Long Island High School Basketball News and Rankings

Hewlett Drubs Great Neck North

Great Neck North had a 1 point lead over Hewlett at the end of the first quarter, but incredibly didn't score in the second quarter, and had only 8 points in the 3rd, falling to the Bulldogs 61-39 in Section 8 Class A first round playoff action. The game had all the markings of a competitive contest in the early going. Great Neck North was aggressively attacking the basket, while Hewlett was utilizing their strength in the low post, and the teams went at it the entire first quarter. A three pointer by Roey Shmuel gave Hewlett an early 7-4 lead, but Brandon Benilevi answered with a three point play to tie it, and North took the lead on two free throws by Alon Zohar and kept it pretty much the rest of the quarter, the exception being a 13 all tie after a three pointer by Hewlett's C.J. Brady. But North moved back on top on a fast break basket by Zohar, and they led 15-14 at the end of the quarter. Then everything changed. Hewlett scored 12 unanswered points, staring with a free throw by Michael Eckerle, a baseline jumper by Dylan Sasson, and a three pointer by Dylan Pastor, and finishing with another jumper by Sasson, and a putback and two more free throws by Eckerle, and the Bulldogs were in command to stay early in the third quarter. Zohar broke the run on a putback, and his fast break basket made it 26-19, a but three pointer by Sasson made it 31-21 with 3:40 to go in the third quarter, Shmuel 's three pointer made it 39-23 with less than a minute left, and Sasson's free throw as time expired made it 40-23 after three and Hewlett cruised home from there. 2/13

Lower Seeds Prevail In Nassau

The lower seeds won three of the four first round games in the Section 8 Class AA Playoffs. The biggest upset was 11th seeded Massapequa defeating 6th seeded Carey 53-44. 10 seed Herricks beat #7 Port Washington 59-56, and #9 Hicksville got past #8 Oceanside 54-51. The only home team to advance was 5 seed Hempstead, and they escaped with a 68-66 win (see story) 2/13

Chaminade Stuns St. Mary's

The 13th ranked Chaminade Flyers reeled off their 7th straight win, tripping up 5th ranked St. Mary's 63-53. Chaminade was in control the whole way, pulling within one game of the second place Gaels, who were without Chauvaughn Lewis. Tom Morgan had a terrific game for Chaminade, finishing with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Bob Keating picked up a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Keven Hargrove added 7 blocks! 2/12

Last Two Playoff Qualifiers

Centereach and Smithtown East both needed wins in their last regular season games to qualify for the Suffolk County Playoffs, and they both got them. Centereach went on the road to West Islip and racked up a decisive 48-27 victory. Bret DeRosa had 13 points and Mike Ferchland 10. Smithtown East hosted Hills East, and defeated them 64-45 behing 21 points and 18 rebounds from sophomore John Feiler 2/12

Elmont Holds Off Bethpage

Top seeded and 10th ranked Elmont needed a fourth quarter rally to defeat 16th seeded Bethpage 45-40. Dominique Williams led the way with 11 fourth quarter points 2/12

Southold Undefeated

In a terrific game, Southold came from behind to defeat second place Stony Brook 51-50 to complete an undefeated 18-0 season, the first in school history. Kevin Parma hit the game winning three pointer and finished with a game high 22 points. Jon Cepelak had a big first half and finished with 14. Tim Pandolfi led Stony Brook with 19 and Jovan George had 14. 2/11

VSN First Title In School History

Valley Stream North closed out their confernce schedule with wins over Lawrence and Sewanhaka to finish 8-2, putting them in a first place tie with Great Neck North for the Conference ABC 3 Championship - the first boy's basketball title in school history! Ryan Kenny, David Nelson, Alington Paul, and Tyrone Conyers were all key contributors to the historic season. 2/10

Waldorf vs Portledge in Final

Waldorf upset #1 seed Kew Forest 52-48 and #2 Portledge held off Solomon Schechter 53-45 to advance to the IPPSAL Championship Game. Sean Proctor hit four free throws down the stretch to ice the upset for Waldorf and finished with 14 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, and 8 assists. Landon Twine added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Portledge got double-doubles from Mark Dourmashkin, with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Christian Sbarro, with 12 points and 14 rebounds. 2/9

Oceanside 1st Title In 18 years

It has been a long time between conference titles for Oceanside. The Sailors won their first title since 1992

with a hard fought 52-44 win over Great Neck South.

Oceanside started off slowly, down 11-4 early in the first quarter, but took a 2 point lead going into the half 23-21. The second half was a duplicate of the first half, with Oceanside starting slowly again, but then late in the 3rd quarter Gene Garay ( 10 pts 9 assists 3 steals) started getting to the hoop and when he was doubled he kicked to Mike Bonomo (16 pts) and Danny Collins ( 12 pts on 4-6 shooting from 3 point range). Greg Gilbert took care of the rest in the fourth quarter, scoring 7 of his 11 points and finishing with 8 rebounds 6 assists 3 steals and 3 blocks. Oceanside will open up the first round of the playoffs with a home game against Conference 2 rival Hicksville this Thursday at 7pm. 2/8

Sachem North Advances

In a classic see-saw playoff battle, Sachem North earned the right to face top seeded Hills West with a 58-53 victory over Centereach in a Suffolk County Class AA outbracket game. The Flaming Arrows' James Kenny opened the scoring with a basket from underneath, but Centereach grabbed the early lead on Billy Garzon 's 3 pointer from just to the left of the key and a driving hook shot by Cody Lohsen, and they held it until the 3:20 mark, when Kenny's three pointer put Sachem on top 9-8, and then Nick Galina's drive from the left wing made it 11-8. Garzon tied it at 11 all however on another three pointer as the first quarter came to a close. Davon Lawrence's three point play opened the second quarter scoring, giving North a 14-11 lead, but the Cougars answered with a fast break basket by James Tuccillo and a three pointer by Garzon to go up 16-14. Two free throws and Garzon's basket from underneath gave Centereach a 6 point advantage with 5:34 to go in the half, but after Galina scored on a putback to make it a 4 point game, and Ryan Herman answered with a free throw to make it 21-16, back to back baskets by John Ford and a bank shot off the glass by Doug Wirth put Sachem on top by 1. The teams traded a series of free throws as the half wound down, with the net result a 25 all tie at intermission. Centereach struck first as the second half got underway, with Lohsen scoring from the lane and Bret DeRosa nailing a three pointer from the left wing to make it 30-25 Cougars, but Sachem answered with 6 straight points, with Wirth knocking down a baseline jumper, Galina scoring on a driving layup, and Kenny hooking one in from under the basket to make it 31-30 Sachem. The teams went back and forth the rest of the quarter, with Lawrence backing his man down and scoring to give Sachem a 38-36 lead at the end of three. The lead was 6 after Wirth's driving scoop shot, and the teams again traded baskets until 2:40 remained, when Ford missed a three point attempt, but the rebound was kicked back out to him and he nailed the follow up to push the lead to 7. Centereach would not go quietly however. Tuccillo's reverse layup made it 39-34 with 2:30 to go, Lohsen scored off an inbound play to make it 39-36 with 2:08 on the clock, and Garzon hit one of two free throws to make it a 2 point game with 2 minutes remaining. That's as close as they would get however. Ford knocked down four free throws in the closing seconds to ice it and the Flaming Arrows were on their way. 2/15

Friends Class C Champions

In a terrific game, Friends Academy won the Section 8/Nassau County Class C Championship with a 53-52 overtime victory over East Rockaway. The Quakers rallied in regulation, tying it on a putback by Travis Hefele, and then Josh Feshbach's dramatic three point play with 13 seconds remaining won it in OT. Hefele finished with 17 points and Tommy Costa added 13 for Friends, while Joe Todero led East Rockaway with 20. East Rockaway came into the title game on a 12 game winning streak. 2/13

Floral Park Slips By VSN

13th seed Valley Stream north had 4 seed Floral Park on the ropes, but the Knights made up a 6 point deficit with 3:32 remaining and came away with a 60-57 victory. Shamoy McIntosh, whose three point play proved to be the game winner, led all scorers with 28 points for Floral Park. The game was tight throughout, with Floral Park leading 27-25 at the half. A three point play by McIntosh gave the Knights a 32-27 lead early in the third quarter, but Ryan Kenny answered with a three point play of his own and VSN was back within 2. The teams traded baskets until Alington Paul tied it with two free throws at the 3:46 mark, but Floral Park regained the lead on a three pointer by Tom Monahan from the left wing. Five straight points by Kenny put Valley Stream into the lead, but McIntosh's basket tied it at 41 all with under a minute to play in the quarter and that's where it stood at the buzzer. After McIntosh's free throw opened the fourth quarter scoring and gave the Knights a one point lead, Kenny hit a runner to make it 43-42 North, and his back to back three pointers made it 51-45 North with 5:10 to go. But with the score 52-26 and 3:32 left, VSN point guard David Nelson fouled out, and the momentum changed instantly. Floral Park scored 7 points in the next 30 seconds, getting two free throws from Kenny Quinn and then back to back steals that resulted in two free throws by McIntosh and a three pointer by Monahan, and it was suddenly 53-52 Floral Park. A free throw by Greg Gonzalez tied it at 53 all, but McIntosh's putback with 2:40 to go gave Floral Park a two point lead. Tyrone Conyers's free throw cut it to 1, and Kenny's free throw tied it, but after a turnover, it was Floral Park ball with 48 seconds on the clock. McIntosh scored on a drive, drew the foul and converted the three point play for a 58-55 Floral Park lead, but Kenny struck right back, going coast to coast to cut it to 58-57 with 28 seconds left. The Spartans then sent Alex Grant to the line, and he opened the door by missing both of his free throws, giving Valley Stream ball with 26 seconds left, trailing by 1. But they could not score, and had to send Grant back to the line, and this time he hit both shots with 7 seconds left to give Floral Park a three point lead. VSN got off a shot as time expired , but it was off target. 2/12

2/9 High School Recaps

Two time defending Long Island Class A Champion and Suffolk County Overall Champion East Hampton fell short of the playoffs with a 62-60 loss to John Glenn. Sam Hanley had 19 points and Roshawn Polight 15 points and 5 assists for Glenn, while Tyler Brennemen finished with 29 for the Bonackers

.....#2 Longwood completed the first undefeated league season in their storied history, rolling over Patchogue-Medford 83-63 behind 19 points from Darien Davis and 18 from Tajric Boggs.... #8 Westbury kept pace with Elmont and South Side by overwhelming Floral Park 69-40 to finish in a three way tie for first place in ABC 1. Paris Abrams and Sheldon Hagigal both had 21 points to lead the Green Dragons, and Lamard Herron added 16.....Sachem North made the playoffs with their 4th straight win, defeating Walt Whitman 52-45. James Kenny led the way with 17 points and John Ford added 15 .....#1 Hills West and Bellport completed their suspended game in a closed gym, with the Colts winning 84-56 behind 36 points and 18 rebounds by Tobias Harris.....Our Savior New American used a 26-9 second quarter to defeat Upper Room 93-82. Franklin Milian had 32 points and 17 rebounds for OSNA and Vaja Jonashia added 19 points and 16 rebounds. Chad Coachman led Upper Room with 41..... Hauppague earned a playoff spot with a 58-39 thumping of Huntington. Christian Gonzalez led the Eagles with 17 points and 9 rebounds and Bobby Vitulano had 16 points and 7 assists.....In a terrific game between two strong teams, 12th ranked Bayport-Blue Point went on the road to defeat Miller Place 46-44. Miles Prendergast led the Phantoms with 11 points and Ross Drzal finished with 10. Brian Campbell had 14 for Miller Place.....Lindenhurst finished in sole possession of first place in League 2 with a 56-50 win over Bay Shore. Kamil Parzych led with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Stu Warren had 12 points and 17 rebounds. Jordan Allen led Bay Shore with 23.....

