five years with a 91-89 win in double overtime.  Ben Dorman hit a three at the buzzer to send it into the 2nd  overtime and finished with 29 points and 10 boards. The town is still buzzing!....  #1 LI Lutheran lost 79-77 to Archbishop Molloy on a last second shot.....It going to be tough going for #4 St. Dominic for awhile, with a tough schedule and still missing their two big men...... #5 Walt Whitman picked up their second impressive win of the season, beating #6 Lindenhurst by 11.......#10 Hills West crushed Northport behind 39 points from Tobias Harris. Bryan Crowley was the only bright spot for the Tigers with  22 points and 13 rebounds.... Steve Velazquez's 20 points and 7 rebounds carried Hauppauge past Hills East 54-38.....Sewhanaka captured the championship game at the Herricks Coaches vs Cancer Tournament with a 48-39 win over the hosts. Frantzley Lubin finished with 25 points for Sewanhaka and Shaah Rahi had 15 points for Herricks ........Port Washington served notice that they are a team to be reckoned with by beating Hempstead 55-50. Chris Ryder led PW with 19 points........Trailing by one at the end of the first quarter, Brentwood put the pedal to the metal and outscored North Babylon 58-28 over the next two quarters on their way to a dominating 97-51win.......George Beamon's 45 points weren't enough as Roslyn fell to Valley Stream Central 80-78.......Harborfields stunned #15 John Glenn 64-52.....Jon Williams of Friends Academy had 27pts and 8 steals in their 56-41 win over Locust Valley....In the Finals of East Meadow Tournament, Azfar Khan scored 22 points and was named tournament MVP as

East Meadow defeated Mepham 50-44............

        Wyandanch Over Flushing

Wyandanch defeated Flushing High School 49-38 at the Elmcor Pro-Am Classic on Sunday.  They were led by game MVP Rashard Mcqueen with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Devon Bumpers had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.                        12/9

               OSNA Takes Third

After losing to eventual champion Good Council (MD) 65-60 on 12/7, OSNA took 3rd place in the Good Council Tip-Off Classic by beating Cardinal Gibbons 54-43    12/8

  Center Moriches Over Sachem N.

Center Moriches defeated Sachem North 73 to 51. CM took the lead early and never looked back.  Alex Snead led the way (19pts. and 7 assists) and Jordan Ward-Adams ( 16 points and 11 rebounds) was also a major contributor. Jonathan Ward-Adams finihed with  16 pts too, shooting 3-6 from the three. Sachem North was lead by Rob Kjellman with 16pts.                                   12/7

                   Games Of 12/6

Leading by two at the half, John Glenn pulled away from Northport for a 54-43 first round win at the annual Butch Dellecave Tournament in Smithtown. The dynamic duo of Phil Izevbehai and Mack Scott led the way with 20 and 16 points respectively, with Izevbehai getting 6 of his in the decisive 4th quarter........Roslyn squandered a 1st half lead but held on for a 61-60 win over an improved Harborfields team. George Beamon had a game high 27 points for Roslyn, while Shaquan McLeod had 19 for Harborfields.......

     #13 SJB Defeats Wyandanch

It looked like a mismatch at first. Wyandanch struggled badly on offense in their first game of the post Chris Barber era, and #13 St. John The Baptist took advantage,  jumping all over the defending Suffolk County Public School Champions and building a seemingly effortless 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the young and fast Warriors pressed relentlessly, and suddenly in the 3rd quarter, things started to click and they came roaring back into the game, trailing by only 5 with 3:05 remaining in the 3rd quarter on a spinning low post move by Devon Bumpers. But a Josh Elbaum putback broke the run, and then Justin Platter scored off an inbound play, Elbaum hit a fast break layup and a foul shot, and Greg Kelm topped it off with a putback of a missed free throw, and SJB was back up by 14 at the end of three and on their way to a 60- 46 win. Elbaum finished with a game high 22 for SJB, while Greg Kelm added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Rashard McQueen led Wyandanch with 15 and Bumpers had 10.                                   12/5

     St. Dominic Game Postponed

St. Doms game against Bishop Laughlin was postponed because of the weather. It will be played later in the season

Previews From Locals Newspapers

Playoffs is the goal for Northport basketball

Coach confident Miller Place will excel this year

Mt. Sinai Mustangs kick off season Dec. 18

Centereach has the talent to be competitive

East Hampton quicker this season

           IF YOU KNOW OF OTHER PREVIEWS

                           SEND US A LINK!

     East Islip Defeats Brentwood

In a game dominated by turnovers, tough but undersized East Islip took better care of the ball - particularly in the second half, and pulled away from  Brentwood 56-39. Fritz Jacques, who earned a spot on the Under The Radar list, scored 24 points to lead the Redmen to the win.Sophomore JJ More was impressive for Brentwood, finishing with 14 points, including a number of strong dunks.

  Holy Trinity First Round Winner

Holy Trinity jumped out to an 11 point first quarter lead and went on to defeat St. Francis 59-51 at the McClancy Tournament. John Snead had 14 points and 8 rebounds to lead Holy Trinity and Tom Hurley had 12.points.

      Upper Room Splits First Two

Upper Room kicked off the season well, defeating Portledge 62-34 behind 12 points from Matt Milk and 11 from Victor Holder, but then they faced a tough Masters School and lost a 72-70 heartbreaker. Ramel Anderson had a hugh game with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists and Victor Holder had 16 points and 10 rebounds.          

            LWA Leaves IPPSAL

Lawrence Woodmere Academy, one of Long Island's preeminent basketball programs, has decided to switch leagues this season, leaving the IPPSAL to join the PSAA. The PSAA is a private school league composed mostly of teams from New York City. LWA is the second high profile team to leave the IPPSAL, joining Long Island Lutheran, who left last year to become an independent.

Lakers Claim Second Straight Title

The LI Lakers claimed the title in the Western Division of the Lightning Varsity Preseason League, defeating Valley Stream Graziano 52-45. The Lakers were Summer League Champs too, and were not one of the top seeds either time. In the Eastern Division, LIL Silverstein captured the crown, defeating the Rising Stars 78-70. In other divisions, the Titans were JV Champs, and the Jaguars were 8th Grade Champions.

  Nassau All-Stars Hammer Suffolk

                        GO TO STORY

     All-Star Doubleheader Photos

      The photo albums for all four games are posted

    Suffolk Game  1

    Suffolk Game  2

    Nassau Game 1

    Nassau Game 2

            Nassau All-Stars Shine

Matt Cajuste's back to back putbacks with 2 minutes remaining gave his team the lead and sparked them to a 92 to 86 win in Game One of the Nassau Top 40 Doubleheader. Harris Wichard and Jamal White shared the scoring honors with 21 points each. In Game Two, Chris Manning's steals and assists and David Fogel's scoring led a first half run that carried their team to an easy victory in game two. Fogel finished with 21 points, and Daniel Jones and Paul Dail finished with 12 each.                   GAME 1 PHOTOS    GAME 2 PHOTOS    

                                   Rosters

Game 1, Team 1

Dorman,Ben         Great Neck South

Butler,Billy           Floral Park

Walsh,Kevin        West Hempstead

Whitsell,Joshua  Jericho

White,Jamal        Roosevelt

Williams,Jon       Friends

Kenney,Ryan       Valley Stream North

Triano,Travis       Westbury

Sleus,Ryan          Lynbrook

Klein, Derek        Lawrence

Team 2

Cajuste,Matt        Jericho

Butler,Brandon    Floral Park

Tolan,Ryan           Island Trees

Heisig,Justin        Island Trees

Resnick,Justin    Jericho

Romanelli,Mike   Jericho

Goodall, Delano   Westbury

Mauldin, Chris     Baldwin

Nattis, Mike         Friends

Wichard, Harris   Bellmore JFK

Game 2, Team 3

Rider,Chris          Port Washington

Dail, Paul             Westbury

Karch, Devin       Locust Valley

Wilson, Justin     Floral Park

Taldi, Nick           Bellmore JFK

Marchia, Tim       Sewanhaka

Winter, Jesse      South Side

Van Cott, Brian    Oyster Bay

Lacossierie, Nachbi  Elmont

Preval,Julian      Freeport

Team 4

Taft, Russell        Jericho

Manning,  Chris   Baldwin

Jones, Daniel      Valley Stream Central

Khan,Azfar           East Meadow

Fenton, Shawn    Island Trees

Stewart,Conrad   Lawrence

Gessner, TJ         Mineola

Fogel,David         Hewlett

Dennis,Darryl      Valley Stream Central

Gattus,Mike         MacArthur

          College Exposure Event

For one day only, Hoop Mountain will be hosting the New York Fall Classic, October 7th @ The Island Garden Sports Complex. This event will have both college and prep school coaches in attendance. The day will consist of "mini" round robin games and a short lecture on NCAA standards. Each player will play in several games and will receive a Hoop Mountain Tee-shirt.

Location: Island Garden , West Hempstead

Date: October 7, 2007

Registration: 11:30am-1:00pm

Orientation: 1:00-1:30pm

Games: 1:30-5:00pm

Contact Gregory M.Kristof at GKristof@ hoopmountain .com  with questions.

       Suffolk Coaches Academy 

The Suffolk County Boys Basketball Coaches Association presents the 28th Annual Fall Coaches Academy.  The Academy will take place on Saturday September 29 and Sunday September 30 at William Floyd High School and features 160 (80 underclassmen and 80 Seniors) of Suffolk County's best public school players. The Academy offers players great individual instruction, skill development, exposure to high levels of competition, and exposure to college coaches during a "live" recruiting period.  The top 40 players from the Academy will be selected to play in the 8th Annual Suffolk Doubleheader Challenge at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue starting at 6:00 on Thursday October 4. 

The top 12 players from the doubleheader will be selected to represent Suffolk County in the 8th Annual Suffolk vs. Nassau Coaches For A Cause All Star Game at Stony Brook University at 6:00 on Monday October 8th.  Suffolk County is 7-0 in the previous 7 All Star Games against Nassau. To participate, YOU MUST BE NOMINATED BY YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COACH, so if you are interested in attending, contact your High School Coach immediately!  If you are a High School coach, there will be a SCBCA meeting on Thursday September 6th at Hauppauge High School at 7:30.  Coaches can contact John McCaffrey, Head Coach Deer Park High School/Director of the SCBCA Academy or John Albano, Head Coach Lindenhurst High School/President of the SCBCA, with questions.

           Four Stars At Five Star

At the famous Five-Star Camp  August 25-29, Irving Fayman from Bridgehampton was named an All-Star in the NCAA Division. At the  July 29- August 2 session, Ryan Greighton from Greenport was named an All-Star in the NBA Division, and Anthony  Amitrano from  Manhasset  and William Vaughan from Great Neck All-Stars in the NIT Division.

          Central Tops Floral Park

Valley Stream Central beat Floral Park 59-53 in the Final of the Wantagh Summer league in a very exciting game. Valley Stream jumped out to a early lead and led by as many as 15 in the first half. Floral Park came out in the second half with better defense and cut the lead to 5. With 1 min left Brandon Butler got to the basket and scored to cut the lead to 54-50. His brother Billy stole the inbound pass, scored and was fouled. He hit the free throw to cut the lead to 1. Valley Stream broke the press and sophomore Mark Augustin scored and was fouled by Billy Butler. The game was sealed by senior Darryl Dennis's free throws.

Longwood Over Bellport For Crown

Longwood defeated Bellport 52-49 to capture the Butch Dellecave Summer League Championship. This is the 46th year of varsity summer league ball in the Butch Dellecave League,  which is co-sponsored by the Suffolk County PAL. Longwood has now won a summer league title three years in a row, with last year's win coming in the Town of Brookhaven Summer League - also against Bellport!

  HS Rules Changes for 2007-2008

                               By Skip Yutzler

One of the purposes of my regular column is to keep our readers up to date on rules related topics. This special front page edition was written to let you know about some specific rules changes adopted for the upcoming season.  This is not a complete list but includes the more important changes recently announced by the National Federation. It is worth noting that most changes are the result of input from coaches, not referees.

1.  Home team must wear white.   Coaches, beware!!  This is a change that was in the process of being phased in over a period of years and this is the season it will be MANDATORY.  Light colored, non-white jerseys will no longer be acceptable.  Penalty for violation will be a technical foul (two shots) for EACH violation by a starter or a sub.

2.  Dribble ends when loss of control by dribbler is caused by opponent touching or being touched by ball.   Basically, this simply clarifies that if control of the dribble is lost when the ball is touched by an opponent, whether it be intentionally or accidentally, the dribbler can go get the ball and begin dribbling again without being called for a double dribble.  In the past, it was confusing because many (but not all) officials were ruling it this way.  The old rule implied that the touching had to be "intentional" and "by the hand of the opponent." 

3.  20 seconds to replace disqualified player.  It used to be 30 seconds, but many coaches were using this period as an extra, unmerited time-out.  This was not within the spirit and intent of the situation.

4.  Screener must stay within his vertical plane with a stance that is no more than shoulder width.  It is an established principle that the screener must be "stationary.  This ruling simply clarifies that the screener can't be leaning outside his vertical plane, nor can his stance be exaggerated with knees or feet protruding out beyond his basic shoulder width.

In addition, there are a few "Points of Emphasis" which are simply topics that need additional attention.

1.  Uniforms to be worn properly.  Players, coaches and referees are being requested to see that shirts are tucked in (they do it in the NBA, so why not in HS??) and that pants be worn "above the hips" (not hanging down below the player's butt).  The referee has the authority to direct a player to leave the game if necessary to get the player's undivided attention.

2.  Activities during free throws, especially rough play.  Players, coaches and referees are cautioned to not permit "locking up" the arms of opponents, nor to drive players further under the basket using bodily force to "displace" the opponent.  Everyone knows it's not right.....coaches shouldn't teach it, players shouldn't do it and referees need to enforce it.

3.  Palming.  Officials are being requested to look not only for "palm skyward" situations (as in the past) but also to be aware of other situations where the ball "comes to rest" (even if the palm might be down.....).  Typically, this would be seen on a high dribble where the ball handler is sort of thinking about a pass and the ball momentarily comes to rest.  Then, changing his mind at the last instant, he resumes his dribble.  There's a fine line here.....and referees will have to be sharp to penalize this correctly.

                             Any questions??

                       ASK THE REF !

  Agostino Report From Hoops U

Amiytville coach Jack Agostino was part of the excellent group of coaches chosen to work the Reebok Hoops U Camp and coached his team to an exciting win over a team that included Renardo Sydney, the  # 1 rated junior in the country, and Brandon Jennings, the # 1 rated senior point guard in the country! Coach Agostino was very impressed with the talent level at the camp. In other Amityville news, we're told that two of his stars from last year have made their college choices. Ray Jones will be staying close to home and playing for Dowling, while Andrew Ayodeji will be playing for Columbia State University in Tennessee, which is a Division 1 junior college.  Andrew received a full scholarship.

                 Player Rankings

HoopScoop has published their rankings of the top 500 players in the Class of 2011 (9th graders). We are not real fond of these lists, because although two fine Long Island players are listed - Tyler Seidman from Holy Trinity at 178  and Jordan Allen from Bay Shore at 277 -  we find it hard to believe that there are only two worthy of making the list, and that no Long island player is ranked higher than 178. 

  Plate Named Head Coach At SJB

Jim Plate has been appointed the new Varsity Head Coach at St. John The Baptist.  Coach Plate was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. As a player, he was named all Long Island in both 1964 and 1965 while attending Seton Hall HS and playing under legendary coach Frank Layden, and then went on to play college ball at St. John's University from 1965-68 under legendary coach Lou Carnesecca. He began his coaching career as a student coach at St. John's in 1968, then became an assistant coach at Niagara from 1969-71, and then Head Coach at Wm. Floyd HS from 1971-73. Most recently, he has been the freshman and JV coach at St. John the Baptist from 2003-present.

     Harris All-Star MVP At Eastern

Hills West star Tobias Harris was voted MVP of the All-Star Game in the NBA division at the Eastern Invitation Camp. He showed the scouts who came to watch how versatile he can be by running the point, playing two-guard, three guard  and a little power forward.

Your Basketball Home

Although information on this site is believed to be correct, the information is provided on an "as is" basis and its accuracy and/or completeness cannot be guaranteed. No warranty of an kind is given with respect to the contents of this website.

All stories, photos and graphics are copyrighted material and may not be used without specific written permission

This Website designed and maintained by

            Member, The Online News Association

Member, The New York State Sportswriters Association

News Desk

News Desk

   East Hampton Comes Up Short

The East Hampton Bonackers put up a valiant fight, but in the end, a talented and very big Jamesville-DeWitt team was just too much for them and ended up pulling away, just as they had the day before against an "unbeatable " team from Peekskill. You really can't appreciate the spirit and determination of the kids from the east end by looking at the final score though. Their opponents, who many thought were the best team in the tournament in any class, towered over the Bonackers at every position, were very athletic, and excellent shooters. Yet, the kids from East Hampton somehow managed to stay in the game, rallying back repeatedly when it looked like Jamesville was going in for the kill. Their last run brought them within 7 with just 5:07 to go in the game as the stunned Jamesville crowd looked on in disbelief. But it took everything they had, and like those handful of Spartans that fought off those hordes of Persians, they finally succumbed to the overwhelming odds. You would have been proud of them if you'd been there.                               3/16

   Baldwin Can't Make It Over Falls

Niagra Falls was considered to be a heavy favorite in their State Class AA Semifinal matchup with Baldwin. For the most part, those predictions came true, as the Wolverines handed the Bruins a decisive 66-49 defeat, but Baldwin stayed in the game until well into the third quarter, despite a very poor shooting night, and there were times you had the feeling  they might have been able to pull off the upset if they had played their best. Falls got off to an intimidating 15-4 start on a three pointer by Kelvin Agee that capped off an 11-0 run, but Baldwin reeled off 6 straight points of their own to get right back in the game. Falls started another run, going up 23-10 on a putback by Myron Repress, but Derrell Brown's two free throws made it 23-12 at the end of the first quarter. Chris Manning's three pointer brought Baldwin within 9 early in the second quarter, and then a basket by Justin James cut it to 7 with 3:50 to go in the half. Ashanti DePass kept it going, hitting a three to cut the lead to 6, but but the Wolverines were back up 10 after TJ Crittenden's fast break layup with less than a minute to play. Manning made it an 8 point game from the foul line  just before the half. Cailup Norris scored off the glass from the low post to make it 33-27 to start the second half, but a three pointer by Crittenden, and then a layup by Crittenden, and it was an 11 point Niagra Falls lead with 5:53 to go in the third. Five straight points by the Bruins, including a steal and basket by Brown, and Baldwin was within 6, but Falls scored 7 straight in response, and Crittenden's basket off the break made it 54-39 with under five minutes to go in the game. Baldwin made one last brief run, drawing within 12, but a three pointer by Rashon Tobb, and Baldwin's fate was sealed.                          3/15

        Malverne Back In Finals!

In a rematch of last years Championship game, Malverne came from way back to defeat Ogdensburg Free Academy 76-71 and advance to their second straight New York State Public School Class B Championship Game.  Ogdensburg came out all pumped up, looking to avenge their 2 point loss last year to the eventual Federation Champs, and they completely outplayed the Mules in the early going, moving out to a commanding lead 15 point lead. OFA was doing a great job defending, and consistently beating Malverne down the court for easy baskets. To make matters worse, when Malverne did get an open look, they were missing the shot. It was Justin Williams who turned the tide, scoring back to back baskets, and then Dashiem Cherry scored on a drive and it was 19-10. Two free throws by Ogdensburg big man Tom Kelso pushed the deficit back to 11, but Cherry nailed a three pointer and it was 21-13 at the first quarter buzzer. Byron Hector grabbed a loose ball off the ground and scored, and then picked off the inbound pass and scored and Malverne was within 6 with five minutes to go in the half. Then at the 4:55 mark, Cherry scored in transition and then Hector scored off another steal and it was 26-24. After a Blue Devil free throw, Hector slapped a rebound out of Kelso's hands and scored and it was a 1 point game. Ogdensburg regrouped though, getting four straight points from Gene Bouyers, and after a Hector three pointer, 7 straight points to close out the half, capped off by a fast break basket by Bouyer at the buzzer. Halftime score 39-31 Ogdensburg. Malverne turned up the heat another notch to start the second half, with Cherry and Matthew Bates scoring to draw them back within 4, and then Cherry grabbed a missed free throw and scored to make it 44-41 with three minutes gone in the third quarter. Cherry's three pointer from the baseline tied it at 44, but Mike Luckie answered with a three pointer from the left wing to put the Blue Devils back on top, and then Bouyer got out on the break and dunked for a 5 point lead, but got T'd up for hanging on the rim. It cost them three points, as Williams went 1-2 from the line, and Terry Banks scored from down low on the resulting possession, and then Hector scored on the break and we were tied at 49. Two free throws by Luckie made it 55-51 Ogdensburg, but a big three pointer by Cherry made it 59-57 at the end of three. Ogdensburg got off first to start the fourth quarter, hitting four straight free throws for a 6 point lead, but Cherry answered with another three pointer to make it 63-60. Bell's three pointer brought Malverne within 2, Bates tied it at 65, and then Williams pulled up for a short jumper and Malverne had the lead.  With 4:35 to go, Williams went right through the heart of the defense for a 3 point lead, but 5 straight points by Kelso and Ogdensbugh had a 2 point lead with just 1:54 to go. Williams made a huge steal and got hammered going in for the basket, drawing an intentional foul call. He made 1 of 2 free throws, and then Cherry buried a three pointer for a 2 point Malverne lead. Ogdensburg fouled with 26 seconds left, but Malverne got the ball back

      East Hampton Rocks Jericho

#2 East Hampton fell into a quick 9-2 hole, but it was all Bonackers after that as they outscored Jericho 12-0 to close out the first quarter, and then rolled to a 63-48 win over the 3rd ranked Jayhawks. The victory gave them the Long Island Class A Championship. Adam Sanders got Jericho off to a great start, opening the game with back to back three pointers, and then Justin Resnick hit one to make it 9-2 Jericho, but Hayden Ward's putback made it 9-4, Marcus Edwards pulled up in the lane, faked a pass and hit a short jumper to make it 9-6. and then three straight baskets by Jerome Russell and East Hampton had a 12-9 lead. Edwards pulled up again, this time from the right wing, to make it 14-9 at the end of one. Josh Witsell broke the East Hampton run with a basket and free throw to make it 16-12 early in the second quarter, but Jared Bowe scored on a putback, and Mike Russell stole the ball and scored, and it was 20-12 Bonackers. Witsell's three pointer cut the lead to 5, but in a key sequence with 4:16 to go in the half, Matt Cajuste barreled down the lane trying to bring the Jayhawks within 3 and was called for charging, sending him to the bench with three fouls.  Going the other way, Ward hit a great shot, getting it off as he fell backwards towards the floor,  and then Jerome Russell made a steal and scored, and it was 24-15 with 3:26 to go in the half.  Edwards hit a jumper from the elbow to make it 26-15, but Mike Romanelli answered with a three pointer for Jericho. Two more highlight film baskets by Ward and Russell closed out the first half scoring, and East Hampton was up 30-18 at the break. Mike Russell picked up a loose ball around half court, drove to the three point line and drained a jumper to open the second half, giving the Bonackers a 15 point lead, but Whitsell's three pointer from the right baseline made it 36-25 with 4:14 to go in the quarter. After a time out, East Hampton regained their momentum, taking a 17 point lead on a jumper by Ward  from the lane at the 1:42 mark, but . Romanelli hit another clutch three pointer for the Jayhawks to keep them in the game. Jerome Russell answered right back with a three, but it was Romanelli again with another three from the right baseline to make it 46-33 at the end of three quarters. East Hampton got out on the break to start the fourth quarter, with Jerome Russell pulling up at the shoulder and hitting a jumper. He followed it up with a three pointer from left wing, and it was 51-33 with 6:45 to play. Romanelli, still swimming hard against the tide, hit another three pointer, Matt Cajuste got his first points of the game on two free throws, and then Witsell broke open underneath for a basket, and it was  51-40 with 4:30 to go. Edwards stopped the Jericho rally with back to back jumpers at the 2:53 mark, and then two free throws and a steal and basket by Jerome Russell clinched it, making it 61-44 with 1:35 remaining.   3/8

          Greenport In Final Four

Greenport came out on top of a see-saw game with Section 9's John A. Coleman, prevailing by a score of 55-52 to advance to the Class D Final Four. After falling behing early, Greenport went on an 18-5 run to take a  28-18 halftime lead, but Coleman rallied in the fourth quarter to go up by 2. Nolan Reece's three-pointer with 1:15 to go gave the Porters a 50-49 lead, and two Ryan Creighton free throws provided the final margin. Despite being held to only 16 points, Creighton had another huge stat line, adding 17 rebounds and 10 assists 3/8

       LWA Falls In Second Round

LWA lost to Collegiate in the 2nd round of the NYSAIS State playoffs by a score of 56-44.  Chris Williams and Sean Henry each scored 14 pts. Down 31-27 at the half, LWA cut it to 33-32 early in the third, and then Collegiate went on a little run, and it was 43-34 at the end of three. LWA couldn't really get anything going on offense. Down 10 with about 3 minutes to go, they got 6 stops in a row, but didn't score on any of our possessions.