South Side Rips Elmont

#11 South Side took the lead at 6-4 and never looked back, completely outplaying the 8th ranked Spartans in a 55-44 win that was not as close as the final score. Two free throws by Ryan Spadaford gave the Cyclones that early lead, and then a coast to coast fast break basket by Darren Nickelson and Spadaford's jumper from the left wing made it 10-4 with 3:43 to go in the opening quarter. Dean Walker's free throw in the closing seconds brought Elmont within 5, but Leon Taylor opened the second quarter with a fast break basket, and following another Elmont free throw, split the defense and scored and then knocked down two free throws to make it 20-10. Walker fought valiantly to keep the Spartans in the game, hitting a big three pointer to reduce the margin to 7, and Anthony Elechi scored from down low to make it a 5 point game again, but South Side answered right back, with Taylor scoring on a drive and Kevin Waxon knocking down a three from the right baseline and the lead was back at 10 at the half. Brett Cohen's hook shot from the low post gave South side an 11 point lead early in the third quarter, and his back to back baskets made it 39-23 with 2:15 remaining. Taylor's fast break basket made it 43-25, but Elmont scored 5 straight points, including a steal and two free throws by Isaiah Watson and it was still a game at 43-30. Greg Cove hit a big three pointer at the buzzer though, and the Cyclones led by 16 as the 4th quarter got underway. Waxon's baseline drive opened the fourth quarter scoring and gave South Side an 18 point lead, and then his 3 point play made it 51-30 with 6:35 on the clock. The teams traded baskets until the 2:10 mark, when Watson's jumper brought Elmont within 16, but they didn't score again until less than a minute remained, when Elechi's basket brought them within 14. Too little too late. 2/5

The Playoff Picture/Today's Games

NASSAU: Massapequa can lock up the last playoff spot in AA2 with a win over Hicksville.......Bellmore and Plainview face off tonight and will probably decide the last playoff spot in AA3. They are tied for second, and the conference gets two spots. Bellmore however wraps up their season against division leader Syosset.......Sewanhaka needs a win over first place Great Neck North to stay in playoff contention in ABC 3.....Seaford, Glen Cove, Bethpage, and Wantagh are all contending for ABC 4's two playoff spots with two games to play. Conference leader Seaford controls their own fate, as does Bethpage, who owns the tie-breaker with Glen Cove. Glen Cove probably needs to win both their games and hope Bethpage slips up, while Wantagh needs to win both their games and have all three of the teams ahead of them lose at least once.....SUFFOLK: Commack can lock up a playoff spot with a win today against Ward Melville, while Ward Melville needs to win both of their last two games to qualify....Sachem North also has to win their last two, and hosts Connetquot tonight..... Defending Suffolk Class A Champion North Babylon needs to beat both Sachem East and league leader and 14th ranked East Islip to make the playoffs.... Hills East visits Centereach in a big game for both teams. Centereach must win to stay alive, and Hills East needs to win 2 of their last 3....

Whitman Stops Lindy In OT

#8 Lindenhurst came to Whitman on a five game winning streak and sitting on top in Suffolk League 2, but after taking a first quarter lead, fell to the Wildcats 60-54 in overtime. Whitman had the early advantage, but when Myles Jones went to the bench with 2 quick fouls, the Bulldogs moved in front. Lawrence Crehan's three pointer gave them an 8-6 lead with 3:21 to go in the opening quarter, Rob Balkam followed it with another three for a 5 point lead, and Stu Warren's jumper from the right elbow made it 13-6 Lindenhurst. Balkam's second three pointer made it 16-7, but a drive by Bryan Jimenez cut the margin to 7 as the quarter ended. Warren opened the second quarter with a nice move from the low post to put Lindenhurst back up by 9, and then his drive down the lane made it 22-11. Back to back three pointers by Kamil Parzych made it 28-15 Bulldogs, but Whitman closed out the first half on a 9-0 run, with a putback and jumper from the elbow by Jones, a three pointer by Brendan Dauscher, and a fast break basket by Daniel Guardardo, and they trailed by only 4 at intermission. Anthony Aikhuele's jumper from just to the right of the key brought Whitman within 2 as the third quarter got underway, a three pointer from the left wing by Jimenez at the 4:50 mark gave them a 33-31 lead, and a runner by KJ Lee in the closing seconds made it 37-33 Whitman after three quarters. Jones opened the fourth quarter with a steal and fast break basket to give the Wildcats a 6 point lead, and a putback by Aikhuele made it 41-33. A nice duck under move from the low post by Jelaun Johns got Lindenhurst on the board, and Warren followed it with a three point play to bring the Bulldogs within 3 with 6:08 showing. Jones scored again for the Wildcats, but Balkam answered with a three pointer to cut it to 43-41, and then with 2:42 to go, a three pointer by Parzych made it a 1 point game. A steal and basket by Jones put Whitman on top 49-46 with 2:05 to go, but 2 free throws in the 1 and 1 by Warren made 49-48 with 1:32 left. Lee's free throw with 41.7 seconds on the clock gave Whitman a 2 point lead, but Parzych's free throws tied it at 50 with 15 seconds to go to send the game into OT. Freshman Lee's free throws put Whitman on top as the overtime got underway, and Jones added a jumper from the left wing to make it 54-50. Parzych kept it close with two free throws, and Johns tied it with a basket from down low with 40 seconds to go, but a huge three from the left wing by Guardardo made it 57-54 Whitman with 8.4 seconds left, and Tyrek Burwell's free throw iced it. 1/28.

Hills West Holds Off Bellport

When Tobias Harris led Hills West to the Suffolk County Class AA Championship as a sophomore, Bellport gave them fits both times they played during the regular season. Fast forward to this year, and the first matchup of the season with Bellport started out like any other league game for the #1 ranked Hills West Colts. They jumped out to a big 23-9 first quarter lead, but surprisingly, the usual blowout never materialized. Bellport outscored them 23-15 in the second quarter to trail by only 6 at the half, and the Clippers stayed in the game the rest of the way, finally falling 85-77. No other league opponent has been closer than 19. Antoine Roundtree and Connor Fedge had big games for Bellport with 22 and 21 points respectively. Tavon Sledge led Hills West with 25 points and Tobias Harris had 20 for New York State's #4 team. The Colts were playing their 8th game over a 14 day span. 1/25

LuHi Big Win Over Curtis

Long Island Lutheran defeated highly regarded Curtis of the PSAL 64-58. The Crusaders rallied from a third quarter deficit to drop Staten Island's top team to 20-3. Achraf Yacoubou led all scorers with 21 points and Hart Gliedman added 20. 1/25

Hills West Over Chester, Pa

Hills West picked up another impressive win at the Prime Time Shootout, defeating legendary Chester High School of Pennsylvania 82-72. Chester has won 7 Pennsylvania State Championships. Tobias Harris had 36 points and 14 rebounds, and Tavon Sledge 17 points and 12 assists. MORE 1/23

Elmont Beats Westbury

The Elmont Spartans swept the season series from Westbury, defeating the Green Dragons 48-46. Elmont won the first matchup 74-71 in overtime. Anthony Elechi led the way with 17 points and 13 rebounds. The win keeps the Spartans in a first place tie with South Side, who they play February 5th at South Side. Dillon Williams scored right off the tip to put Elmont on top, with Westbury taking their first lead at 9-8 on a three pointer by Lamard Herron. A closing spurt by the Spartans, with Anthony Elechi hitting a jumper from the left wing, Isaiah Watson draining a three pointer from dead on, and Dean Walker slicing through the defense for a fast break basket, gave them a 15-11 lead as the first quarter came to a close. Lucens Victor rebounded and scored to bring Westbury within two as the second quarter got underway, and Heron's putback tied it at 15 all. Watson answered with another three from the top of the key, but seven straight points by the Green Dragons gave them a 22-18 lead with 4:25 to go in the half and forced Elmont to call time. Tyrece Redd knocked down two free throws to build the lead to 6, but another three by Watson from the left foul line extended made it a 3 point game. Westbury kept up the pressure, with a free throw by Victor and a three pointer by Redd giving them a 28-21 lead with 1:40 left, but Elechi scored from underneath to cut it to 28-23 at the half, and then his jumper with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter brought Elmont within 2. Both teams struggled to score the rest of the quarter and it was still a 2 point game at the end of three. Herron buried a three pointer to open the fourth quarter, giving Westbury a 34-29 lead, and then he added a free throw the next trip down for a 6 point advantage, but Elmont went on a 9-0 run, 7 of the points by Elechi, and it was 38-35 Spartans with 4:05 left. Redd broke the run with a driving layup, but Williams answered with a three pointer to give Elmont a 4 point lead. Paris Abrams hit a baseline jumper to make it a 2 point game with 2:31 to go, and the teams swapped baskets and free throws until 17.8 remained, when Walker knocked down four straight free throws to ice it for Elmont. 1/22

LuHi Chops Down Forest Hills

Long Island Lutheran bounced back nicely from their loss to Boys and Girls HS with a 60-49 win over the PSAL's Forest Hills. The Crusaders led most of the way, with Hart Gliedman finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Achraf Yacoubou 19 points and 13 rebounds. LuHi led by 2 after one, and went on a 12-2 second quarter run to take a 32-20 lead at the half. The lead was 16 mid way through the third quarter, but a 7-0 run got the Rangers back into the game. The forth quarter was back and forth, with Forest Hills unable to make any headway and the Crusaders getting the key baskets they needed to stay in command. 1/18

1/17 State Rankings

Hills West improved to #4 in the New York State Class AA Rankings after their win over Bishop Loughlin. NYC's Rice moved into the top spot. The second ranked team, Newburgh Free Academy, is where Devon McMillan ended up. Longwood slipped to #20. LuHi is ranked #3 in Class A, SJB #6, and South Side and Harborfields 18th and 19th. LWA held steady at #6 in Class B, with Southold 7th and East Rockaway 11th in Class C.

St.Mary's Rips #2 Uniondale

4th ranked St. Mary's exploded right from the opening tap, building a 22 point first half lead on their way to a very impressive 73-53 victory over 2nd ranked Uniondale. The Knights did mount a valiant comeback attempt, getting back within 9 in the 4th quarter, but the Gaels fought them off and pulled away for the win. Chaz Morrish opened the game with a three pointer for St. Mary's, but a drive by Bolade Akingboye and a baseline jumper by Goey Charles gave Uniondale the early lead. Chauvaughn Lewis's baseline drive made it 5-4 St. Mary's, and they would never trail again. Lewis scored again, going coast to coast, drawing a foul, and converting the three point play, and after a short jumper by Akingboye, Morrish nailed his second three pointer and it was 11-6 Gaels. Charles McCann scored from down low to make it 13-6, Lewis hit a runner for a 9 point lead, and as the first quarter wound down, Dante Agnew's 3 point play made it 21-9 at the buzzer. Back to back baskets by Agnew made it 29-11 Gaels with 5:22 to go in the half, and a baseline drive by Lewis and a free throw by Agnew and the lead was 21 with 4 minutes to play. McCann's three point play made it 37-15 at the 3:01 mark, and it was 41-22 at the half. Uniondale made a run to start the second half, with Charles scoring off an inbound play to make it 42-30 with under 5 minutes to go in the third quarter, but back to back baskets by St. Mary's, including a fast break dunk by Lewis, made it 46-30 with 2:24 left and it was 50-35 after three. A three pointer by Shaq Mosley with 5:50 to go in the game brought Uniondale within 9, but Justin Bailey stopped the run with a jumper from the right wing, and he followed it with a three pointer for a 58-44 St. Mary's lead and the Knights never threatened again. 12/9

12/7 High School Recaps

Upper Room defeated Our Savior Lutheran 79-69 behind 30 points and 10 assists from Ramel Anderson. Cortle King added 15 points, Matt Difilipo 12, and Saun Midy 10..... Bellport jumped out to a 22 point lead and then held off Sachem East 56-47. Suffolk All-Star Connor Fedge led the Clippers with 20, Antoine Roundtree had 15, and Darren Yancey 10. Dan Candemaris led East with 23.....LWA pulled away from Plainview JFK for a 61-48 win, led by Holden Collick and Edwin Sainvil with 12 points each.....Friends Academy surprised McArthur 64-53 in the first round of the Jeff Shaw Memorial Basketball Tournament. John Feshbach had 17 points, Tom Costa 15, and Travis Hefele 14 to lead Friends.....

Long Island Challenge Recap

Catholic schools won 6 out of 7 games at the Long Island Challenge this year. In Game 1, 12th ranked Chaminade broke open a close game with a 22-9 third quarter and went on to defeat Amityville 74-50.......In Game 2, #8 St. John The Baptist got out of the gate quickly behind the red hot shooting of Khaleev Ginyard, and then fought off several rally attemps by 16th ranked Valley Stream Central before pulling away for a 74-55 win. In Game 3, Tyler Seidman's three pointer was the decisive basket in #15 Holy Trinity's 52-47 win over #12 Walt Whitman. Game 4 was the most hotly contested, with #6 Bay Shore and #12 St. Anthony's battling wire to wire before St. Anthony's came out on top 48-45. Game 5, the most anticipated matchup of the day, ended being a one sided 75-49 victory for #5 St. Mary's over #4 Westbury. Game 6 was a good one, with Kellenberg prevailing 69-66 over Brentwood, and in the finale, Jericho picked up the only public school win of the day, pulling away from St. Dominic 47-40. 12/5

12/5 High School Recaps

In the annual war between Sachem North and Sachem East, North rallied from a 6 point halftime deficit for a 54-47 win, going 8-for-11 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter. Devon Lawrence finished with 15 points and Jon Ford 13 to lead North. Dan Candemaris from East led all scorers with 20 ..... John Glenn took the Smithtown Tournament title with a 53-47 OT win over Smithtown East. Freshman Isiah Giles had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Glenn......

Longwood Rips Hempstead

The search is on for the team that can challenge Hills West in Suffolk County Class AA this season, and the first team has stepped forward. The Longwood Lions dominated a very talented Hempstead Tigers team, shredding them for 51 first half points and a 36 point halftime lead on their way to an 82-47 victory. Longwood was off and running right from the opening tap, with Darien Davis and Tajric Boggs combining for 9 straight Longwood points. Trinell Gregory broke the run for Hempstead, scoring from down low, but Pat Piasecki's fast break dunk, followed by his putback with 1:55 to go in the quarter made it 17-7. A three point play by Davis and a three pointer by Gerald Holmes made it 23-7, and then Boggs scored on the break to give the Lions an 18 point lead. After a Hempstead free throw, Chris Green drove the baseline and banked one off the glass at the buzzer to make it 27-8 after one. Joe Douglas opened the second quarter with a jumper for the Tigers, but Green answered with a three pointer from the left baseline, and Boggs followed him with another three from the top and it was 33-10. Marquis Posey scored from underneath for Hempstead, but Boggs buried another three and Green added two free throws for a 26 point lead with 5:52 to go in the half. Two more free throws, this time by Davis, made it 40-12, and a perfectly executed pick and roll by Fabian Green gave Longwood a 30 point lead. They lead 51-15 at the half. To Hempstead's credit, they did make a second half run, but the outcome was never in doubt. 12/12

12/11 High School Recaps

Valley Stream North defeated Friends Academy 64-38 in the Championship game of the Jeff Shaw Memorial Tournament. Senior Ryan Kenny had 23 points.... After easing back into the lineup, Kamil Parzych made his presence know in the championship game of the East Islip Tournament, scoring 25 points and dishing out 7 assists to lead Lindenhurst to a come from behind win against the host team. Connor Cullen had 19 for East Islip....... Neal Fshenden, James Rupp, and Pat O'Conner led Sayville past Clarke

66-34 ......

Hempstead Bounces Back

The Hempstead Tigers bounced back nicely from their surprising 25 point loss to Longwood over the weekend, beating 6th ranked Baldwin 62-55 on the road. The Bruins were once again without starting point guard and Nassau All-Star Donte Howell. Hempstead looked tentative at first, and Baldwin took advantage, jumping out to a 9-2 lead and forcing Hempstead coach Ted Adams to call time. The Tigers got right back into it, with two free throws by Ishmael Pierre cutting the margin to 1, but a three by Dominique Aberdeen from the left wing off a dish by Brandon Williams made it 12-8 Baldwin. Skylar Moore countered with a three pointer for Hempstead just before the buzzer to make it 12-11 after one. Ashanti DePass opened the second quarter scoring with a jumper from just beyond the foul line to put the Bruins up 3, and after two free throws by Jordan Parks brought it back to 1, back to back putbacks by Baldwin, the second by Aberdeen, gave them a 5 point lead. Joe Douglas got the packed gym fired up with a fast break dunk for the Tigers to cut it to 3, and then consecutive baskets by Parks and Douglas gave Hempstead the lead. A three point play by Aaron Greene tied it at 21 with 3:06 left in the half, but Underwood's free throws in the final seconds put Hempstead up 27-23 at halftime. Pierre knocked down two free throws to start the second half, giving Hempstead a 6 point lead, and it was 32-23 after a Moore three pointer. A Baldwin free throw made it an 8 point game, but Parks pulled up in the lane and scored to make it 10 with 6:13 left in the third. Back to back fast break baskets by Douglas at the 4 minute mark made it 41-26 Tigers, and then Moore's thunderous dunk gave them a 17 point lead. T'ziah Wood-Smith's free throw for Baldwin made it 48-33 at the end of three quarters. Baldwin made a run to start the 4th quarter, cutting the lead to 8. Aberdeen opened things up with a three pointer, Kareem Daniel's basket from underneath made it a 10 point game, and two free throws by DePass made it 48-40. A big three pointer from the right wing by Underwood put Hempstead back up 11 with 6:10 to go, but back to back threes from the right baseline by Greene and Wood-Smith made it 55-51 with 2:30 showing. A driving layup by DePass with 2 minutes remaining pulled Baldwin within 2, but they would get no closer. Two key free throws in the 1 and 1 by Kevin Vice made it 57-53 Hempstead, and the Bruins wouldn't score again until seconds remained and they trailed by 9. 12/15

Islip By One Over WB

The two teams went back and forth, trading clutch baskets as time wound down, and at the buzzer, Islip's Terrance Dzus hooked in the game winner from under the basket to give Islip a 60-59 victory. Class AA West Babylon was the first test of the season for Suffolk Class A contender Islip. WB grabbed the early lead, but Reed Bisca's basket tied it, and a three pointer by Matt McPartland gave Islip a 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. West Babylon regained the lead on a nice spinning move by Kyle Kube, and then his drive down the lane made it 19-16 with 5:50 to go in the half. Kube drilled a three pointer from straight on for a 6 point lead at the 3:43 mark, and Chris Doyle's putback made it an 9 point game with 2:45 to go and that was the margin at halftime. Islip started the second half with a brief run. After a free throw by Andrew Oberg , Tighe Oberg knocked down a three pointer from the left wing and McPartland followed it with a drive to bring the Buccaneers within three, but Kube responded with another nice spinning move, this one from the low post, and it was 32-27 with 6:20 to go in the 3rd quarter. Back to back baskets by the Oberg brothers made it a one point game, but Kube's three pointer with 1:48 to go in the quarter bumped the lead back 6. Two free throws by Dzus cut it 44-40 after three, and his three pointer to open the 4th quarter made it a one point game again. The teams traded baskets until 3:30 remained, when Doyle drained a three off an inbound play to make it 53-47 WB. Back to back putbacks by Tighe and Andrew Oberg brought Islip within two with 2:41 showing, but Kube cut across the lane, spun and dropped in a shot for a four point lead with just under two minutes to go. Then a steal and basket by Alex Reyes made it 57-51 with just under a minute to play. A big three point play by Andrew Oberg got Islip Back into it, and after Tighe stole the inbound pass, Andrew's putback made it 57-56 with 37 seconds to go. Dzus stole the inbound pass and scored to give Islip a 58-57 lead with 27 seconds left, but Kube's fall away jumper put West Babylon back on top, and then he stole the inbound pass and was fouled. He missed the free throw in the 1 and 1 with 10 seconds left, and in the closing seconds, Dzus came up with the ball under the basket in traffic and hooked in the game winner. 12/4

12/3 High School Recaps

10th ranked Elmont built a lead over defending Nassau Class A Champion Roslyn, and then held on for a 51-47 victory at the Oyster Bay Tournament. Roslyn played without Jordan Richman, their all-conference center.....Mt. Sinai was no match for Comsewoge in first round action at the Miller Place Tournament, falling behind right from the start and losing by a final score of 63-31. Zach Krischer had 22 for Comsewogue and A.J. Uhl added 14....#11 South Side found itself in the unusual position of being favored over St. Dominic in a game being played at St. Dominic. The Cyclones lived up to their billing, handling the Baymen 53-40 behind 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists from Leon Taylor and 15 points and 13 rebounds from Bret Cohen......