 

   LWA Rocks Our Savior Lutheran

In the first round of the NYSAIS State playoffs, a rebuilding OSL was no match for Lawrence Woodmere Academy, falling by a score of 81-55.  OSL came with just 7 players, and didn't have the size to to match up against the LWA big men, who dominated the boards on both ends of the floor. A Chris Williams three pointer and a putback by Matt Freeman made it 11-1, and it got worse from there. A three pointer by Sean Henry and a steal and fastbreak layup by Williams made it 27-9, and then a three pointer by 8th grader Edwin Sainvil made it 38-14. It was was 45-20 at the half, and 71-26 after three quarters. Holden Collick led LWA with 22 points and 15 rebounds.                                               3/6

Greenport Advances To Regional

There are no Class D teams in Nassau, so Suffolk Champion Greenport found themselves at the Westchester County Center for their first round State Playoff Game, and they came up with a 77-72 win over host team Clark Academy.  Clark's David Williams had a game high 46 points, and helped bring his team within 3 with less than a minute remaining, but Wally Sorenson's two free throws iced the win for the Porters. Ryan Creighton had another monster game with 31 points, 24 rebounds and 7 assists. Greenport will play Section 9's John A. Coleman on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the regional final with a trip to the state final four in Glens Falls on the line.                            3/4

        LuHi Takes Collegiate Title

Long Island Lutheran won the Collegiate Invitational Tournament with a 59-51 win over the host team - the 22-4 Collegiate School. Collegiate  is one of New York City's top private school teams, and is ranked 20th in New York State Class B. Kevin Johnson had 24 points to lead LuHi, and  was named tournament  MVP.

    Chaminade Advances To Final

Top seeded Chaminade was able to get by the upstart Titans of Holy Trinity 67-49 to advance to the finals of the NSCHSAA tournament on Tuesday night against St. Dominics at Hofstra.  The Flyers and Titans were tied 26 all at the half, with both teams struggling to find their offense.  Chaminade got down by as many as 8 in the third quarter, but battled back to take a one point lead going into the fourth. The Flyers erupted for 26 fourth quarter points to blow past the Titans.  The Flyers were led by juniors Dan DiVietri and Sean Wildes who had 19 and 17 points respectively.  Senior Matt Johnson chipped in fourteen of his own.  Chaminade will face the Bayhawks at Hofstra on Tuesday night at 7:45PM for the championship.      3/2

St. Dominic Returns To Title Game

With a whole new starting lineup, some key early season injuries, and great balance in the NSCHSAA this season, it was a tougher road for the defending champion Bayhawks, but St. Dominic returned to the Championship game with a big 51-47 victory over St. Anthony's.                                                                 3/2

  Holy Trinity Over Kellenberg In OT

Pat Fanning's steal and basket sent the game into overtime, and Tom Hurley hit the winning three pointer as Holy Trinity defeated Kellenberg in first round NSCHSAA action. You expect a good game when the 4 seed meets the 5 seed in the playoffs, but Kellenberg had won convincingly the last time these two teams met, taking an 81-55 decision back on February 1st. This game turned out to be everything you could hope for. Hurley got the Titans off to a great start, scoring 12 of Holy Trinity's first 16 points and staking them to an early 6 point lead, but Brian Palumbo's three pointer tied it at 16 with under two minutes to go in the first quarter. Fanning went backdoor for two and then Ryan Straub drained a three pointer for a 5 point Titans lead, but Kevin Milella spun to the basket out of the low post and scored for the Firebirds, and it was 21-18 at the end of the first quarter. Mike Lavelle knocked down a three pointer to make it 24-20 early in the second quarter, but Milella scored from underneath to pull Kellenberg within two, and then Ryan Kane's three pointer gave them the lead with 3:40 to go in the half. Lavelle responded with a three pointer of his own to put the Titans back on top, but Kevin Cunningham's baseline drive gave Kellenberg a two point lead going into the locker room. Milella's spinning move in the low post opened the second half and put the Firebirds up by  four,  but a three pointer from the right side by Straub made it a 1 point game The two teams went back and forth a number of times, and there were a number of ties and lead changes before a three pointer by Hurley, a basket from underneath by Tony Sims, and a basket by Straub put Holy Trinity up 49-42 with less than a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter. Five straight points by Kellenberg, on a three pointer by James Scahill and a steal and fast break basket by Cunningham, and it was 49-47 at the end of three. Lavelle cut down the lane and scored to put Holy Trinity up 51-48 early in the 4th quarter, also drawing the foul. Fanning rebounded his miss and swept in for a basket to give the Titans a 5 point lead, but Chris Lyons hit a three pointer to cut it to 53-51. Scahill tied it at 63 on a baseline drive at the 2:10 mark, and Milella's spinning hook shot from just inside the foul line gave Kellenberg the lead with 1:10 to go in the game. After a Holy Trinity miss, it was Kellenberg's ball with 45 seconds to go and a 2 point lead when Fanning jumped in front of a pass and barreled to the basket to tie the game at 65 with 31 seconds to go. Kellenberg ran a play, looking for the winning shot, but turned the ball over and a last second desperation heave for Holy Trinity was off target. Overtime! Straub scored from underneath to kick off the extra session and give the Titans a two point lead, but Sean O'Donough tied it at 67 when he broke free under the basket and scored. Milella put Kellenberg on top with a jumper from the foul line, but Hurley's three pointer with 20 seconds to go gave Holy Trinity a 1 point lead. After a time out, it was Kellenberg ball with 12 seconds on the clock, but they turned it over at the 5 second mark and had to foul. Lavelle hit the first shot for a three point lead, and Kellenberg rebounded when he missed the second and raced down the court, but couldn't get off a shot. 2/28

  St. Anthony's Rumbles Past SJB

St. John The Baptist was determined to turn around their season and upset St. Anthony's in a first round NSCHSAA playoff game. Although they're still not all 100%, the Friars are at full strength now and were able to fight off the Cougars and pull away in the second half for a 65-52 victory. With all the injuries, the Friars are just now rounding into mid season form, and should be a formidable playoff foe.                     2/28

        LWA Captures PSAA Title

Lawrence Woodmere Academy moved into a new league this season, in large part to find stronger competition from top to bottom.  They did, but to their credit, still managed to add another banner to their collection by defeating a very solid Martin Luther team 75-57 in the PSAA Championship Game. Chris Williams scored 9 points in the second quarter as LWA turned a 1 point deficit at the end of 1 into a 12 point halftime lead. Williams finished with 26 and was named playoff MVP. Matt Freeman had 13 points and 4 assists, and Sean Henry had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals.                                                                                          2/28

  St. Dominic Fights Off St. Mary's

St. Dominic had beaten St. Mary's fairly easily in their two regular season games, so when the Bayhawks took a 23-9 first quarter lead, it looked like more of the same. The Gaels had other ideas, outscoring St. Dom's 18-9 in the second quarter to draw within 5 at the half. The Bayhawks put on another spurt in the 3rd quarter, but St. Mary's made a final 4th quarter run, forcing St. Doms to win the game at the foul line. They did. Dan Kenny hit 9 out of 10 down the stretch and the Bayhawks went on to a 69-60 victory.                2/28

        Center Moriches Advances

We've been saying all season that Suffolk's League 7 was one of the top leagues on Long Island, and last nights Suffolk County playoff game was further evidence of that. Two League 7 members - Section 11 Class C Champion Port Jefferson, and Section 11 Class B Champion Center Moriches, met for a spot in the County Semifinals, and CM came out on top 71-63. behind a strong defensive effort and 26 points from Jon Ward-Adams. It was the second game in a row that CM had met and defeated a League 7 foe, and in both cases, CM had lost to them twice during the regular season.  The strength of this CM team is that in their last three playoff wins, they've had a different leading scorer, and four players who have scored 20 or more points. They now meet East Hampton in the Semifinals,

and it will be one heck of a game!                      2/27

    Whitman Rolls Over Bay Shore

Kyheem Green was determined to get his team off to a good start, and he did, scoring 11 points in the first 3 plus minutes of the game, and then John Mills, CJ Humphries and company grabbed the baton and carried the Wlidcats to the finish in a very  impressive 71-51 victory over Bay Shore. After Green's onslaught, which totaled 14 points, it was 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.  A Humphries three pointer put Whitman up 13 as the 2nd half got underway, and Billy Joyce scored from underneath to make it 26-11, but Booker Hucks put back a missed free throw and Marcus Damas hit two free throws and Bay Shore was within 8 with 2:16 to go in the half. Damas knocked down a three pointer from the right corner to make it 29-24 at the 1:10 mark, but Jones scored from the lane to put Whitman up by 7, and Mills closed out the first half with a sweeping move across the lane that made it 33-24 at intermission.  Hucks opened the 3rd quarter with a basket from underneath to make it 33-26, and Ingram's three pointer with 5:34 to go in the quarter brought the Marauders within 5. Damas stole the ball and hit a baseline jumper to make it 34-31, and another steal and dunk by Orayne McEachron and it was a one point game with 5:13 showing. Coming out of a time out, Mills pulled up and hit a jumper for Whitman from just to the left of the lane, but Brandon Turner made a steal, scored and drew the foul, and his three point play tied the game at 36. Green, who was on the bench the whole 2nd quarter with two fouls, got his first points of the 2nd half on a putback that reclaimed the lead for the Wildcats, and then Humphries scored on a drive and Mills nailed a long range thee pointer, and it was 45-38 Whitman with 1:35 to go in the quarter. Then Nick Barrotta pulled up for jumper, and they had a 9 point lead at the end of three.  Green scored from right under the basket at the 6:25 mark of the 4th quarter to give Whitman an 11 point lead, and two free throws by Hanif Malloy with 5:17 to go gave put Whitman up 55-40. Humphries' big three pointer with 3:45 to go made it 62-46 and Whitman pulled away down the stretch for a 20 point win and a spot in the Class AA finals.                                       2/26

        LuHi Sweeps Through City

Decimated by the flu, Long Island's #1 ranked team venturned into the City and still managed to come back with two big wins, including an 8 point victory over Wadleigh, one of the PSAL's top Class AA teams.  2/24

      Whitman Crushes Copiague

In a rematch of last years Suffolk County Class AA Championship game, 2nd seeded and 5th ranked Walt Whitman overwhelmed a good Copiague team, taking a 32-12 halftime lead and cruising to 71-46 victory. Whitman was outstanding on both sides of the ball, showing great balance on offense while completely shutting down the Copiague attack.                  2/23

   Harborfields Edges John Glenn

Ben Resner's drive staked them to a three point lead with 30 seconds remaining, but after Xavier Leftridge cut it to one, Harborfields dodged a bullet, surviving a potentially fatal turnover with seconds remaining to hold on for a dramatic 57-56 victory over neighbor John Glenn. The two teams went at it toe to toe the whole night, with Glenn grabbing an early 11-6 lead when Phil Izevbehai knocked down a three pointer, and followed it up with steal and emphatic dunk. But at the first quarter buzzer, Shaquan McLeod banked home a three pointer and we were tied at 14 all. McLeod's putback and free throw made it 20-17 Harborfields early in the second quarter, but six straight points on a jumper by Mack Scott, a fast break layup by Sean Kessler, and another steal and dunk by  IzevbehaiI, and it was 32-24 Glenn with 2:37 remaining in the half.  Mcleod's putback at the 6:39 mark of the third quarter brought the Tornadoes within three, and a three pointer and free throw by Bobby Turner made it a one point game, but a steal and fast break layup by Scott and a putback by Leftridge and it was 42-37 Glenn with 3:15 to go in the quarter. McLeod's baseline cut brought Harborfields within three as the quarter ended.  Resner scored on the break to start the fourth quarter, making it 42-41, and Turner's three pointer from the right side gave Harborfields a one point lead with 6:20 to go.   Malcolm Eugene put the Knights back on top with a tough putback, but Resner's three pointer made it 47-45 Harborfields. Scott pulled down a rebound and went coast to coast to tie it, but McLeod's free throw and semi ally-oop on an inbound play gave Harborfields a three point lead with 3:42 to go. Leftridge stole a rebound and scored to make it 50-49, but a beautiful back door cut by Randy Tillman and the lead was three again.  Leftridge put back a miss to bring Glenn back within one with 1:59 to go, but Resner's three pointer and it was a four point game at the 1:33 mark.  Izevbehai, who spent a good chunk of the second half on the bench in foul trouble,  was fouled behind the three point line and hit all three free throws to bring Glenn back within one with 1:20 to go, but Resner stormed to the basket to make it 57-54 with just 30 seconds on the clock. It was Leftridge again for Glenn, scoring from underneath in  the final moments, and as the clocked ticked down towards zero, Harborfields lost the ball out of bounds on an errant pass. New life for Glenn, but with eight seconds to go, and trailing by one, they couldn't cash in.             2/22