Coaches For A Cure Tournament

Wheatley, Herricks, New Hyde Park, and Sewanhaka High Schools are holding a charity fund raising tournament to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on December 9th and 11th. Varsity games will be held at Sewanhaka HS, and JV at New Hyde Park HS. Matchups on Wednesday the 9th are Wheatley vs Herricks at 4:30 and at 6:15 a nice rivalry game between NHP vs Sewanhaka. Consolation and finals at 4:30 and at 6:15 on the 11th. Donations will be taken at the door both days. Come see some good basketball and support a good cause too!

LuHi Crushes Peekskill

Any thought that Long Island Lutheran might struggle this season has quickly been dispelled. The Crusaders, led by Villanova commit Achaf Yacoubou, are not a one man show. They are talented at every position, with solid players coming off the bench. They opened the season with convincing wins over Grand Street Campus and Transit Tech, defeated defending catholic school champion St. John The Baptist on their home court, and then absolutely crushed perennial Westchester powerhouse Peekskill 84-45 at the Rim Rocker. LuHi jumped out to the early lead, but it was back and forth to start. Peekskill's Metro All-Star Daquan Brickhouse pulled up at the foul line to make it 10-8, but the Crusaders made their move with 2:32 to go in the first quarter when Mike Florin hit back to back three pointers to give them an 18-8 lead, and Yacoubou followed with another three to make it 21-8 at the end of one. Brickhouse kept Peekskill within striking distance, pulling up at the foul line again to start the second quarter, and then knocking down a three pointer at the 4:30 mark to make it 28-17, but Joe Savaglio's three from the right wing and Ryan DeNicola's three off an inbound play made it a 15 point game and it was 37-23 at intermission. It would remain a game as the third quarter got underway. Nayge Wagner's three pointer brought Peekskill back within 11 , and Paul Garrett scored to make it a 9 point game, but a free throw followed by back to back fast break baskets by Yacoubou and Savaglio made it 42-28 LuHi. The teams traded baskets until the 1:40 mark, when a three by Savaglio and a baseline cut and basket by Terry Brutus made it 51-34. As the quarter concluded, Hart Gliemanit knocked down two free throws and it was Lutheran by 19. Florin opened the final quarter with a steal and basket, and Yacoubou nailed a three pointer from the right wing with 6:40 to go to make it 60-36. He followed it with a fast break basket, and Florin's two free throws gave the Crusaders a 27 point lead. The flood gates were open, and Lutheran raced home for a 39 point win. 12/12

L.I. 2 Of 3 vs Westchester

South Side played White Plains in the first game of the Long island/Westchester Challenge and was impressive, leading almost the whole way and holding off a late run for a 65-59 victory. Brett Cohen led the Cyclones with 16 points and 9 rebounds, and Metro All-Star Leon Taylor had 15 points. Game two featured Chaminade against highly regarded New Rochelle. The Flyers stayed with them for a half before falling 63-45. Kevin Sheehy led Chaminade with 14 points. In the final matchup, it seems the fate of Uniondale's basketball team might be in the hands of sophomre Shaq Mosely. The talented younster moved into the starting lineup in place of All-Long Island guard Devon McMillian, and struggled against St. Mary's in his first big test. But he rose to the occasion against Lincoln of Yonkers, scoring 15 points, including 8 in the decisive fourth quarter, to help the Knights to a 51-45 win. Bolade Akingboye led the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Goey Charles finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds...... 12/12

Holy Trinity Over Whitman

A good match-up with two possible All-Long Island players on the floor in Holy Trinity's Tyler Seidman and Whitman's Myles Jones, it actually looked like a possible blowout early on as Seidman came out firing, opening up with back to back three pointers, knocking down his 3rd three to give the Titans a 14-5 lead, and then hitting a fade away jumper to make it 17-7 with under 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter. It was 19-9 with the quarter winding down, but Whitman scored the last 2 points of the first quarter and the first 9 of the second, 9 of the 11 by Jones, to take a 20-19 lead. Jones began aggressively attacking the basket and drawing fouls, and only his poor foul shooting kept him from completely taking control of the game. Nick Ferreiro's baseline drive broke the run and put Holy Trinity back on top, and after a Whitman free throw by Greg Harris, his three pointer gave them a 24-21 halftime lead. The Titan's built an 8 point 3rd quarter lead on a three point play by Pat Aristhene, but Anthony Aikhuele drove the baseline and dunked, grabbing the momentum for the Wildcats. After Dallas Serrano's basket make it an 8 point game again, Elijah Flythe sliced through the defense and scored, Aikhuele rebounded and scored, and Flythe spun to the hoop and scored in heavy traffic, and Whitman was within 2. Rickey VanAllen closed out the quarter with a basket from down low for the Titans, making it 38-34 Holy Trinity at the end of three. Aikhuele's putback made it 38-36 to start the 4th quarter, but a tip-in by VanAllen and it was a 4 point game again. A free throw and basket off an inbound play by Jones cut the lead to 1, but Ferreiro's three pointer from the right wing made it 43-39. Another 1out of 2 from the line by Jones and a putback by Aikhuele brought the Wildcats within 1, and then Jones outran everybody to a long rebound, cut left to right across the lane through traffic and scored give the Wildcats a 1 point lead. Holy Trinity regained the lead on a putback by Rich Bess, and then sent Jones to the line on the other end with a chance to tie or take the lead, but he missed both shots with 1 minute remaining. VanAllen scored from the low post to stretch the lead to 3, but freshman KJ Lee tied it on a three pointer from the left wing at the 15 second mark. Then Seidman, who hadn't been a big factor in the second half after taking a hard spill, came through in the clutch, draining a three with 3 seconds remaining for a 50-47 lead. The Titans then fouled, sending Whitman to the line for a 1 and 1 trailing by 3. Lee missed the front end, and Whitman fouled, but Bess wrapped up the win, hitting both shots to make the final 52-47. Seidman finished with 17, Ferreiro 13, and VanAllen 11 for Holt Trinity, while Jones had 21 and Aikhuble 10 for Whitman. 12/5

BBP/East Hampton No Contest

Bayport-Bluepoint completely dominated defending Long Island Class A Champion East Hampton, rolling to a 62-36 win behind 20 points from Myles Prendergast and 19 from Reid Drzal. The two big men dominated the boards, blocked a dozen shots between them, and scored almost at will from the low post against the undersized Bonackers. It was 13-2 after one and 33-8 at the half. 12/23

Pat-Med On The Radar

Patchogue-Medford lost their first game of the season, but has reeled off 6 straight, including an impressive 62-56 road win last night over 12th ranked Brentwood. The Red Raiders built an early 22-6 lead, and then fought off several Brentwood runs to hold on for the win. Brandon Sillaro led the way with 18 points and Nick Sergio had 13 points and 15 rebounds. 12/22

12/21 High School Recaps

West Babylon's Eddie Lynch made both ends of a 1 and 1 with one second to play to eke out a win over a stubborn Babylon team, 50 - 49. Babylon had gone up by one with 2 seconds remaining but mistakenly fouled the in bounds receiver ..... Wheatley picked up their first win of the season, beating Franklin K. Lane of the PSAL 57-50. Noel Abraham led the way with 18 points and 13 rebounds.....

12/18 High School Recaps

Hewlett improved to 4-0 with a 69-50 win over Wantagh. With wins over Valley Stream Central and Malverne, it looks like they're for real...... Seaford is also 4-0 and looked good beating Valley Stream North 60-49. Robert Goldstein had 26 points and 8 assists.....Miller Place had been very impressive and improved to 5-0, rocking Mt. Sinai 70-37. Taylor Sowah is getting the attention of college recruiters....

Hampton Bays confirmed their contender status, battling 16th ranked Center Moriches before falling 66-59......Central Islip had an impressive 53-38 win over Walt Whitman. Derrick Franklin led the way with 17 points.....#7 Uniondale handed #6 Baldwin their second straight league loss, 67-64.....

Longwood continues to dominate, rolling over Commack 93-53. Darien Davis had 26 points....

BONUS COVERAGE!

SJB Girls Rip Brooklyn Collegiate

Even if you're not as familiar with girl's basketball, you probably know that year in and year out, Coach Ted Oberg has one of the dominant programs in the Metropolitan Area at St. John the Baptist. Despite a losing record coming into the game due to a brutal non-league schedule, the Lady Cougars showed signs they are ready to reassume that status with an overwhelming 66-25 victory over Brooklyn Collegiate in game two of the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Adelphi University. Kamala Thompson and Brianna Thomas led a balanced SJB attack with 10 points apiece. This was no contest from the opening tip, with back to back baskets by Thomas making it 11-0, back to back baskets by Christine Bosco making it 17-0, and a three pointer by Krista McMahon giving the Lady Cougars a 22-1 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. Brooklyn Collegiate never threatened. 1/17

Westbury Rocks Campus Magnet

The Westbury Green Dragons grabbed an early lead, held off several rally attempts, and then pulled away from the PSAL's Campus Magnet for a 65-51 win in the first game of the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Adelphi University. Paris Abrams scored 23 points to lead Westbury, Lamard Herron added 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Lucens Victor had 13 points and 10 rebounds. A three pointer by Abrams gave Westbury an early 10-6 lead, but Campus Magnet pulled even on a free throw by Brian Byrd and a three pointer by Sasha Clarida, and the teams traded baskets until 31 seconds remained in the opening quarter, when a long three pointer by Abrams and a basket from down low by Victor gave the Green Dragons a 17-12 lead as the quarter came to a close. Victor rebounded and scored as the second quarter got underway for a 7 point Westbury lead, and a three pointer by Abrams from the right wing made it 22-12. Abrams knocked down another three with 2:20 to go in the half for an 11 point lead, but Campus Magnet scored the last 4 points of the half on putbacks by Byrd and Jagger Freeman and it was 29-22 at intermission. Freeman's jumper from the lane brought Campus within 5 as the third quarter got underway, but back to back baskets by Mikel Hooks and Heron made it 33-24 Westbury. A putback by Freeman and a three point play by Clarida cut it to 33-29, and after a Heron free throw, Clarida's baseline jumper made it a 3 point game, but a dunk by Victor gave the Green Dragons some breathing room, and after Clarida looped one in from the left wing, Heron's three point play made it 42-35 Westbury at the end of three. Abrams struck again to open up the final quarter, draining a three pointer from the left baseline for a 10 point lead, but Clarida kept the Bulldogs in it with two free throws. Hooks' basket put Westbury back up 10, and then a technical foul call sent Abrams to the line, where he rattled in two free throws. On the ensuing possession, Victor rebounded a missed free throw, scored on a nice reverse layup, and drew the foul, converting the three point play for a big 54-39 lead. Then Hooks made a nice fake and knocked down a jumper from the baseline for a 17 point advantage, and Westbury put it away on a baseline cut and basket by Abrams , a free throw by Victor, and a fast break basket by Josh Golson for a 21 point lead. 1/17

Chaminade Falls To JFK

We first saw JFK's Jeffrey Short light it up at the Metro Classic early in the season. This time, the tall and talented forward singlehandedly led the PSAL's JFK High School to a 76-67 win over slumping Chaminade, scoring 49 points at the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic held at Adelphi University. Dylan Sinnickson had 22 points for the Flyers, who hung tough but couldn't overcome Short's terrific performance. 1/17

LuHi Falls To Boys and Girls

Long Island Lutheran led 37-34, but horrendous free throw shooting by the Crusaders and a closing 11-1 run gave B&G a 53-40 victory. LuHi went an incredile 5-19 from the line for the game. 1/16

1/16 High School Recaps

In a classic battle for first place in Suffolk League 3, East Islip defeated Newfield 63-59 in double overtime. Cameron Cullen carried the Redmen to victory, scoring 31 of his teams 43 points in the second half and overtime.....