   Port Jeff Advances In Counties

It was a battle all the way, but Class C Champion Port Jefferson fought off several rallies and held on to advance to the next round the Suffolk County Championships with a 67-63 win over Class D Champion Greenport. They will now face Class B Champion Center Moriches in the next round. The Suffolk County Championships determine one overall County Champion, and  are separate from the Section 11 Playoffs, which determine the teams in Classes AA, A, B, C and D. that will participate in the New York State Tournament. Win or lose, ail participants in the County Tournament are still alive in the States. As for the game itself, it was a good one. Port Jeff stormed out to an 18-7 first quarter lead, but two free throws and a basket by Ryan Creighton and Greeport had pulled within 5. Two free throws by Justin Battelli  put Port Jeff back up by 9 with 5:15 to go in the half, but back to back jumpers by Creighton and Wally Sorenson and it was a 5 point game again with 3:26 remining. Creighton tipped out his own missed shot, stepped back and hit a three pointer to bring his team within two with 30 seconds on the clock, but two free throws by Trevor Parker, and it was 37-33 going onto the locker room. A three pointer by Nielson from the left side made it 43-36 early in the third quarter, and Parker scored on the break with 6:10 to go to put Port Jeff back up by 9, but Greenport's John Feldman answered with a three pointer to make it 42-36.  Davis went coast to coast at the 3:19 mark, scoring and drawing the foul, which he converted for a 12 point Port Jeff lead, but 10 straight points by the Porters, capped off by back to back three pointers by Dante Langhorne and Creighton, and it was 53-51 as the fourth quarter got underway. A three pointer by Dantre Langhorn, and all of a sudden Greenport had a 54-53 lead, but Parker was fouled shooting a three, and he put the Royals back on top 56-54 with three straight from the line. Feldman followed a miss on the break to tie it with 5:30 to go in the game, but Neilsen put back his own miss to make it 58-56 Port Jeff. Creighton powered his way to the hoop on and inbond play to tie it again, and his free throw put Greenport up by one, but Parker's  three pointer gave the Royals a two point lead. Creighton put Greenport up by one again when he followed his own miss, but a long range three pointer by Neilsen with 1:15 to go, and the see-saw swung back to the Royals, and this time for good. They regained possession on a jump ball call with 49 seconds to go and a two point lead, and Neilsen took time off the clock before penetrating and pulling up for a short jumper and a 4 point lead with 15 seconds to go. Final 67-63 Port Jeff                                                                        2/21

   Floral Park Has Enough vs GNN

Coming into the game, Great Neck North star Ben Dorman clearly presented match-up problems for the favored Knights of Floral Park, but the question was, would it be enough to counterbalance the high scoring duo of Billy and Brandin Butler, and enable North to pull off the upset?  Well, Dorman finished with a game high 24 points, and the Butler brothers scored a combined 14 points for Floral Park, but Justin Wilson, Shamoy McIntosh, and Matt Watts stepped up to lead the Knights to an impressive 59-53 victory and a birth in the Nassau/Section 8 Class A semifinals.       . 2/20

      Jericho Over Hewlett By 16   

Hewlett hung tough throughout the game, trailing by only 6 with four minutes to go, but Jericho went on a closing run and pulled away for a 76-60 victory.  2/20

        Westbury Fights Off VSS

Freshman Lucans Victor scored on an assist from Paul Dial with 45 seconds remaining to give Westbury a 58-57 win over a very tenatious Valley Stream South team. Westbury's Travis Troiano drew a big charging foul to halt VSS on the next possession, and the Falcon's last attempt at the upset wouldn't fall.    2/20

      Senior Night At St. Dominic

The game against St. Mary's wasn't the usual clash of the Titans this year,  but it was still a big night at St. Dom's as the Bayhawks honored their seniors and their families on Senior Night. Final score, 79-56 St. Dominic.                                                                                    2/20

Friends Repeats In Nassau Class C

Both teams seemed loose and ready to play as things got underway in the Nassau County Class C Final, but it was challenger East Rockaway that grabbed an early 11-6 advantage against the defending champions.  A three pointer by Mike Nattis though and Friends Academy  had a 14-13  lead with 5:20 to go in the half and they would never trail again. Another Nattis three put them up 6, and then he sprung himself for a two pointer on a nifty crossover move, and it was 23-15 Friends at the 2:17 mark. Harrison Hefele kept it going, making a nice steal and scoring for the Quakers. He also drew the foul and hit the free throw for a three point play to put them up 11, but Frank Altamore's three pointer with just over a minute to go before the break brought East Rockaway within 6. A Nattis jumper however made it 29-20 at intermission. Shane Murphy stole the ball and hit a short jumper to draw the Rocks within 7 as the 2nd half got underway, and before you knew it, East Rockaway was within two on a jumper by Altamore. But Jon Williams answered back with a three pointer, and then a steal and layup by Hefele made it 34-27 Friends. A jumper from the left side by Newman brought ER within 6 at the end of three, but another steal and basket by Hefele got the Quakers rolling to start the 4th, and Williams followed it up with another steal and basket, and then a fast break basket, and Friends was up 44-33. Murphy countered with a traditional three point play to make it 44-36 with 6:29 to go, but a baseline jumper at the 5:15 mark by Hefele and it was 51-36 Quakers and they were on their way to another title. 57-40 final.                                                 2/16

         More 2/16 Playoff Action

It was strange to see defending Federation Class B State Champion Malverne come into this game with a losing record, but the Mules played up this season with the top Class A teams like Jericho, South Side, and Floral Park, and they also scheduled teams like Long Island Lutheran and Baldwin nonleague. So don't let the record fool you, they are battle tested and more than ready for the Class B playoffs. They kicked off defense of all of their titles with a 22-9 first quarter, and then added a 24-7 4th quarter for good measure as they defeated Cold Spring Harbor 74-44 to advance to the Section 8 Championship game. .........Oyster Bay will meet Malverne in the title game after beating Locust Valley 51-43. The Baymen trailed by 4 at the end of three, but racked up a 20-8 fourth quarter.......... In Suffolk Class C action, favorite Port Jefferson had trouble shaking a scrappy Pierson team, but they ended up pulling away for a 64-46 win.......Stony Brook won fairly handily in the other semifinal, defeating Southold 66-48 despite being without leading scorer Adrien Husson, who was out with a leg injury.......

    LuHi Falls To St. Anthony's NJ

We don't believe in moral victories, but there is some satisfaction in playing your best against the #1 ranked team in the country and falling short.  But that was not the case tonight, and I'm sure the LuHi players and coaches would agree. LuHi did not play very well, made uncharacteristic unforced errors, and missed layups and key foul shots they normally would never miss. So there was no satisfaction. Only thoughts of what could have been. Final score St. Anthony's 65, Luhi 48. If you'd like to see the game,  you can catch it Friday night at 7 PM on www.sportswebnet.com                      2/14

  Amityville Retires Fraser's Jersey

The legendary Amityville basketball program has had many great players over the years, but none better than Jason Fraser, New York State's Mr. Basketball in 2002. Fraser led his Warriors into the record books as one of Long Island's all time greatest teams, and in so doing, earned recognition not only as the top player in New York State, but nationally as a McDonald's All-American, Parade Magazine All-American, and as a second team All-USA Today selection. He is the school's all time leader in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots, and holds single and two game records for rebounds in a State Championship Tournament. He set the rebounding record in the title game, where he scored 18 points to go with his 25 rebounds, and was named tournament MVP. Although his college career was hindered by a series of serious injuries, he led his Villanova team to a memorable NCAA Tournament win over 4th seeded Florida, collecting 21 points and 15 rebounds.  We have put together a few articles on Fraser for you, as well as a video tribute to him from Villanova fans, who were obviously as fond of him as we were.

PrepStars article about the memorable match-up between Jason's team and Lebron's team, won by....Jason's!

New York Times Article 1

Newsday Article, 2002 All Long Island Team and Suffolk Player of The Year

New York Times Article 2

 

             Harris Goes For 52!

What a Senior Night at Hills West! Tobias Harris gave up his starting spot for fellow teammate- Senior Cory Knox- and came off the bench for 52 points, a school district record held previously by Suffolk Comm. College coach Rich Wrase. He was 16/24 shooting from the field and 19/22 from the ft line, and surpassed the 1,000 point career mark on a lay-up early in the 4th quarter. Senior John Conneely scored 15 pts. and 10 assists and Senior Steven Rollino had 8 pts. and 6 assists in the 91-72 win. West is currently 11-0, 18-0 in League IV.   2/11

          Southampton Sweeps CM

The Southampton Mariners proved they were the best team in tough Suffolk League 7 as they roared past a solid Center Moriches team 68-57 on CM's home court. Troy Pender had a big 4th quarter for Southampton and finished with a game high 24 points as the Mariners swept the season series 2-0.                                2/8

  Copiague On Top After Win Over EI

In another big battle for 1st place, Copiague found themselves in familiar territory as the moved past East Islip into the top slot with a 62-53 home win. EI had come from behind to take the lead behind Fritz Jacques, who had a huge game and finished with 29 points, but the tandem of Mervin Springer and Marcell Lattimore led the Eagles to a big 4th quarter and the win.      2/8

  Uniondale Clinches Nassau AA1

In what has to be considered an offensive explosion for the defensive minded Knights, Uniondale racked up 69 points and had three players in double figures as they clinched the Nassau AA1 title with a 69-61 win over Elmont.                                                                    2/8

   Bayport BP Crushes John Glenn

Bayport-Blue Point moved into a first place tie with John Glenn after hammering the Knights 72-38. Robby Ptacek and Mark Koelbel were dominant, combining for 47 points. Glenn wraps up their season hosting 0-10 Mt. Sinai, while BBP is on the road against at 3-7 Shoreham -Wading River. However, if the teams end up tied, playoff seeding is not an issue because Glenn is Class A, and BBP Class B.                                                  2/8

                    Games of 2/6/08

East Rockaway came roaring from behind to upset Roslyn 76-74 behind Frank Altamore's career high  41 points.......Great Neck South pulled away in the 4th quarter for a 61-52 win over Valley Stream Central........

Uniondale held off Hempstead 44-42.......Bayport - Blue Point rocked Miller Place 66-43 behind Rob Ptacek's game-high 27 points...........Oyster Bay surprised Hewlett 67-58. Bryan Van Cott had 23 points for Oyster Bay.....

             Hills East Stays Alive

A 20-10 third quarter fueled Hills East to a 75-55

home victory over league III rival West Babylon.

Senior guards Jon Selby and Keenen Chisholm tied their career highs with 18 points while junior swingman Mike Marcelin posted 16 points that was good for his career best.  Senior forward Chris Minor had his best overall game of the season scoring 7 and grabbing 10 boards. Senior Brooke Folk contributed with a career high 10 assists as well.  Hills East's season comes down to the final two games, Friday night against North

Babylon at home and next Wednesday against Centerreach on the road.  East must win both to qualify for the Suffolk AA playoffs.  Both teams have victories

against Hills East this year.                           2/5

              Westbury Over LWA

In the annual Reid-Robeson Classic, Westbury defeated Lawrence Woodmere Academy 80 to 63. After a fast paced 1st quarter LWA led 21 to 20. Westbury pulled in front with a 26 to 14 2nd quarter to lead at the half 46 to 35. The Green Dragons maintained the lead throughout the 2nd half for the victory. Paris Abrams led Westbury with 22 points, Josh Core had 18 points and 8 rebounds and Travis Troiano added 17 points, 4 assists and 4 steals. Chris Williams led LWA with 26 points. Westbury raised it's record to 7 and 7.                               2/2

             Close Call For Jericho

Jericho and Floral Park played a memorable game last season for the Nassau County Class A Championship, and they had another good one tonight at Jericho. Floral Park had the ball trailing by two as the clock ran down, but Matt Cajuste made a key block and Jericho held on for a 56-54 victory.                                                    2/1

                Games Of 1/31/08

Bellport continued their strong play with a 63-58 road win over Riverhead.......Southampton has the upper hand in the battle for the League VII title, picking up a big 76-64 road win over a good Babylon team.....Bay Shore had to come from behind to beat West Islip 60-53......Deer Park bounced back nicely from their loss to Bellport. They opened their game on a 9-0 run en route to a 35-16 lead at the half, and then an 8-2 run to open the 2nd half en route to a 61-47 League IV victory at Smithtown West.,,,,,

North Babylon Over East Islip In OT

Tony Crespi's layup with 9 seconds on the clock in overtime gave North Babylon a 61- 60 road win over league leader East Islip This was a classic game...North Babylon was trailing by 12 at one point in the 3rd Qtr...they rallied back to tie the game with 2 seconds left...Captain Jamal Avery stepped up both defensively and offensively to help the Bulldogs pull off their 5th league win, and keep them in the race for their first league title since 2000.  With a win on Friday they can clinch their 2nd playoff birth in as many years! 1/29

   Hills East Over Smithtown East

A 13-4 fourth quarter gave Hills East a big road

victory against league rival Smithtown East.  Senior

Dan Aknouk led Hills East (3-5, 5-10) with 13 points

including a three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the

corner to put Hills East up 50-44. Aknouk and fellow

seniors Jon Selby and Keenen Chisholm hit 7

three-pointers which snapped a shooting slump for the

senior trio. Ricky Scarabino(11) and Chris Minor(10)

provided the rebounding that allowed Aknouk, Selby,

Chisholm, Brooke Folk and Mike Marcelin to have

chances to score on the fast brake.  This was the best

defensive effort for Hills East as it was the first

game all year that they held their opponent to under

50 points.  In order to make the playoffs, Hills East

must win the final 3 out of 4 games.                  1/29

         Long Island Now Plus 13!

Going into the Crotty Classic being held this Sunday at Hofstra, Long Island teams lead New York City teams by a season high margin of +13 in head to head match-ups between the two regions.

          Glenn Levels Miller Place

Back on December 20th, Miller Place defeated John Glenn 53-47, giving them their only league loss. Today  the two teams met again in a battle for first place, and the Knights turned the tables in a big way, hammering the Panthers 91-38 and grabbing sole possession of 1st in the very tough Suffolk League VI.  Phil Izevbehai, Mack Scott and Malcolm Eugene led the way for Glenn: Izevbeha had 14 1st quarter points, and Scott 11 2nd quarter points, while Eugene controlled the boards and the paint in a 51-20 1st half.       1/26

  Deer Park Clinches Playoff Berth

Marques Charlton's three pointer broke a 4-4 tie and sparked a Deer Park 16-0 first quarter run to give Deer Park a 20-4 lead in a 24-7 first quarter.  Josh Malone scored 9 of his 26 in the first, Kenny Quarles scored 6 of his 12 in the first.  Malone finished with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.  Quarles finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.  Anthony Valerio had 8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Jonathan Smalls had 8 rebounds, and Mark Richards and Nick Malone each chipped in 6 points off the bench. With the win, Deer Park clinched a playoff berth   1/26

Westbury Tops Roosevelt 55 To 53

In a hard fought non-league game, Westbury beat Roosevelt 55 to 53. The game was tied at 42 with 6 minutes remaining when Travis Troiano and Paris Abrams hit back to back threes for Westbury. Troiano finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Paris Abrams added 12 points, Keenan Carter chipped in with 11points and 6 rebounds and freshman Lucens Victor helped out with solid defense. The Green Dragons raised their record to 6 and 6.                             1/26

           Uniondale Squeaks By

This years edition of Uniondale is in a familiar spot - on top of their conference standings. But this years team does it differently than past Uniondale teams did. The only team to beat Jericho plays tough, hard nosed D, holds you under 50 points, and then outscores you. They did it again tonight, picking up a 50-47 road win over Massapequa. Justin Brown had 17 points for the Knights                                                                     1/25

                Games of 1/25/08

Center Moriches beat Wyandanch 63 to 54 with a balanced attack featuring four players in double figures. Alex Snead (12pts & 10asts)  , Jordan Ward-Adams (15pts & 9rbs) Jon Ward-Adams  (15pts & 4 asts) & Mike Scott ( 12pts). Wyandanch was lead by Rashaud McQueen 14pts.........Elmont came from behind to nip Floral Park 50-49. Anthony Jones had 16 points for Elmont.....In a back and for game, Mineola prevailed over Division 56-53. Sammy Seda had 20 points and 12 rebounds.......MacArthur roared from behind with a 15-1 3rd quarter to beat Great Neck South. Chris Eichner led the rally with 8 points in the quarter.....

                 Longwood Escapes

Sachem North gave Longwood all they could handle, but the Lions prevailed 53-51 on the road.         1/24

  Bonackers Fend Off Harborfields

After starting out 7-1 in the league, Harborfields thought they could play with East Hampton, and they did for a half before the Bonackers threw it into fourth gear in the 2nd half to pick up a 71-53 victory.                        1/24

         Port Jeff Stays In The Race

Port Jefferson stayed right in the thick of the Suffolk League VII race with an impressive  68-62 OT road win over Wyandanch.                                        1/23

 

    Stony Brook Smokes Southold

Trailing by four after one, Stony Brook outscored Southold 47-20 over the next two quarters in a key Suffolk League VIII matchup. Eli Knowles led the way for the Bears, knocking down 7 three pointers on his way to a game high 24 points.                                1/23

       Deer Park Alone In Second

Deer Park faced fellow League IV contender Riverhead, defeating them 62-54 to move into sole possession of 2nd place. The victory keeps them a game behind league leader Hills West. Deer Park improved to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in league play with the win, shooting  21 for 27 from the foul line, including 12 for 15 in the fourth quarter. Deer Park Junior Josh Malone led all scorers with 24 points, including 12 in the decisive 22-16 fourth quarter after Riverhead had wiped out a 9 point halftime deficit to get back in the game.Malone's three answered a Robert Skeeter dunk to give Deer Park a 58-49 lead with three minutes remaining.  Malone also contributed 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Senior 6'6 center Jonathan Smalls had 14 points, shooting 8 for 11 from the foul line, and also collected a team high 14 rebounds to go with 3 steals.  Senior forward Anthony Valerio scored all 9 of his points in 34-25 first half for Deer Park, and collected 10 rebounds.             1/22

        Chaminade Falls To Canarsie

Chaminade battled Canarsie the whole way, but nobody was able to step up when the game was on the line and the Flyers fell 57-49. Chaminade took a 12-10 lead to start the 2nd quarter on a jumper by Dan DiVietri, and then another DiVietri jumper put the Flyers back up by two with 2:14 to go, but as the half drew to a close, a three pointer put Canarsie up two, and then a jumper as time wound down gave them a  27-23 halftime lead.  A three pointer got the Chiefs rolling to start the second half, and they followed it with a jumper for a 9 point lead, but DeVietri answered from underneath for the Flyers to bring them within 7. A three pointer put Canarsie up by 10, but it was DeVietri again - this time on a putback, and Chaminade was still within reach. John Orr's three pointer cut the lead to 5 with 1:10 to go in the quarter, and that was the margin at the end of three. DeVietri drove down the lane to start the 4th, bringing the Flyers within 3, but Canarsie countered with a three pointer. Orr scored on a drive from the right side, but Carnarsie drew a three shot foul, and hit all 3 free throws for a 7 point lead. They scored again on a putback and it was a 9 point game with 4 minutes to go. Chaminade scored on a jumper from the corner to draw within 7, but the clock was now a factor with just 2:40 to go. DeVietri drove the lane to make it 51-46 with 52 seconds showing, and Chaminade fouled quickly, but couldn't keep the ball out of the hands of Canarsie's top shooter, who made both shots for a 7 point lead with 48 seconds to go. A missed shot and then a turnover in the final moments for Chaminade, and Canarsie had an 8 point win.                                                                    1/21

     St. Dominic Falls To Poly Prep

St. Dominic lost to perennial private school power Poly Prep of Brooklyn 46-36. Both teams played strong defense and neither ever really got rolling offensively. After falling behind early, St. Dominic cut it to 18-17 on two free throws by PJ Walters in the one and one, but Poly Prep scored six straight points to close out the half and it was 24-17. The Brooklyn  team went on an 11-2 run to start the 3rd quarter, building their lead to 35-19, but Walters ended the Bayhawk drought with a three pointer with 2:05 to go, and then the Bayhawks went on a run of their own - their only serious run of the game. Dan Kenny's steal and basket made it 35-26 at the end of three, and It was 35-29 early in the 4th on a Brian Katz three pointer. Joe Douglas made it  35-31 on a baseline jumper, and then Katz pulled up in the lane and it was suddenly a two point ball game with 4:29 to go. Two free throws broke the St. Doms run for Poly Prep, and then they followed that with a steal of the inbound pass and basket,  and then a three pointer and the Bayhawks were done.                                     1/19

                 Games of 1/16/08

Sammy Seda scored as time wound down to give Mineola a 46-45 win over Clarke. The victory gave Mineola sole possession of first place and improved their record to 5-1 in ABC-IV.......Great Neck North is now 6-0 in ABC II. Ben Dorman led them to a 52-43 win over Friends Academy, who played without Jon Williams, who is out with a foot injury.....

   Baldwin Upset By Farmingdale

Farmingdale came from behind to defeat 6th ranked Baldwin, outscoring them 27-12 in the second half. Sandeep Dhaliwal and Keenan Ochwat led the way.1/16

       Brentwood Edges Pat Med

The Patchogue-Medford Raiders battled favored Brentwood the whole way, with star Marcus Stroman leading the way with 21 points,  but Jean Chery's basket put Brentwwod up by one, and J.J. Moore made two clutch foul shots with 4 seconds left to to put Brentwood ahead by 3 points.  Kendall Harris had another good game for Brentwood,  finishing with 15 points and doing solid work on the boards.                                     1/15

     Miller Place Making Converts

You don't find too many people mentioning Miller Place when discussing Suffolk's top teams, but they picked up another big win, holding off a hot Amityville team 61-54 to go 5-1 in league play and 9-3 overall. After leading by six at halftime, Miller Place built up a 13 point lead in the 4th quarter, only to see it cut to three by Amityville with about two minutes left. The Warriors had a chance to tie it but a three from the corner missed, and Miller Place scored on the ensuing possession. Derrick Knudsen, who had 14 points, led a balanced Miller Place scoring effort as three players scored in double figures for the Panthers.                                       1/15

         Long Beach Tops Bellmore

In a game of runs, Dashaun Moye's two free throws and Taquan Washington's two free throws enabled Long Beach to hold off Bellmore 65-62. Long Beach raced out to a 26-7 lead behind Moye and Washington, but Nick Taldi's 18 second quarter points cut the halftime deficit to two. Bellmore completed the comeback when they took their first lead on a three pointer by Harris Wichard, but the lead was short lived as Long Beach closed out the quarter on a 12-4 run                                         1/15

  Center Moriches Defeats Port Jeff

Suffolk's League VII is one of the strongest leagues on the Island this season, and like most strong leagues, the top teams take turns knocking each other off. It was Center Moriches' turn, as they defeated fellow league leader Port Jefferson 69-59. CM came from behind, led by the Ward-Adams brothers, who combined for 50 points. Port Jeff had just come off a win over Babylon, previously unbeaten in the league, while CM was fresh off their first league loss, to 4-1 Southampton. League VII, which is composed mostly of Class B teams, is 7-1 this season against League 1 - a Class AA league. 1/14

LWA Over Blessed Sacrament in OT

With the score tied at 58, Chris Williams hit a 3 with 1:10 left in overtime to lead LWA past Blessed Sacrament 63-60.                                               1/12/08

                Games Of 1/11/08

Jericho hit 11 three pointers on their way to a 79-40 shellacking of Westbury. Mike Romanelli had four of them and finished with 20 points and 9 assists.....Adris Alford's free throw with no time left on the clock gave South Side a 66-65 win over West Hempstead.....Trevor Parker's three pointer off an inbound play gave Port Jefferson a 52-51 win over Babylon. Click here to see a video clip of it.....It was Nick Taldi and Harris Wichard again as Bellmore moved to 5-0, 7-1 with a 68-50 win over MacArthur. Taldi had 25 points and Wichard 17......Greenport handed Southold their first league loss 59-38. Ryan Creighton had another monster game with had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists..... Roslyn took command of ABC3 behind 40 points from George Beamon in a 75-64 win over East Rockaway....

  John Glenn Steals Win Over BBP

Bayport - Blue Point worked the ball around looking for the game winning shot, but John Glenn's Phil Izezbehai  stepped in front of a pass with seconds left in the game, was fouled and hit two free throws to give Glenn a thrilling 59-56 victory. It was a back and forth game early on, but a steal and fast break basket by Mack Scott gave Glenn a 15-10 lead a few minutes into the 2nd quarter. Michael Blair hit two foul shots in the 1 and 1, extending Glenn's lead to 21-14, but a putback by Reid Drzal, a 3 pointer by Robby Ptacek, and then a steal, driving layup, and free throw by Ptacek and we were tied at the half. Glenn got off quickly in the 3rd quarter, with a jumper by Malcolm Eugene giving them a 31-23 lead, and then a steal and basket by Scott making it 36-25 Glenn with 4:02 to go. Scott's 3 pointer from the side put Glenn up by 12 to start the 4th, but Drzal cut down the lane and scored with 6 minutes to go, and then scored again from the low post, and BBP was within 6. Izevhehai knocked down a jumper under pressure for an 8 point Glenn lead, but TJ Cullen hit a three pointer, and Ptacek two technical foul shots and BBP was within 3. Izevhehai pulled up and drained a jumper, but two free throws by Cullen and two by Drzal and it was a one point game. Scott hit two free throws for Glenn in the one and one to make it 55-52 with 1:43 left, and then Eugene hit two more to make it 57-53 with 1:13 to go, but Cullen's three pointer from the corner brought BBP back within one with under a minute to play. After a big Glenn turnover with 23 seconds left, it was BBP ball trailing by one, and as time wound down, Izezbehai came up with the big steal.                 1/10/08

   Roosevelt Falls To Transit Tech

Despite Jamal White's 29 points for Roosevelt, East New York Transit Tech topped the Rough Riders, 84-82, in overtime in a non-league boys basketball game.