400 For Agostino

Amityville Coach and Hall of Famer Jack Agostino joined an elite group of coaches, registering his 400th career coaching victory, as his Amityville Warriors defeated Westhampton 86-50 to improve to 7-1 in League 6. Darien Croft had 22 points and 8 assists for Amityville and C.J. Durrant added 20 points and 4 steals. The Warriors are tied with Bayport-Blue Point for first place, and visit the Phantoms on January 19th. With the win, Amityville clinched their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. 1/15

Longwood Squanders Big Lead

Longwood gave up a 31-13 lead, falling to City College High School of Baltimore 82-68 at the BBAll Academy in Maryland. 1/15

1/14 High School Recaps

Uniondale is hitting its stride, picking up an impressive 71-49 win over Valley Stream Central to improve to 6-0, 9-2. Goey Charles led the Knights with 25 points and 10 rebounds....Brett Cohen's 26 points led South Side to a big 65-50 road win over previously unbeaten Elmont.....Hills West tuned up for their big weekend with an 84-65 win over West Babylon. Tobias Harris led the way with 28 points....Newfield improved to 5-0 in conference with a 42-40 squeaker over Smithtown East. Maurice Hall's free throws won it for the Wolverines, who have a first place League 3 showdown with East Islip on Saturday

Syosset Over Freeport, Now 7-1

League play is in full swing now, and in a big early season Nassau AA3 match-up, Syosset and Freeport, two of the favorites, played a tight first half before Syosset pulled away for a 77-65 victory. A three pointer by Danny Andre gave Freeport an early 7-4 lead, and after a Syosset free throw, Aaron Frederick's drive made it 9-5 with under 4 minutes to play in the first quarter. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way and it was 16-13 Freeport at the end of one. Syosset's Spencer Hazan opened the second quarter with a driving layup, but three straight baskets by Frederick gave Freeport a 22-15 lead and Syosset called time. The teams traded baskets out of the time-out, but then two free throws and a fast break basket by Hazan brought the Braves within 3. Freeport responded with baskets by Anthony Byer and Andre, but Syosset kept coming. Peter Kozey scored on a baseline drive and Hazan picked up a three point play to make it a 2 point game with 2:42 to go in the half, and after Frederick scored on a putback for the Red Devil's, back to back fast break baskets by Hazan tied it at 30 all. Cedric Smiley's steal and basket put Freeport back on top, but a free throw and a fast break basket by Matt Quinn gave the Braves a 33-32 lead at the break. Hazan opened the second half with a fast break bucket, but Jared Staton pulled up at the foul line and hit a jumper to keep it a 1 point game. Matt Cohen's jumper from the left foul line extended at the 5:45 mark of the third gave Syosset a 41-36 lead, and after Brett Schwartz added a free throw, Cohen's three pointer from the left wing made it 45-36. A baseline jumper by Erik Schwarz gave Syosset an 11 point lead, but the lead was 8 at the end of three after a 3 pointer by Leondre Simmon. Brett Schwartz scored on the break for Syosset to make it 58-48 as the fourth quarter got underway, but Simmonanswered for Freeport, going coast to coast. A drive by Hazan and two free throws by Quinn made it 62-50, and Brett Schwartz's three point play gave the Braves a 15 point lead. A drive by Quinn made it 71-53 with under 4 minutes to play. Back to back baskets by Stanton and Simmon started a late Freeport run that cut the lead to 10, but with just 45 seconds remaining it was too little too late. 1/4

Longwood Holds Off BBP

In front of a packed house at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, Bayport-Blue Point came roaring back from an 18 point halftime deficit to take the lead, but #2 Longwood withstood the challenge, regrouped and came from behind for a 56-48 victory. Longwood looked like they were on their way to another dominating win, opening up a quick 17-2 lead. Darien Davis had 5 points in the opening run and Patrick Piasecki and Paris Parks 4 each. Reid Drzal tried to respond, getting fouled on a drive and knocking down two free throws, but the Lions kept pouring it on, with a basket by Chris Green and five straight points by Davis giving them a 20 point lead as the first quarter wound down. But the barrage ended at the quarter, and the teams settled in and played even the rest of the half. In fact, BBP outscored the Lions 14-12 in the second quarter and trailed by 18 at intermission. But the feeling in the arena was that the game was over, and in fact, a good two thirds of the crowd left at halftime. It wasn't over. Myles Prendergast opened the second half by putting back his own miss, continuing the relentless style of play he had shown in the first half, and went on to score his team's first 6 points of the quarter, and when Ross Drzal went to the line and knocked down two free throws to cut Longwood's lead to 14, the momentum had clearly swung and the unlikely now seemed possible. A big three pointer by Reid Drzal from straight away made it an 11 point game, and after two Lion free throws by Davis, Prendergast rebounded and scored and Brandon Mincher stole the ball, scored and drew the foul for a three point play that brought the Phantoms within 8 with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter. A free throw by Prendergast and two each by Reid Drzal and Mincher made it 42-39, and then Mincher's fast break bucket made it a 1 point game with 1:23 left. Tajric Boggs broke the run with a baseline drive, but Adam Berlin's three pointer tied it at 44 all at the end of three. Reid Drzal opened up the fourth quarter with a baseline drive that gave Bayport their first lead, but Parks wouldn't let the Phantoms take over, knocking down a big three to retake the lead. A free throw by Boggs and a runner by Davis made it 50-46 Longwood, and then Davis scored again on a drive from the left wing and the Lions were up 6 with under 4 minutes to play. A big three by Parks made it 55-46 with 3:15 to go and took the wind out of BBP's sails and the Lion's went on to the 56-48 win. 12/29

Hills West Over Loughlin In OT!

With the score tied at 72 all and 32.8 seconds remaining in overtime, and Tobias Harris on the bench with 5 fouls, Tavon Sledge took things into his own hands, going coast to coast and slicing through the converging defense for a two point Hills West lead. He added a big free throw with 7.8 seconds to go to give the Colts a three point lead, and then pulled down the game clinching rebound as Long Island's #1 ranked team - Hills West - defeated New York State's #1 ranked team - Bishop Loughlin - 75-72 in overtime. You could feel the excitement as soon as you walked into the gym. It was a packed house at Baruch College in Manhattan, and the crowd was buzzing as the two teams came onto the court and began to warm up. Not just because the #1 and #6 teams in the state were about to face off, but also because New York's two premier big men, Jayvaughn Pinkston and Tobias Harris, were about to do battle. Reporters spoke into microphones, cameras flashed, security guards nervously studied the crowd - an unmistakable big game atmosphere. The excitement continued to build as more and more people filed into the gym, and with everybody on the edge of their seats, the game tipped off and Tyler Harris opened things up with a three pointer from the left wing, bringing a roar from the crowd. Loughlin shrugged off the opening blow and responded with 6 straight points, with Branden Frazier knocking down a fade away jumper, Pinkston hitting 2 free throws, and Frazier hitting another jumper for a 6-3 lead. Hills West moved back on top at the 3:23 mark of the first quarter when Tyler Harris buried his second three pointer of the game, and Sledge made it 12-9 Colts on a fast break hoop, but after the teams traded baskets, Kareem Canty nailed a jumper at the buzzer to bring the Lions within 1. A Tyler Harris tip-in gave Hills West an 18-15 lead early in the second quarter, but Loughlin responded with a running hook shot by Rosi Jenkins and a fast break basket by Pinkston to move back into the lead. A tip in by Jenkins and another fast break basket by Pinkston made it 26-20 Loughlin with less than 5 minutes to play in the half, and after a Hills West Basket by Anthony Rollino, a three pointer by Frazier from the right wing gave them a 7 point lead. But Sledge utilized his blazing speed once again to score on the break, and Rollino nailed a three pointer the next time down and Hills was back within 2. Jenkins and Tobias Harris exchanged fast break dunks, and then Sledge tied it on another driving lay-up, flying past defenders and looping the ball into the basket over outstretched arms. It was 34 all at the half. Aaron McCree opened the second half with a fast break basket to put the Colts up 36-34, but back to back fast break baskets by Pinkston and Frazier put the Lions on top. A runner by Tobias Harris and a fast break basket by Sledge made it 40-39 West, and the teams went back and forth until 1:52 remained in the third quarter, when a three point play by Tobias gave the Colts a 47-43 lead. They extended their lead on a fast break dunk by Tobias with 35 seconds to go, and then after a basket by Jenkins, Tyler Harris knocked down another three to make it 54-47 Hills West at the end of three quarters. Sledge opened the forth quarter in spectacular fashion, executing a spin move at such high speed that it left the defense completely flat footed and the crowd buzzing in admiration, but Pinkston answered right back with a basket from underneath. Tobias Harris, who wasn't hitting his shots in the first half but had a big second half, fired in back to back three pointers for a 13 point Hills West lead, but Loughlin ran off 7 straight points on baskets by Anthony Givens and Devonte Dunham and a three pointer by Frazier, and it was 62-56 with 4:10 remaining. Two free throws by Tyler Harris made it 64-56, but the Lions inched closer on a three pointer by Canty with 3:12 showing, and then a three point play by Pinkston made it a 2 point game with 2:31 remaining. Sledge struck again, putting Hills up by 4, but Pinkston answered right back, scoring and converting a free throw for a three point play that brought Loughlin within 1. Rollino went to the line for a 1 and 1, hitting the first shot for a 2 point Hills West lead, but his second shot bounded away. Tyler Harris rebounded a Loughlin miss on the other end, and it looked like he was trapped on the baseline, but he found a wide open Tobias down court, only to hear the whistle blow and discover time had been called. When play resumed, the Lions fouled, sending McCree to the line with 18 seconds left. He also made his first shot, giving the Colts a three point lead, but the crucial second shot was off target. Sledge came from out of nowhere, soaring through the air to grab the ball out of the grasp of the Loughlin big men, but his momentum was carrying him out of bounds, and he tried to get the ball to a teammate, only to have his pass intercepted. Loughlin brought the ball down court, got several looks at the basket, and suddenly with seconds remaining, the ball was in Pinkston's hands and he launched a three pointer from straight on that sailed through the net at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. The Loughlin fans erupted, and the announcer had to warn them several times to move back from the court as they pressed forward to shout encouragement to the players and get a better view. After a short delay, play resumed, and Tyler Harris scored from the low post to give Hills West the early lead in the overtime period. Pinkston, who finished with a game high 34 points, made 1 out of two free throws, and then with 2:45 remaining and his team clinging to a 1 point lead, Tobias Harris fouled out on a charging call. A worried look quickly spread across the faces of the Hills West players and fans. Tobias was hot, and he was also the only reason Pinkston didn't have 50. Their fears seemed to be confirmed on the next possession when Pinkston hooked in a shot from the lane to put the Lions up 71-70 with 2:16 to go, but Sledge answered the call, once again streaking down court and scoring over Pinkston to make it 72-71 Colts with 1:10 to go. Pinkston went 1 for 2 from the line to tie it at 72 with 38.5 seconds left, but Sledge closed it out from there. 1/18