Rhamel Brown hit a layup with 31 seconds left in OT to give Transit Tech an 83-82 lead. Sigbert Guy added a free throw with two seconds left to provide the final margin. Roosevelt's Anthony Middleton scored 17 points, including a jumper at the end of regulation to tie the score at 76. Gavin Ellis led Transit Tech, last season's Class A Federation semifinalist and New York City PSAL A Champions, with 14 points.             1/7/08

  Deer Park Battles Past Kings Park Deer Park pulled out a 49-48 victory over Kings Park on a drive by Josh Malone that put them up three with under a minute to play. Kings Park surprisingly elected to go for two as the clock wound down toward zero, but after a missed Deer Park free throw attempt, they got the ball back with  less than two seconds remaining in the game and their inbounds pass was picked off by Anthony Valerio to give Deer Park the big road victory. It looked like Deer Park would put the game away early. Malone hit a three pointer, drove the lane, and then dunked on the break and it was 19-8 with just over three minutes to go in the half, but Kings Park rallied back, and a pull up jumper by Mike McSloy made it 21-18 at the half. A back door cut by Brendan Ujvary gave the Kingsmen a 26-25 lead early in the 3rd, and the two teams were back and forth the rest of the quarter with Deer Park clinging to a one point lead. Malone stole an inbound pass to make it 37-34 to start the 4th, but two free throw by Sean Fox and it was 40-39 Kings Park with 5:08 remaining.  A baseline drive by O'Leary made it 42-39 Kingsmen, but back to back putbacks by Malone put Deer Park up by one with 3:30 to go, and then his two free throws with 2:27 remaining and they had a three point lead. Ujvary's fast break basket off a steal cut it to one, but Malone countered with a drive down the left side of the lane to set up the ending sequence.  Josh Malone finished with  35 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 steals                                       1/5/08

         St. Anthony's Pajama Party

#12 St. Anthony's hosted #11 St. John The Baptist on pajama night at the school, and by the time the game was over, it had turned into a pajama party for the Friars, who registered a convincing 72-49 win. Both teams started slowly. Jonathan Brown drove the lane and picked up a foul to give SJB an 11-10 lead after one, and then back to back jumpers by Josh Elbaum and the Cougars were up 18-11 early in the second quarter. Shahab Syed's duck under for St. Anthony's tied it at 20, and two free throws by Oliver Laurent gave the Friars a two point lead. They were tied at 26 all at the half, and Syed scored on a fast break layup to start the 3rd quarter, was fouled, and converted the free throw for a three point lead. Josh Elbaum's three pointer tied it at 33, but the Friar's regained the lead on Mike Capozzi's putback. Capozzi scored again from underneath, and this time drew the foul for a 42-36 lead with 2:10 to go in the quarter. Then Rexton Gordon scored on the break, and followed that with a baseline drive to make it 47-36 St. Anthony's and it was 47-37 at the end of three. SJB open the 4th quarter with a three pointer,  and then two free throws by Elbaum and it was 47-42, but a three pointer by Chris Jimenez, a fast break layup by Gordon, and a dunk by Jonathan Francois and St. Anthony's was up by 12. Laurnet on the break made it 60-45, and Syed powered his way through defenders, scored and drew the foul and the Friars were up 67-49 and on their way to a big win.                             1/4/08

Babylon Too Much For Wyandanch

Suffolk Class B is very strong this season, with Babylon, Center Moriches, Bayport-Blue Point, Southampton, and Wyandanch all with good teams and impressive wins under their belts. Two of them faced off today, and the weeding out process began as Babylon racked up a strong 63 - 48 road win over Wyandanch. Beau Bachety had a strong first half for Babylon, and he and Aaron Howard led the Panthers to a 32-19 lead, and then JT Pate made sure the Warriors didn't get back into the game with a big second half. He finished with 19.                                                1/3/08

Great Neck North Stops Roosevelt

Great Neck North rocked Roosevelt with a 48-24 first half and rolled to a surprisingly easy 83-57 win. Ben Dorman had another big game with 27 points, but it was the first half shooting barrage by Michael Arevalo that blew the doors off. Arevalo had five three pointers in the half!                                                               1/2/08

                 Games Of 1/2/08

#3 Uniondale pulled away from Massapequa for a 51-33 victory behind Steve Johnson's three 4th quarter three pointers ........Valley Stream Central had a 21-0 third quarter against Carey and went on to hammered the Seahawks 72-44.......#1 Jericho crushed Island Trees 81-46....Nick Taldi's clutch free-throws with six seconds

on the clock gave Bellmore a one point win over

Great Neck South. Taldi had 19 points and Harris Wichard 13 points. .....Hempstead backed into a win when they scored only two points in the 4th quarter, but they were enough to hold on for a 44-43 win over Farmingdale! ....Mineola dominated the overtime period to defeat Locust Valley 56 -48. Sammy Seda had 7 points in OT for Mineola and finished with 18....Chris Manning had a triple-double with 13 points, 12 steals, and 11 assists in Baldwins 66 - 52 win over Elmont.

  Southampton Stops Bayport-BP

Southampton pulled their second big upset of the season, defeating a good Bayport-Blue Point team 56-49. Trailing early, Troy Pender and Anthony Reddick led the Mariners to an 11 point lead after three quarters. BBP rallied late in the game, but they could not overcome their shooting woes and fell short. Pender finished with 22 points and 7 assists and Reddick had 16 points for Southampton, who beat East Hampton a week earlier.                                                       12/29

Wyandanch Beats LIC In Overtime

Wyandanch defeated Long Island City 68-67 in the John Bowne Christmas Tournament held in Queens, NY.  Sophomore Marquis King led the way in overtime with 5 points, and Rashaud McQueen went to the line with 5 seconds left and made 1 of 2 free-throws to give Wyandanch a 1 point lead.  Long Island City desperately tried to get off a shot, but to no avail. Devon Bumpers led Wyandanch with 19 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Malik McClinton had 16 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds.                                                      12/29 

  Shorthanded LuHi Falls In Semis

Playing most of the game without Jeriel Henriquez, who  injured his back on a wicked fall during their previous game, and without starting center Shamar Stephen, who missed all three games with an ankle sprain, LuHi dropped a 70-64 decision to highly ranked El Camino HS of San Diego in the semi-finals of the Above The Rim Classic in Del Mar. LuHi was down 66-64 with 40sec. left, and a 3pt. shot by Rich Harkins just rolled out. The Crusaders were forced to foul and came up short. 12/28

                   Games of 12/28

In a week of upsets, one of last season's big surprise teams is at it again. 2-4 Lawrence upset 6th ranked Baldwin for their 3rd win of the season behind 32 points from Conrad Stewart and 15 points and 11 assists from Derek Klein.......Roosevelt gave Chaminade a good game before falling by three. .......Friends Academy lost a heartbreaker to Bethpage when the apparent game tying shot was waved off because time had been called. Final score Bethpage 58, Friends 56. Kyle Tracey has 23 for Bethpage, and Jon Williams led all scorers with 24 for Friends....... Lindenhurst rallied from 20 down to beat North Babylon 57-54. Chris Johnson led Lindy with 20 points, all in the second half! .......St. Anthony's played host to Villa Park, from Orange County in California.  After a brief second half scare, the Friars picked up a 52-41 win. It was great to see Chris Jimenez on the floor and working himself back into game shape.....

  Kellenberg Out Battles South Side

It was the kind of game you hope you're going to see as you're headed for the gym. Two talented, well coached, scrappy teams going at it from buzzer to buzzer, with the winner anybody's guess. That was the way it was between #8 Kellenberg and #15 South Side, with Kellenberg coming out on top because they had the last big run.  South Side took an early 8-7 lead on a thee pointer by Leon Taylor. A tree pointer by Kellenberg's James Scahill put them up 14-12, but Tim Krutzler scored from underneath and drew the foul and South Side was up 15-14. Sean O'Donough scored on a putback for the Firebirds and it was 16-15 Kellenberg at the end the first quarter. Kevin Cunningham's three pointer made it 21-15 Kellenberg, but a pull up jumper by Jessie Winter brought South Side within one, and a fastbreak lay-up by Taylor and South Side had a one point lead with two minutes to go in the half. Another fastbreak lay-up by Kevin Brown pushed South Side's lead to three, and Winter did the same for a five point lead with 1:14 remaining. But after a free throw by Scahill, Kevin Milella responded with a breaking lay-up of his own, and then Brian Palumbo scored at the buzzer and we were tied 31 all at the break. Taylor opened the second half going back door for a basket and a two point South Side lead,  and Mike McDerby drove the lane for a four point lead. Ryan Ohagan's putback madie it 40-34, but Milella scored from underneath and Cunningham hit a three off an inbound play and it was 40-39. An accrobatic reverse lay-up by Winter put Southside up 46-41, but Cunningham answered with back to back three pointers to put Kellenberg up by one. South Side would counter with back to back three's of their own, by Brown and Winter, and it was a five point South Side lead with a minute to go in the 3rd. They led by four as the quarter came to a close.  Brett Cohen cut to the basket and scored to put South Side up by six to start the fouth quarter, but a Chris Lyons three pointer brought Kellenberg within three. Scahill snaked his way down the lane to make it a two point game, and later with Kellenberg up by a basket, the key sequence in the game occured.  Scahill hit a three pointer to make it 62-57 Kellenberg with 2:43 to go, and then Milella scored off a steal to make it 64-57 and the frantic lead changes were over. Two foul shots by Palumbo and a layup by O'Donough and it was a 68-57 final.                                               12/27

   Uniondale Soars Past Jericho

Uniondale was the better team on this night - talented and well coached. Jericho struggled in every phase of the game, particularly with their shooting. In fact, their shooters never really showed up, except for a brief glimpse in the 2nd half. Foul trouble put the final nail in their coffin. The outcome seemed clear fairly early on. Uniondale jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but Matt Cajuste gave the Jericho faithful reason to hope, getting a pass from Justin Resnick as he cut down the lane to put Jericho up 9-8. However, back to back three pointers by Steven Johnson put Uniondale back in front 14-11,  and there they would stay. It was 15-11 at the end of the 1st quarter, and James Ockimey opened up the 2nd quarter with a three pointer for a 18-11 lead. He followed that with another three to put Uniondale up 24-13 with 5:30 to go. Then in a key sequence with just under three minutes left in the half, Jericho had three chances to cut the lead to single digits, all point blank shots, and could not score. Then in an instant, Ockimey came down and nailed a devastating three pointer on the other end to make it 30-16. Justin Brown's two free throws bumped it to 33-18 and Daniel Lindsey followed those with two of his own, and it was 35-19 at the half. Jericho made a brief run to start the 2nd half, but back to back jumpers by Brown put an end to it, making it 43-25 with 3:27 left in the quarter. Jericho cut it to 12 in the 4th on a fastbreak lay-up and free throw by Cajuste, and to nine on a rare Jericho three pointer by Resinck,  but in another key sequence - with Jericho pressing - Cajuste fouled out with 3:19 remaining in the game. The resulting free throws by Brown put Uniondale back up by 12, and without Cajuste, the rally stalled and Uniondale finished the Jayhawks off 58-44. So who's #1 now?                                                                    12/26

        Floral Park Bounces Back

After starting the season ranked as one of Long Island's top teams, and featuring two of Long Island's top players in Billy and Brandin Butler, Floral Park got off to a horrendous start. They lost their first four games of the season. Granted, they were against four good teams, but you would have guessed 4-0 before 0-4. But there is a special quality that teams from Floral Park all seem to share. No matter how the season starts, and no matter how devastating the loss, they always seem to bounce back, and when playoff time rolls around, nobody wants to play them. Today's surprising 63-60 win against 7th ranked Chaminade might have been the beginning for this years team. They built a nice lead against a very good team, and held on when Chaminade came storming back. A big win. Billy Butler had 28 pts.  12/21

            Miller Place For Real

Miller Place? Its been awhile since they've been mentioned as a serious contender in their league,  but after defeating John Glenn 53-47 for their fourth impressive win in a row, people are beginning to take notice. Especially their league rivals!  Trailing by three at halftime, they outscored John Glenn 14-7 in the third quarter, with Chris Zangara scoring 8 of his team-high 15 points in the quarter. He added a game high 16 rebounds. Derrick Knudsen also came up big for the Panthers, scoring 14 points, nine of which came in the first half.                                                           12/20

East Hampton Shows Their Depth

Playing without star Mike Russell, East Hampton showed why they are one of Long Island's top ranked teams by demolishing Harborfields 82-45. Liam Lee stepped up with a game high 21 points, and Marcus Edwards finished with 18.                                   12/20

                  Games of 12/20

There were exciting finishes all over Long Island, starting off with the Sayville - Rocky Point game, where Vinnie Russo hit a three pointer for Sayville to send it to overtime, and then hit a three at the buzzer to win it in OT. He finished with 15 points. Next up was East Meadow - Great Neck South, where Arthur Schweiger scored with three seconds on the clock for a 74-73 East Meadow win. He had a game high 23 points. Not to be outdone, Anthony Zammit scored  with 1.7 seconds left to give New Hyde Park a 44-43 win over  Wantagh.

        OSNA Over White Rock

We don't hear much about OSNA during the season because they play a national schedule, but if you look at the schedule, you'll see that they play many of the top programs in the country. One school you might not recognize though is White Rock Christian, which happens to be one of Canada's top programs. OSNA hosted White Rock and defeated Vancouver's top ranked team 68-51. Our Savior was led by the duo of senior guard Gerardo Suero, who had 28 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, and junior small forward Leek Leek, who had 19 pts, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Our Savior was playing without starting point guard Rayner Moquete, who was out with an ankle injury. Also chipping in for the Pioneers was freshmen center Deng Leek who had 8 points and 5 rebounds, and senior guard Josh Ehlers who had 8 points and 4 steals. Our Savior is 6-1 on the season so far.                      12/18

   Buzzer Beater Carries Bellmore

Just an unbelievable game.  Syosset Braves led the Bellmore JFK Cougars by a score of 56-47 after two Andrew Stein free-throws with 4:00 remaining in the game.  Bellmore would then score the next eight points to close within 56-55 with :55 seconds to go as Harris Wichard scored six of those points.  Syosset answered with an Andrew Stein layup with :21 seconds remaining, only to have Bellmore JFK tie the game with 10.9 seconds remaining on a Nick Taldi 3 pointer from the top of the key.  After a Syosset timeout, the Braves answered with another layup from Stein to go up 60-58 with :4.5 seconds to go.  After a Bellmore timeout, the Cougars in-bounded the ball to Nick Taldi who raced up the court to find Rob Caridi on the wing behind the 3 point arc.  Caridi's shot left his hand just before the horn sounded and stayed on the rim for a second or two before falling through for the  Cougars 61-60 victory.  It was the Cougars first lead since the opening basket of the game.  Nick Taldi led the Cougars with 20 points; Harris Wichard scored 14 points and Brendan Mills scored 13 points.  Andrew Stein and Bryan Henrick scored 16 points apiece for Syosset.                12/17

  East Hampton Defeats Floral Park

Floral Park was many things they were not last week against Kellenberg. They were confident, aggressive, and their shooters were hot. But they couldn't keep up with #8 East Hampton on the boards, and that was the difference as the Bonackers prevailed 77-65 to give legendary Coach Ed Petrie his record setting 700th career coaching victory. Floral Park took the early lead in the game, with back to back three pointers by Billy and Brandin Butler giving them a 13-5 lead, but Hayden Ward scored on a putback as the 1st quarter wound down and East Hampton had their first lead at 20-19. Marcus Edwards opened the 2nd Quarter with a steal and a dunk to put the Bonackers up three, but Billy Butler answered with a three pointer to tie it at 22. East Hampton surged ahead again, and Mike Russell's three pointer and two free throws made it 31-23 with 5:15 left in the half, but after East Hampton's lead had grown to nine, Floral Park went on a run. It started with a  three pointer by Justin Wilson, followed by a pull up jumper by Billy Butler, then a basket from underneath by Alex Viola, and the Knights were within one. Mike Russell broke the run with a free throw, but Billy Butler nailed another three  at the buzzer and Floral Park was up one at the half. Wilson opened the 3rd with a  three pointer for a four point margin, but the lead went back and forth most of the quarter until Wilson hit another three to give Floral Park a 60-57 lead at the end of three. East Hampton went on top early in the 4th on a putback by Ward, but Billy Butler drained a three with Mike Russell all over him to take back the lead. Russell immediately retaliated, driving the lane for a basket to tie, and drawing the foul. He converted the free throw, and it was East Hampton by one. After a technical foul shot gave East Hampton a two point lead, Viola tied it for Floral Park, but Ward followed a miss to make it 67-65 Bonackers. A fastbreak layup by Jerome Russell and a baseline drive by Edwards made it 71-65 with 2:30 remaining, and Mike Russell's two free throws made it 73-65 with exactly one minute remaining and the Bonackers were on their way to a big early season victory. Jerome Russell had a terrific game, leading  East Hampton with 22 points, but it was the Bonacker's balance that was most impressive, with    Marcus Edwards adding 16, and Mike Russell and Hayden Ward adding 14 each. Mike Russell also did a terrific job running the offense. Billy Butler finished with 22,  brother Brandin with 18, and Justin Wilson 14        12/15

                   Games of 12/12

One of our can't miss games turned out to be a doozie. In overtime, Copiague defeated Bellport 85-76. Mervin Springer had a huge night for Copiague, finishing with 31 points and 8 rebounds, and he and Nasha Smith led the way in OT. Antonio Scott had 24 for Bellport, and Chris Torres 20....... Herricks defeated New Hyde Park 58-54 in overtime......Two clutch free throws by Antonio Crespi gave North Babylon a 51 -49 win over Huntington

.....Sewanhaka is playing tomorrow night in the finals of the 'Coaches vs Cancer' Tornament vs host Herricks. They  defeated Carle Place 76-43 in the 1st round led by Norman Brown's 16 points and 8 rebounds.

                  Games of 12/11

#1 Long Island Lutheran jumped all over Holy Trinity, outscoring them 28-8 in the first quarter and rolling to a 77-47 win. Jeriel Henriquez shot 8 for 11 from the floor and finished with 22 points for LuHi........Levittown Division won their first game of the year over Locust Valley 54-53. Bobby Nagelberg hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer to give Division the win. Nagelberg finished with 17 points and 10 assists. Mark Hinrichs added 12 points and 9 rebounds. Stephen Switzer added 9 points and 8 rebounds. It was a hard fought game throughout. Devin Karch had nine points for Locust Valley........... Trailing by four after the 1st quarter, Hauppauge outscored Central Islip 18-4 in the 2nd quarter and 14-5 in the 4th to pick up a 53-36 road win.Steve Valazquez

had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Hauppauge........ Robby Ptacek had 30 points to lead #10 Bayport-Blue Point to a 69-39 shellacking of Eastport - South Manor......In a rescheduled game, Bishop Loughlin pulled away from #4 St. Dom's 82-68 despite 36 points from Brian Katz...... 

                   Games Of 12/8

# 4 Bay Shore rallied to defeat # 14 Uniondale 63-49, outscoring the Knights 20-2 in the 3rd quarter. Booker Hucks had 19 points and 7 rebounds and Orayne McEachron had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Bay Shore. Raenard Reid led Uniondale with 16...... Riverhead is now on the radar after an impressive 76-71 win over Benjamin Banneker brought them to 3-0.. Rob Hughes had 23 points, and Robert Skeeter had 20.....John Glenn rallied for a 65-60 win over Smithtown West. Phil Izevbahai led the comeback and finished with 32 points and Mack Scott finished with 13, including four free throws in the 2nd overtime. Matt Duffy led West with 18 points..... 

                   Games Of 12/7

Some of Long Island's biggest rivalry games were played tonight. Babylon blew open a close game at the half, outscoring West Babylon 31-15 down the stretch on their way to a 50-31 victory. Turnovers did in West Babylon. JT Pate led Babylon with 18 points and Beau Bachety added 15.......It was standing room only as Hills West rocked Hills East 78-46 behind another 31 point outburst from Tobias Harris.  Harris scored 25 points in the second and third quarters in matching his career high set in the previous game. He also had 8 rebounds.  Senior forwards Alex Aurrichio and Mike Meglio combined for 21 rebounds. The Half Hollow Hills community should be proud of the $1,500 raised for the Coaches vs Cancer program.........Centereach managed to hold on for a 56-55 win over rival Newfield after squandering a 15 point 4th quarter lead. Colin Trupia had 16 points for Centereach ........... West Islip grabbed the lead from Islip right from the start, jumping out to a 16-4 advantage and cruising to a 48-34 win. Joe Wood was high man, scoring 15 points for West Islip.

    Hills East Outlasts Long Beach

After a back and forth first half that ended with Hills East clinging to a one point lead, they got a liitle breathing room in the 3rd quarter and held on for a hard fought 63-57 win over Long Beach in the first round of a tournament in Eastport - South Manor. Ricky Scarabino finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for East, and  Bruno Rotellini had 14 points, 8 steals, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jon Selby addes 12 points. For Long Beach, Deshaun Moye had another big game with 28 points and Taequen Washington finished with 16.                     12/5

  Lindenhurst Holds Off Copiague

Chris Johnson went on a 1st half shooting spree, knocking down 3 pointers from every angle to lead Lindenhurst to a 72-61 victory over Copiague. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-3 lead over the Eagles on back to back threes by Johnson, and the lead ballooned to 32-16 on another three by Johnson with 5 minutes remaining in the half. Copiague sophomore guard Nasha Smith, who had a key basket in the first quarter to help keep the Eagles close, answered back with a three, and then freshman PJ Pages hit two free throws to cut it to nine and that was the margin at halftime. Johnson had 19 points by intermission, despite sitting for a good chunk of the 2nd quarter. Copiague came on strong to start the 3rd quarter. Three baskets from Darren Bond and a fast break layup by Marcel Lattimore made it 40-36, and then a pull-up jump shot by Lattimore made it 43-41 with 3:45 left in the quarter. Johnson, who had been quiet to that point, got himself rolling again with a driving layup, then penetrated to the basket again, this time dishing the ball to Brian Cervantes for two,  and then drained his first three of the half and it was back to a nine point lead.  Page hit two free throws to cap off the quarter and it was 52-41. Mervin Springer got it back to single digits with a jumper to start the 4th, and then a putback by Bond, Lattimore's rebound of a missed free throw, and Springer's putback and it was a three point game with 5 minutes to go. Johnson stepped up again for the Bulldogs, grabbing a lose ball and hitting a short jumper from the baseline and then a three pointer to make it 57-49 with 3:50 remining in the game. A reverse layup by Cervantes made it 62-52 and Copiague never threatened again. Big win for Lindy, especially considering they played with Kamil Parzych.

McGann-Mercy Defeats Ross 57-48

In a see-saw game, visiting Mercy outscored Ross 14-6 in the 4th quarter for the win. Mike Bell starred for Mercy, scoring 20 points, while Jasper Cregaey hit 7 three pointers and had a game high 23 for Ross

Comsewogue Over Hampton Bays

Steve Luerssen had a monster game for Comsewogue, scoring 25 points, pulling down 9 rebounds, and handed out 4 assists in Comsewogue's 63-52 win over Hampton Bays.

    Updated New Varsity Coaches

Here is our 2007-8 list of new boy's varsity coaches. The ones we know of so far are:

Kevin Carpenter, John Glenn

Andre Edwards, Wyandanch

Peter Falon, Glen Cove

Bill Harkins, St. Mary's

Bill Hempfling, Westhampton Beach

Jay Kreutzberger, Calhoun

Jason Maragh, Roosevelt

Dave Masino, Hauppauge

Brian McEvoy, Division

                   Craig Murphy ,Plainedge

Jim Plate, St. John The Baptist

John Rossetti, Riverhead

John Ward, Center Moriches

If you know of others not listed here, let us know!

               Under The Radar

We polled all of Long Island's top basketball trainers, and asked them to name players they thought were flying under the radar and were capable of having big seasons. These are the names they gave us:

Jordan Ward Adams, Center Moriches

Jonathan Ward Adams, Center Moriches

Justin Brown, Uniondale

Rob Carrol, Connetquot

Jameel Flash, West Hempstead

John Francois, St. Anthony's

John Gallego, Plainview ?

Rich Harkins. LI Lutheran

Phil Izevbehai, John Glenn

Fritz Jacques, East Islip

Saheem King, Wyandanch

Matt Milk,Upper Room

Dashaun Moye, Long Beach

Tom O’Connell, Sayville

Miles Prendergast, Bayport Blue Point

Willie Rueda, Smithtown West

Chris Ryder, Port Washington

Mack Scott, John Glenn

Bryan Vancott, Oyster Bay

Anthony Valerio, Deer Park

Harris Wichard, Bellmore JFK

IF YOU ARE A BASKETBALL TRAINER AND KNOW SOMEONE THAT BELONGS ON THIS LIST, LET US KNOW!

     Returning All-County Players

Billy Butler - Floral Park

Brandin Butler - Floral Park

Matt Cajuste - Jericho

Ryan Creighton - Greenport

Marcus Edwards - East Hampton

Byron Freeman - St. Mary's

Kyheem Green - Walt Whitman

Tobias Harris - Hills West

Jay Henriquez - LuHi

Booker Hucks -  Bay Shore

Chris Jimenez - St. Anthony's

Chris Johnson - Lindenhurst

Brian Katz - St. Dominic

Chris Manning - Baldwin

Mike Russell - East Hampton

James Scahill - Kellenberg

Note: The Nassau and Suffolk Coaches Associations produce their own list of All-County players. The above list is our own and separate from those lists.

    Our Savior Fills Special Niche

Newsday article  about Our Savior New American, but little light is shed on why OSNA is prohibited from playing against Long Island teams.

  Bay Shore Nassau/Suffolk Games

Bay Shore will be having their Annual Nassau/Suffolk games on Dec 8th.  The field for that event is:

West Hempstead vs Wyandanch at 1pm

South Side vs Bellport at 3pm

           Uniondale vs Bay Shore at 5pm

On Dec 20 and 22, the Isaiah Stanton Tournament will also be held at Bay Shore. The schedule for those games is:

Dec 20 Uniondale  vs Deer Park at 5pm

  Brentwood vs Bay Shore at 7pm

Dec 22 Consolation game at 5pm

  Championship game at 7pm

            Metro Suburban Team

The Metro classic is a preseason All-Star Game that pits New York City All-Stars against a combined team of players from Westchester and Long island. The Long Islanders on the team are: Paul  Bilbo from St. Dominic,  Matt Cajuste from Jericho,  Ben  Dorman from Great Neck North,  Tobias Harris from Half Hollow Hills West, Jeriel Henriquez from Long Island Lutheran, Brian Katz from St. Dominic, Christopher Manning from Baldwin,  and Robby Ptacek from Bayport Blue Point. Billy  Butler from Floral Park and Kamil Parzych from Lindenhurst were selected as alternates. Our congratulations to all!