Hills West Pulls Away

#1 Hills West racked up a solid 75-56 win over Sacred Heart, Connecticut's 2nd ranked team. Tobias Harris had 35 points. 1/16

Longwood 0-2 In Maryland

Longwood fell to defending State Champion Lake Clifton, Md. 75-71 to go 0-2 on their Maryland trip. Tajric Boggs had 26 points, and Darien Davis 19 for the Lions. 1/16

1/13 High School Recaps

Valley Stream Central picked up their fourth straight win, beating #13 Hempstead 77-70 behind 37 points from Marc Augustin.....Oceanside improved to (6-0, 9-1) with a convincing 62-34 win over Great Neck South. Mike Bonomo had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.....Brendan Mills grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with his 11 points and Joey Karo scored 18 points to lead the Bellmore JFK Cougars to a 58-37 victory over the Syosset Braves. After only scoring 12 first half points, the Braves cut the deficit to ten points in the 4th quarter and appeared to have momentum on their side until Bellmore JFK's Mike Teich hit a baseline jump-shot which ignited an 8-2 run securing the victory. Brett Schwarz led the Braves with 12 points

1/13 High School Recaps

1/8 High School Recaps

Sheldon Hagigal returned to form in his second game back from injury, joining a balanced Westbury attack that humbled #11 South Side 70-52. He and Lamard Herron both had 16 points and Paris Abrams had 14 for the 10th ranked Green Dragons, who won every quarter.....#2 Longwood ended Central Islip's three game winning streak 75-51. Darien Davis had 29.....

With one minute left, Ryan Dunne got two clutch steals and made two foul shots to tie it at 59. and with 3 seconds left, hit a floater at the foul line to give Hills East a 61-59 win over North Babylon. Dunne had a season high 20 pts and Dylan Horowitz a double double with 11 pts, 17 boards and 4 blocks.....Commack picked up a big road win, defeating Patchogue-Medford 46-45. Dalton Suprina had 16 for the Cougars.

1/7 High School Recaps

After a dramatic come from behind win on Tuesday, Sayville picked up their second league win of the season by upsetting Kings Park 60-46. Chris Lowe had 22 points for the Golden Flashes and Neil Fishenden 18.....Great Neck North moved into first place in Nassau ABC 3 with a 59-53 win over Lawrence. Brandon Benilevi had 17 points and 10 rebounds....East Islip moved into a first place tie with Newfield in Suffolk League 3 with a 65-46 win over West Islip. Cameron Cullen continued his strong season with 23 points.....

SJB Over St. Mary's In Double OT

There is always an electricity in the air when two very good teams meet in an important game, and it was in the air at the St. John The Baptist gym as 5th ranked St. Mary's paid a visit to the 4th ranked Cougars in a big early season NSCHSAA matchup. The game more than lived up to expectations, with SJB picking up an exciting 91-85 win over the Gaels in double overtime. St. Mary's got on the board first, with Charles McCan scoring on a drive, but a three pointer by Joe Gibbons and a drive by Dante Thompson quickly put St. John's on top and got the gym rocking. A fast break basket by Tommy Hirten made it 9-5 Cougars with 3:25 to go in the opening quarter, but St. Mary's tied it at 11 all on a strong post move by McCan and a putback of a missed free throw by Kirk Bailey. Gibbons closed out the quarter with a basket in the final seconds and SJB was up 2 after one. Gibbons drove from the left wing into the lane, and then spun back to his left and nailed a jumper to open up the second quarter, but McCan countered with a basket from the low post to keep it a 2 point game. Khaleev Ginyard hit the first of his 5 three pointers to make it 18-13 Cougars, but Chaz Morrish's putback, a fast break basket by McCan, and a fast break basket by Dante Agnew gave St. Mary's the lead with 4:38 to go in the half. Gibbons tied it at 20 all on a drive, and then Robert Patch put St. John's back on top with a pull up jumper from just behind the foul line, but a free throw by McCan and a three pointer by Wilson Molina put the Gael's up 24-22 with less than three minutes showing. Agnew 's acrobatic drive made it 26-22, and then Justin Bailey snuck in behind the defense and scored for a 6 point St. Mary's lead and it was a 6 point game at the half. Justin Bailey drove the baseline and scored, drawing a foul call and converting the three point play for a 9 point St. Mary's lead early in the third quarter, but 5 straight points by Ginyard on a baseline drive and a three pointer brought SJB within 4, and after the teams exchanged baskets, he hit another three to make it a 1 point game. St. Mary's rebuilt the lead, going up 4 after McCan spun into the lane and hooked in a shot, and then Chauvaughn Lewis weaved his way through the defense and scored and Justin Bailey rebounded and scored and it was 50-42 with 2:07 remaining in the quarter. The teams exchanged baskets and three pointers as the quarter wound down, but a missed free throw along the way cut the St. Mary's lead to 7 at the buzzer. The teams again exchanged baskets to open the fourth, and then St. John's scored 4 straight on baskets by Thompson and Gibbons to pull within 3. Molina put back his own miss for the Gaels, but Ginyard answered with a three to draw SJB within 2, and after a St. Mary's free throw, Gibbons pulled up and banked one off the glass and it was a 1 point game. A putback and free throw by Lewis gave St. Mary's a 65-59 lead and some breathing room with 2:24 to go, and the lead was still 6 with 1:18 to go, but Thompson banked one in off the glass, and then picked up a loose ball and did it again, and it was 67-65 with 35 seconds remaining. Lewis missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 18 seconds showing to open the door for the Cougars, and coming out of a time-out, Ginyard hit one of his patented fall away three pointers from the left baseline to put St. John's up 68-67 with 3.9 seconds on the clock. Fearful of fouling, the St. John's players backed off and Agnew raced down court, getting off a good driving hook shot over the converging defenders and missing it as time expired, but a foul call kept the Gael's alive and sent Agnew to the line with 0:00 showing and his team trailing by 1. The pressure mounted as his first shot bounced off the rim, but he kept his composure and knocked down the second one to tie the game and send it into overtime. Thompson opened the OT with a dunk, and the teams went back and forth until two free throws by Agnew and a free throw by Lewis gave St. Mary's a 3 point lead. A baseline jumper and 2 free throws by John Peloso put the Cougars up 76-75 with 1:20 to go, but a three point play by Bailey put the Gael's back on top. St. John's answered with a free throw by Thompson and a nice driving layup by Gibbons and led 79-78 with 26.5 seconds on the clock, and they sent Agnew to the line, where he once again went 1 for 2, tying the game at 79. The teams exchanged turnovers in the closing seconds, forcing a second overtime. St. John's went up 4 in the second OT on a fastbreak basket by Peloso, and then the teams exchanged baskets until 50 seconds remained, when a turning point occurred. Leading by 2, Thompson got the ball in the low post and had it stolen, but he immediately stole it back and scored to make it 89-85. The Gaels proceeded to turn it over, and had to foul down the stretch, and Gibbons finally iced it with two free throws with 8.6 seconds to go for a 91-85 win. 1/5

1/2 High School Recaps

Joe Todero's 41 points tied a 56 year old school record as East Rockaway defeated Bridgehampton 70-61. Cesar Banados led the Killer Bees with 18.....#5 St. Mary's kicked off their league schedule with a 74-63 win over Kellenberg. St. Mary's was in control most of the way, and a late rally by the Firebirds was too little too late. Chauvaughn Lewis had 21 for the Gaels and Aaron Stirrup and Tom Truner 10 each for Kellenberg.....Class B Hampton Bays continues to impress, picking up a 61-59 road win over Class A Comsewogue. Bruno Cavallo hit what proved to be the winning foul shots with 14 seconds to go and led the Baymen with 20 points. A.J. Uhl had 17 for Comsewogue.....

Uniondale Outbattles Copiague

Despite their 3-0 record, Copiague was a bit of an unknown going into their matchup with Uniondale. But the Eagles will clearly be a team to be reckoned with, losing a tight game to the 6th ranked Knights in the first round of the Brentwood Tournament. Wade Richardson's jumper from the left wing made it 11-9 Copiague at the end of a back and forth first quarter, and Devine Clinton's back to back fastbreak buckets made it 15-9 as the second quarter got underway. Uniondale drew even on a putback by Kenny Woodard , and then took the lead on a pull-up jumper by Andre Brown with less than a minute to play in the half, and then Shaq Mosley's baselne drive made it 25-21 Knights at halftime. Copiague cut it to 1 on a low post basket and 1 of 2 free throws by Tyrek English, and then tied it at 28 all on a jumper by Clinton from the left wing that followed a free throw by Uniondale's Sean Brown. A free throw by Mosley and a three pointer by Bolade Akingboye put Uniondale up 4 with 3:33 to go in the third, and Goey Charles put the Knights up 6 with a putback with 2:14 remaining. Two free throws by Roderick Epps made it an 8 point game, and it remained an 8 point game at the end of three. Nasha Smith's basket cut it to 41-37 with under 6 minutes to play, but two free throws by Mosley at the 3:36 mark gave Uniondale a 7 point lead, and Goey Charles' fast break basket made it 49-40. A Michael Nathis 3 point play kept Copiague in the hunt, but a three point play by Moseley with 1:13 to go put Uniondale up 9 and sealed the Eagle's fate. 12/29

12/29 High School Recaps

Suffolk All-Star Bruno Cavallo's basket with 11 seconds remaining gave Hampton Bays the lead, and he added a free throw with 4 seconds left for a 49-47 win over East Rockaway. Cavallo had a game high 23 points.....Sachem East surprised #16 Center Moriches 63-52 behind 25 points from Dan Candemeres and 21 from Brian Corbett......#9 Elmont overwhelmed Malverne 53-38. Dean Walker had a game high 19 points.....# 7 Westbury earned a matchup with #8 Chaminade with an 86-64 win over Hills East. Lamard Herron finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Chaminade was a 61-41 winner over Manhasset. Tom Morgan led the Flyers with 15 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.....Brentwood overcame an early deficit to beat North Babylon 66-51 behind 20 points from Michael Rollins and 14 from Brandon Smith.....