         Nassau Revamps Again

Last season, Nassau County completely revamped their conferences, seeding teams and grouping them together with teams of perceived similar abilities. This year some more dramatic changed are taking place as the number of conferences have been reduced from 11 to 8 and teams from the A, B, and C classifications are being grouped together. We have the new conference assignments posted on the Standings Page (Suffolk too)

Tips To Help You Make Your Team

Want some GREAT tips to help you make your Hoops team this Fall???  Go to TRAINING TIPS

  

     BBP's Ptacek Getting Noticed

You don't have to tell the kids in Suffolk County that Bayport-Blue Point's Robby Ptacek can play. He was a key part of a strong team last season. But Ptacek hit the AAU circut this season and now everybody knows! The rave reviews continue this fall at IS8. Read about it atScout.com.

   Long Island Basketball Trivia

The last time a Long Island high school basketball team  finished #1 in the New York State Sportswriters Large School rankings was in the 1982-83 season, when two Long Island schools tied for the top spot in the state. They were Legendary St. Agnes from Rockville Centre and a great team from North Babylon. Taking the top spot in 82-83 gave Long Island rare back to back #1 teams. Long Island Lutheran was New York State's #1 high school basketball team the year before

Wheatley Academic State Champs

The Wheatley basketball team finished with a team GPA of 96.32, the highest in New York State! Long Island had three of the top four GPA's, as Jericho finished second with 95.266 and Massapequa fourth with 94.614

   St. Pats Varsity Playoff Report

The Varsity Playoffs in the St. Patrick's Summer League got underway in Smithtown, and the Bruins avenged a regular season defeat with a twenty point win over the Nittany Lions. Mack Scott (John Glenn) and Tom O'Connell (Sayville) led the way with big scoring nights for the Bruins and Brian Crowley (Northport) put up some very good numbers both on the scoreboard and off the glass. Rich Robbins (Northport), still nursing a bad ankle, began the game at the point and got the team off to a great start, and Josh Paul (Whitman) and Sam Thomas (Northport) played the roles of consummate team players - playing good defense, passing, rebounding, setting screens, and scoring when needed. The win moves them into the semifinals next Tuesday.

      Public vs Private / NYC vs LI

Can public high school basketball teams compete with catholic and private schools? The perception is no, but the evidence suggests otherwise.  This past season, public schools faced catholic schools in each of the three Federation High School State Championship games, and public schools won all three! In fact, since the Federation adopted its new classification system four years ago (AA,A, and B), catholic schools have captured only two of the 12 Federation State Championships awarded!  Can Long Island High School teams compete with New York City teams? Again, contrary to the common perception, New York City and Long Island are neck and neck, both recently and going back 10 years. Last year, each captured one of the three titles awarded,  and going back to 1997, Long Island has captured 11 titles and NYC 10!

    Suffolk League Placements

Every year, there seem to be changes in league placements and class placements in both Nassau and Suffolk, and this year is no exception. In Suffolk, the big news is that Class A Champion Kings Park has moved up to AA, while Bayport/Blue Point has dropped down to B and should provide stiff competition for Wyandanch. In other changes, in Suffolk League  1, Sachem North moves over from League 2, while West Islip and Newfield move from League 3 to League 2.  North Babylon is in league 3 now, and Kings Park slides into their slot in League 4. The Class A schools start with League 5, and Harborfields goes from League 6 to 5, leaving League 6 with 7 teams. McGann-Mercy joins League 7 and Smithtown Christian rejoins League 8.  If you want to get an early look at Suffolk league schedules, Section XI has them up, but most non-league games are not posted yet.

             Nutrition For Athletes

There are tons of web sites and articles on the web about nutrition and diets for athletes, but which ones actually offer sound advice and information? Active.com tries to help sort things out with their article: E-Nutrition: Resources for Athletes on the Web

         Corso All-Star At  5 Star

Rising Freshmen Chris Corso from Half Hollow Hills East  was named to the Orange/White All-Star Game recently at the 5 Star Camp at ESU

Leek Leek in Top 20 All-Star Game

The Top 20 all-star game at the Eastern Invitational included 6-5 Leek Leek of Our Savior New American

  Danny DiVietri All-Star At Pocono

Danny DiVietri, a rising Junior at Chaminade HS, performed very well at the Hoop Group's Pocono Invitational Hoop School Session 4. Danny made the All Star Game, won the hot shot and 1 on 1 competitions, and was also named co-mvp of the camp as his team won the championship.

          Bruins Take Varsity Title

The Bruins stormed back from a 20 point deficit to capture the St. Patrick's Summer League Varsity Championship over the Razorbacks. A suffocating full court press turned the tide. MVP Anthony Valerio (Deer Park) led the way as he and Brian Crowley (Northport) dominated the offensive boards in the 2nd half and scored repeatedly from underneath. The whole roster deserves credit though, as players continuously shuffled in and out and their outstanding man to man pressure and help defense did not permit an uncontested shot the whole 2nd half. The champions were:Jon Concepcion, Kings Park, Brian Crowley, Northport, Tom O'Connell, Sayville, Josh Paul, Walt Whitman, Rich Robbins, Northport, Mack Scott, John Glenn, Sam Thomas, Northport and Anthony Valerio, Deer Park.  Mike Campbell, Chaminade, Gabe Cruse, Northport, and Anthony Girolamo, Northport, were not able to make it, but were important parts of the team and helped get them to the title game.

Harkins New Coach At St. Mary's

Long time Long Island Lightning Coach and Island Garden Individual Skills Trainer Bill Harkins has been selected to become the next boys varsity coach at St. Mary's High School in Manhasset. He replaces Robert Jones, who accepted an assistants job at Norfolk State. Coach Harkins is one of three Directors of the Long Island Lightning Boys Program and has been a member of the Board of Directors for seven years. He has coached Lightning teams for the past nine seasons and has realized considerable success. In addition to his coaching, Bill has also directed the highly successful Long Island Lightning Developmental Program which focuses on teaching basic skills and strategies to young athletes.  His predecessor, Coach Jones, stepped into what many thought was a no win situation at St. Mary's, replacing legendary coach Tim Cluess. Under Cleuss, St. Mary's teams dominated the NSCHAA  - a difficult precedent to match.

             Metro Classic Report

The NYC All-Stars defeated the Suburban All-Stars 89-85 at the Metro Classic Game played annually at Christ The King High School in Queens. The game was close again as it has been all three years, but this time the City held the lead most of the 2nd half, and managed to escape with the victory on a key steal by Rice High School's Kemba Walker with 9 seconds remaining and his team clinging to a two point lead. Poor long range shooting and a rash of 2nd half turnovers did in the Suburban squad and led to their first loss in the series. There were several noteworthy performances by Long Island Players in the game: Bayport-Blue Point’s Rob Ptacek and Great Neck North’s Ben Dorman both played very well - scoring and playing good team ball, although Dorman saw limited playing time. Jeriel Henriquez from LI Lutheran rebounded from a cold start to finish with a team high 16 points, and Baldwin’s Chris Manning was also impressive, doing a nice job running the point and picking up some key steals.

  Jersey City/St. Anthony's To Visit

High school basketball powerhouse St. Anthony's of Jersey City will come to Long Island this Valentine's Day to take on reemerging power Long Island Lutheran.  The Crusaders finished ranked #2 last season in our Sweet Sixteen Poll of Long Island's best high school Bbsketball teams, and have just about everybody back this year!

  Harris Will Remain At Hills West

Contrary to speculation that started almost immediately after last season,  rising star Tobias Harris has decided to remain at Hills West for his sophomore year. Harris and his family explored all their options over the summer,  but the appeal of playing with his hometown team and friends was too great. Look for West to contend for the Class AA title this season.

    East Hampton Honors Coach

It was announced that legendary East Hampton Coach Ed Petrie, New York State's winningest public high school boys basketball coach, would have  the school's basketball court named after him. Coach Petrie recently celebrated his 75th birthday and will be going for career win # 700 this season.

  Kings Park Will Move To Class AA

Another Long Island Champion will be moving up in class next season. Long Island Class A Champion Kings Park will be reclassified and play as a AA school next year. Class B State Champion Malverne is also moving up and will be playing in Class A.

    Velazquez All-Star At Keystone

Hauppaugue's Steve Velazquez continued his outstanding summer by being named an All-Star at the prestigious Keystone Basketball Camp in Pennsylvania.

  Velez Selected For Top 20 Game

Jorge Moreno Velez of Upper  Room was selected to the Top 20 all star game at Eastern Invitational Camp the week of July 12th

Basketball Camps

Sold out 18 straight years!

ST.DOMINIC

     INTERSTATE

SPORTS ACADEMY

    Clinics

Tournaments

Leagues

  Camps

GP PTS  AVG

24  751  31.3

19  573  30.2

25  725  29.0

23  602  26.2

18  432  24.0

18  430  23.9

20  477  23.9

19  445  23.4

19  431  22.7

20  451  22.6

20  440  22.0

21  461  22.0

24  525  21.9

20  435  21.8

20  435  21.8

21  455  21.7

20  419  21.0

18  369  20.5

20  403  20.2

19  381  20.1

     SCHOOL

OSNA

Roslyn

H H Hills West

Greenport

Roosevelt

Bellmore JFK

Bayport BP

Sachem North

G.N. North

Hewlett

Oyster Bay

John Glenn

Port Jefferson

Deer Park

Lindenhurst

Copiague

Floral Park

Sewanhaka

Southold

Patch-Medford

     PLAYER

Gerardo Suero

George Beamon

Tobias Harris

Ryan Creighton

Jamal White

Nick Taldi

Robby Ptacek

Will Slinkosky

Ben Dorman

David Fogel

Brian Van Cott

Phil Izevbehai

John Nielson

Josh Malone

Chris Johnson

Mervin Springer

Billy Butler

Frantz Lubin

Jamie Sawicki

Marcus Stroman

LONG ISLAND'S

LEADING SCORERS

FINAL NUMBERS - ALL GAMES

  The Basketball Honor Roll

We've put together our list of the top basketball players on Long Island. Next week, we'll whittle it down with our list of All County Players, then after the Federation Tournament of Champions, we'll announce our All Long Island Team and then our Player Of The Year

        Go to THE BASKETBALL HONOR ROLL

  The LongIslandBasketball.com's

   All-Long Island

Basketball Team

  Coach Of The Year

Every year, there are a number of coaches deserving of our Coach of the Year Award. This year, Darryl Lopez first comes to mind,  taking his team back to the State Championship Game despite heavy graduation losses. John Adams too. He brought pride and a Suffolk Class B crown back to Center Moriches. Of course there's Ed Petrie, who guided East Hampton to the State Class A Championship game and picked up his 700th career win in the process. Let's not forget Darius Burton, who took Baldwin to the Long Island Class AA Title and State Final Four for the first time in many  years. But in our minds,  this year's choice is clear.  This man's team also experienced heavy graduation losses, and was young and inexperienced and expected to do nothing. In fact, expectations were so modest that whenever they won unexpectedly, which they did often, or played well against a good team in defeat, it was taken as evidence of their opponent's shortcomings, not of their strength. Yet, they continued to win, going on to capture their League Championship while defeating the defending champion three times in the  process.  From there, they went on to win a State Semifinal game before their magic run ended in the Championship Game.

The Long Island Basketball.com Coach of the Year for the 2007- 08 season is:

  Jim Quinn

  of Chaminade

Player Of The Year

It was a very tough year for picking the Player of the Year. There were three very strong candidates, all three of whom were extremely gifted offensively, and all three of whom had passionate supporters and detractors.  In the end, the player that we selected as Long Island's best was chosen because he transformed himself from a 30 point a game scorer into a textbook point guard, skillfully distributing the ball and getting his teammates into the flow of the offense, and only looking  for his shot when his team was in need.  In the process, he guided his team to Suffolk County and Long Island Championships, and then stepped up and carried them to victory in the New York State Class A Semifinals. 

The Long Island Basketball.com Player of the Year for the 2007- 08 season is:

       Mike Russell

   of East Hampton

All Long Island Honorable Mention

     Long Island's #1 Team, 2007-08 season:

THE LONG ISLAND LUTHERAN CRUSADERS

               Coached by Brian Carey

Photo by James Escher

BASKETBALL CAMPS

             Final State Rankings

The final New York State rankings were released, and here is how Long Island teams finished:

CLASS AA:  Baldwin 17th, Hills West 19th, and Whitman 24th

CLASS A:  LI Lutheran 2nd, East Hampton 4th, Chaminade 11th, and Jericho 12th.

CLASS B:  Malverne 4th, LWA 7th, Center Moriches 14th, Bayport BP 18th,

CLASS C:  Friends Academy 4th, Port Jefferson 12th, Stony Brook 18th

CLASS D :  Greenport 2nd

Good HS Season Comes to An End

Before the season started, most experts predicted a down year for Long Island teams. It did finish with some disappointments, but only because four of our teams advanced to State Championship Games before their seasons came to an end - a total surpassed only by New York City - and far exceeding anyone's forecasts. There is more good news. Next year's prospects look even better! Three of Long Island's top four scorers return, and two of the teams that played in the state finals have most of their key players back for another run. There is also a large group of very good teams that fell just short of the State Tournaments and were dominated by underclassmen. It could be our best season in quite some time! Can't wait!