Uniondale Outbattles Copiague

Prep School Update

Port Jeff's John Nielson has made a verbal commitment to attend D2 St. Anselm’s College next year on a full basketball scholarship. MORE

.....Brian O’Toole, a post-graduate student from Long Beach HS, led Salisbury (CT) School to its second consecutive championship in the Windsor (CT) Loomis-Chaffee School’s 2009 Bob Southall Holiday Classic as the Knights beat Suffield (CT) Academy, 81-55, in the title game last Friday. O’Toole, a 5’10” point guard, had seven points and three assists against Simsbury (CT) Westminster School in the first round, 10 points and six assists against Washington Depot (CT) Gunnery in the semi-final round, and 10 points and five assists against Suffield. O’Toole is headed to Harvard University next year where he will play lacrosse. 12/28

Baldwin Stops Uniondale

There are many great rivalries across Long Island, and Uniondale/Baldwin has to be one of the best of them. That tradition continued as the Bruins made things interesting in Nassau AA1, holding off their first place rivals 60-58 in front of a loud and enthusiastic packed house to pull within one game of the Knights. It was Baldwin's 9th win in a row. The Bruins got off to a good start, scoring the first 5 points of the game to get the crowd right into it. They went up 10-4 on a three pointer by Donte Howell, but Uniondale would not let them pull away, and as the first quarter wound down, a fast break basket by Shaq Mosely and a three pointer by Goey Charles from the left baseline cut it to 12-11 with 42 seconds remaining. Dominique Aberdeen countered with a three from straight on, but Mosely banked one off the glass as the quarter ended to make it a 2 point game. Brandon Williams opened the second quarter with a three point play, knocking down a jumper and getting the roll on the free throw, and Aaron Greene made it 20-13 Baldwin on a baseline drive from the right wing. Aberdeen kept it going, scoring from the low post on a mismatch, and then Greene completed the 9-0 Bruin run with a jumper from the baseline to make it 24-13 with 3:39 to go in the half. Mosely got it back into single digits with a big three pointer from the right wing, and then followed it up with a fast break basket to bring the Knights within 6. Maurice Kearney 's two free throws at the 1:33 mark cut it to 26-22, but a baseline drive by Ashanti DePass and two free throws by Aberdeen gave Baldwin an 8 point lead and they led by 7 at the half. Mosely opened the third quarter with a three pointer from straight on, and a fast break basket by Bolade Akingboye cut it to 33-31 with under 6 minutes to play in the quarter, but another 9-0 Baldwin run, kicked off by T'Ziah Wood-Smith's turn around jumper in the low post and capped off by two free throws by Howell made it 42-31 with 2:35 left in the 3rd. Akingboye's free throw broke the run, but a free throw by Eyituoyo Ofuya and a baseline drive by DePass gave Baldwin a 13 point lead. Two free throws by Mosely cut it to 11, and that was the margin as the fourth quarter got underway. Wood-Smith rolled to the basket on a pick and roll and was fouled going up, and he knocked down both free throws for a 47-34 Baldwin lead. Greene's three point play made it 50-34 Bruins, but seven straight points by Kenny Woodard brought Uniondale within 9 with 5:21 left. A Howell free throw made it 51-41, but Charles hit a jumper from the right elbow and Mosely scored from under the basket to make it 51-45 with 3:51 showing. The teams exchanged free throws, and then Aberdeen hit a big three pointer for Baldwin for a 9 point lead, but Charles' baseline jumper made it 56-49 and kept the Knights within striking distance with 2:28 to go. Two free throws by Akingboye made it 56-51, but DePass hit a baseline jumper and it was still a 7 point game with 1:45 left. Akingboye's drive brought the Knights back within 5 with 1:31 to go, and Mosely nailed a three from just to the right of center and Uniondale was within 2 with 1:05 remaining. The noise was deafening at this point, with both sides trying to outdo each other. It was Baldwin ball coming out of a time-out, and Aberdeen set a screen to free up a shooter and got run over. He went to the line with 41.6 seconds remaining, hitting his first shot for a 3 point lead, but missed the second. On the other end, Charles was fouled going for an offensive rebound, and went to the line for 1 and 1 with 23.3 seconds on the clock. He missed, and the Knights got the rebound, but the ball came loose, and after a mad scramble that resulted in a pile-up, a technical foul was called against the Bruins. Charles returned to the line for Uniondale with 14.6 seconds remaining, and with the crowd roaring, missed both shots, but it was still Knights ball side-out. A putback by Charles made it 59-58, but with only 6 seconds remaining, the Knights had to foul. They sent Howell to the line, where he made 1 of 2, and quickly got the ball to Mosely, who got off a good shot, but it was swatted out of the air by DePass as time expired. 1/19

New York State Rankings

Where do Long Island teams rate in New York State? The New York State Sportswriters Association publishes a weekly poll that historically has mystified us on many occasions, particularly early in the season. Nonetheless, here are their rankings as of 1/10:

CLASS AA: #7 - Hills West, #16 - Longwood

CLASS A: #5- Long Island Lutheran, #8- St. John The Baptist, #18- Elmont, #19- Harborfields

CLASS B: #6 - LWA

CLASS C: #9 - Southold, #11- East Rockaway

CLASS D: None

Actually, they are pretty on target so far, as far as how Long Island schools rank in relation to each other, but we have a hard time believing there are 15 teams in the state better than Longwood, and that no other Class B teams on Long Island deserve to be ranked. Oh well, it's early.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STATE RANKINGS

1/15 High School Recaps

After falling just short in their upset bid against St. John The Baptist, Kellenberg picked up their first league win, beating St. Anthony's 72-59. Aaron Stirrup led the Firebirds with 15 points and 12 rebounds.....Unbeaten Southold improved to 7-0, 11-0 with a big 58-51 League 8 road win over previously unbeaten Stony Brook. Jon Cepelak had 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.....It looks like its coming down to Baldwin and Uniondale once again in Conference AA1. The Bruins improved to 5-2 in conference play with a convincing 66-49 road win over up and down Hempstead. Dominique Aberdeen led Baldwin with 20 points and Ashanti DePass added 17 for the Bruins, who trailed after the first quarter but outscored the Tigers 34-16 over the next two quarters......

Big Apple Invitational

The 7th Annual Big Apple Basketball Invitational will be on Saturday, January 16 and Monday, January 19, 2010 at Baruch College in New York City. The invitational features 15 top high school and prep school teams from New York, Massachusetts,

New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. This year, Hills West and Long Island Lutheran will represent Long Island. Both teams look to continue Long Island's three year domination of New York City teams as LuHi will face Forest Hills at 12:30 PM Monday, while Hills West takes on Bishop Loughlin at 7 PM, also on Monday.

1/12 High School Recaps

It was tight from buzzer to buzzer, with Great Neck North holding on to defeat Valley Stream North 53-51 in overtime for sole possession of first place in ABC 3. Brandon Benilevi had 6 points in OT and finished with 17 for GNN.....East Islip made quick work of Smithtown East, jumping out to a 36-8 halftime lead to hand them their first league loss. Cameron Cullen led the way with 20 points and Evan Maxwell had 13 points and 15 rebounds. The Redmen are tied with Newfield, a 35-32 winner over West Islip, for first place in Suffolk League 3. Jeren Hall led Newfield with 12 points and 10 rebounds.....

Manhasset Alone In First

Manhasset is alone in first place in ABC2, improving to (7-3, 3-0) after an impressive 65-59 win over defending Nassau Class A Champion Roslyn. The Indians looked like they would take control right from the start, building an early 14-6 lead on a long range 3 by Matt Demitroff and a baseline drive by Alessandro Troia. Roslyn bounced back, cutting it to 14-10, but a jumper by Stuart Hicks and a turn around jumper from the low post by Evan Pupelis and it was 18-10 Manhasset at the end of 1. Troia opened the second quarter with a jumper from just inside the foul line for a 10 point Manhasset lead, and Pupelis' free throw made it 21-10, but five straight points by Jordan Richman got Roslyn back into it. After another turn around jumper by Pupelis, a free throw by Richman and a three pointer by Sam Greenwald cut Manhasset's lead to 23-19. Hicks' basket gave the Indians a 6 point lead, but a putback by Greenwald and a driving lay-up by Tom Gloznek and the Bulldogs were within 2 with less than three minutes to play in the half. Richman caught the ball in the low post, spun to his left and then back to his right and scored to tie it at 25 all with 2:10 to go, and it was 27 all at halftime. Pupelis opened up the second half with another strong move in the low post, putting the Indians back on top, but Gloznek's jumper and back to back baskets by Richman gave Roslyn a 4 point lead at the 5:10 mark of the third quarter. A jumper from the left wing by Demitroff and a three point play by Hicks, which included a fast break dunk, put the Indians back on top, and then baskets by Troia and Anthony Amitrano made it 42-37 Manhasset. Back to back fast break baskets by Amitrano and Hicks and the lead was 8 with 1:37 remaining, but Andrew Wolfe scored from the low post, Andrew Jones hit a jumper from the left wing, and Richman stole an inbound pass and scored and it was suddenly a 2 point game. Demitrof gave Manhasset a big lift as the seconds ticked down in the quarter, knocking down a long range three pointer at the buzzer to make it 50-45 Indians. A free throw by Troia gave Manhasset a 6 point lead as the fourth quarter got underway, but Roslyn's Jones came off a screen and hit a jumper to make it 51-47. A three pointer from the baseline by Hicks put Manhasset up 7, and with 4:07 remaining, a drive by Troia made it 58-49, forcing Roslyn to call time ot. Jones then hit a jumper from the left foul line extended to bring the Bulldogs back within 7, and with 1:30 remaining, Nick Hadzibabic went coast to coast to cut it to 58-53, but Demitroff answered for Manhasset, going coast to coast to put them back up 7 with 1:15 to go, and then with 28.8 to go, Pupelis iced it with two free throws. 1/12

1/11 High School Recaps

Valley Stream Central defeated Port Washington 79-51, moving into a three way tie with Baldwin and Hempstead for second place in Nassau AA1 behind Uniondale. Marc Augustin had 28 points and 11 rebounds .....LWA improved to 12-1 with a 50-32 win over Dwight of NYC.....Plainview improved to 5-0, 8-2 in Nassau AA3 with a 55-52 win over Bellmore. Zach Amateau had 23 for the Cougars....Center Moriches, an excellent team that has been set back by injuries, hammered a good Babylon team 79-31. Joe Gonzalez had 21 points and 10 rebounds.....

1/6 High School Recap

We new it would take some time for them to jell with all of their new players, but Hempstead is already back in the thick of the race in Nassau AA1, improving to 3-1 in conference with a 65-51 win over Port Washington. St. Dom's transfer Jordan Parks led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds,,,,

Friends Academy is the favorite in Nassau ABC 5

and so far, deservingly so. They improved to 2-0 with a 43-33 road win over Oyster Bay, pulling away down the stretch led by Travis Hefele, who finished with 11 points.....Hicksville has been playing very well lately, reeling off their 5th straight win with a convincing 58-27 road victory over MacArthur. Uche Ogbonna was high scorer with 19 points......

Hills West Dominates Copiague

#1 ranked Half Hollow Hills West impressed in only their second game of the season, picking up a 72-52 victory over the Copiague Eagles in front of a packed crowd at Copiague High School. The Colts charged out of the gate playing pressure defense, forcing turnovers and converting fast break opportunities to take a 17-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 41-17 by halftime and refused to let the Eagles back into the game in the second half. Copiague fought hard, spurred on by the support of their fans, but the Eagles were physically outmatched by Hills West's talented trio of senior forward Tobias Harris, junior guard Tavon Sledge, and junior forward Tyler Harris. Tobias finished with 28 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots, brother Tyler added 16 points, and Sledge had 15 points, 10 assists and 7 steals. Sledge and Tobias stunned the crowd with a dazzling array of thunderous dunks. Senior guard Nasha Smith and senior forward Tyrek Engish had 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Copiague, whose record fell to 3-2 after the loss. Hills West improved to 2-0 on the season. 1/5

LuHi Over Edison In 3 OT's

In a real dogfight, Long Island Lutheran defeated the PSAL's Thomas Edison 105-99 in triple overtime behind Achraf Yacoubou's 37 points. The Crusaders prevailed without starting point guard Mike Florin, who was on the bench with a cast on his ankle. Shaun Lawton filled in admirably, and Terry Brutus and Hart Gliedman also had big games, finishing with 21 and 16 points respectively. It looked like Edison was about to break it open as the first half drew to a close, going on a 9-2 run in the final minutes of a close half, but LuHi came right back, and a three pointer by Joe Savaglio tied it with 40 seconds to go before a basket at the buzzer gave Edison a two point lead at the break. Malachi Davis scored to open the second half, tying the game at 44, and after an Edison free throw, back to back baskets by Brutus gave the Crusaders a 3 point lead. But Edison went on an 11-2 run and led by 8 with 2:42 to go in the third before free throws by Gliedman and a fast break basket by Yacoubou cut into it. Edison kept the pressure on, taking a 9 point lead on a three pointer by Owens and a steal and dunk by Egharevba, and after Brutus dunked off a baseline drive for LuHi, they went up 10 on another three by Owens. The Crusaders would not let them pull away however, scoring the last 4 points of the quarter on a basket by Gliedman and a steal and basket by Lawton, and only trailed by 6 as the fourth quarter got underway. Egharevba's driving hook shot gave Edison an early 8 point 4th quarter lead, and a tip-in by Nwaukoni made it 68-58, but Lutheran answered with a three by Savaglio and a drive from the wing by Gleidman to cut the lead in half, and at the 3:01 mark, Brutus put back his own miss to make it a 4 point game. Yacoubou rebounded and scored and then knocked down two free throws to tie it at 75 all, and then Gliedman drove from the wing into the lane, spinning to the basket and scoring to give the Crusaders a 2 point lead with 1:45 to go in regulation. Both teams missed opportunities as the seconds ticked down, but Edison tied it at the 28 second mark on a putback by Egharevba, sending the game into overtime. A putback by Brutus gave LuHi the lead as the first overtime got underway, but Egharevba's putback tied it. A free throw by Gliedman and a jumper from the right baseline by Brutus gave the Crusaders a 3 point lead, but a three pointer by Baker tied it at 82 all with 1:05 to go, and 2 free throws by Egharevba put Edison on top with 46.9 seconds remaining. LuHi came right down and tied it on a fast break basket by Brutus, but turnovers by both teams down the stretch sent the game into a second overtime. The Crusaders looked to take control in the second OT as Yacoubou led off with a fast break basket and added a putback to make it 88-84, and then Gliedman's free throw made it 89-84, but Edison battled back into it, and in the closing seconds, two free throws by Egharevba made it a 1 point game. Yacoubou's free throw made it 92-90 with 25.3 seconds on the clock, but Baker hit 2 free throws on the other end to send the game into a third overtime. This time, Edison struck first, with Brown rebounding and scoring, and after a Brutus free throw, Johnson driving the lane for a 3 point lead, but Yacoubou answered, tying it at 96 all with a three point play with 2:30 to go, and then 2 free throws by Savaglio put Lutheran on top - this time to stay. A free throw by Johnson made it a 1 point game, but Yacoubou's three pointer made it 101-97 LuHi, and his fast break basket made it 103-97 with 35 seconds to go. Gliedman's two free throws iced it with 11 seconds left. 1/9

1/5 High School Recaps

In the battle for early season supremacy in Nassau Class A, #8 Elmont went on the road and defeated #10 Westbury 74-71 in overtime. Two big three pointers were the difference in the extra session, one by Dominique Williams and one by Isaiah Watson......

#2 Longwood destroyed another very good team, beating #15 Brentwood 94-58 with a balanced attack led by Tajric Boggs and Paris Parks with 17 points each and Darien Davis with 16.....4-6 St. Anthony's stunned #6 Chaminade 57-41 at Chaminade, leading almost the entire game. Rexton Gordon led the way with 17 points.....Amityville built a big first quarter lead and then held off previously unbeaten Miller Place 81-73. Darien Croft had 20 points and CJ Durrant 19 for the Warriors......Jordan Richman rebounded and scored with 1 second on the clock to give Roslyn a 51-49 win over Jericho in a big ABC2 matchup. He finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds....Tyler Seidman's three pointer with 40 seconds left proved to be the game winner in Holy Trinity's 79-77 win over Kellenberg......#11 South Side took command early and beat Hewlett 64-47 behind 26 points from Leon Taylor.....Southold made a bid to take early control in Suffolk League 8 with a 59-49 win over Greenport. Jon Cepelak had 20 points and 7 rebounds for Southold.....

12/30 High School Recaps

Brentwood might be the biggest surprise of the season so far, and that continued with their dramatic 49-48 win over #6 Uniondale. Brandon Smith had a big game with 19 points and 13 rebounds, but it was Michael Rollins who hit the game winner with 7 seconds to go....Two underrated teams faced off, and Hempstead came out on top, holding off Bay Shore 58-54 behind 28 points and 12 rebounds from St. Dom's transfer Jordan Parks....Harborfields continues to look like the team to beat in Suffolk Class A after beating Class AA power Walt Whitman 45-42. The Tornadoes built a big first quarter lead and spent the rest of the game fighting off the Wildcats. Nick Fessenden had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Harborfields.

Chaminade Stops Westbury

Last season, a good but inexperienced Westbury team made a name for themselves by beating highly regarded Chaminade in the finals of the Haggerty Tournament. This season, a good but inexperienced Chaminade team turned the tables, beating highly regarded Westbury 66-60. Westbury took an early lead, but it disappeared when their only legitimate big man, Luckens Victor, went to the bench with 2 fouls. The towering Flyers first went ahead on a jumper by Dan Vanderhoef, and then with the score tied at 7 all, reeled off 7 straight point, with baskets by Dylan Sinnickson and Tom Morgan and a three pointer by Vanderhoef giving them a 14-7 lead. It was 14-8 at the end of one, and Kevin Hargrove's free throw made it 15-8 to start the second quarter. Tryrece Redd scored on a putback for Westbury, but Vanderhoef answered with another three for an 8 point Chaminade lead, and with 3:40 to go in the half, Morgan's three made it a 9 point game. Paris Abrams answered with back to back threes for the Green Dragons, and then a coast to coast basket by Lamard Herron and a steal and dunk by Josh Golson gave Westbury a 25-24 lead. Kevin Hargrove drove the baseline to put Chaminade back on top, and then Sinnickson's three point play made it 29-25. A fast break basket by Golson cut it to 29-27, but Morgan nailed another three for a 32-27 Chaminade lead at intermission. Peter Burrows hit a free throw to open the second half scoring, putting the Flyers up 6, but baskets by Herron and Abrams made it a two point game. A Morgan three pointer at the shot clock buzzer and a Sinnickson fast break basket stretched the margin to 7, and then another three by Morgan and it was 41-31 Chaminade with 5:01 to go in the third. Hargrove dunked on the break for a 12 point Flyer lead, but 8 straight points by Abrams - two free throws, a three point play and a three pointer - and it was 43-39 with 3:50 remaining. The Flyers responded though, with Rich Zoller scoring from underneath and Vanderhoef draining a three pointer for a 9 point lead. As the quarter wound down, Redd scored for Westbury on a spinning drive and Victor was 1 for 2 at the line, and it was 50-44 a the end of three. Hargrove opened up the fourth quarter with a basket from the low post, and Sinnickson followed it with a short jumper for a 10 point Chaminade lead. The two teams traded baskets until 1:38 remained, when Herron scored on a putback and Abrams went coast to coast to make it 62-56. But the Green Dragons missed three free throws, including a 1 and 1, and had a turnover in their next three possessions, so when Herron scored to make it 62-58, there were only 30 seconds left. They fouled, and when Chaminade missed the front end of a 1 and 1 to leave the door open, Redd scored on a drive to make it 62-60 with 12.5 seconds on the clock. But Morgan knocked down two free throws to ice it and Robert Keating sank two more for the 66-60 final. 12/30

12/29 High School Recaps

Whitman Storms Past Glenn

Walt Whitman trailed 30-22 at halftime, but outscored John Glenn 18-3 in the third quarter to post a 54-42 win. Myles Jones had a game high 19 points to go with 9 rebounds. Ryan McNiff led Glenn with 12 points. His long range three pointers sparked the Knights to their first half lead. 12/28

12/28 High School Recaps

Wantagh led Long Beach 31 -28 at half and were up by as many as 8 in the third, but Jayman Teemer led a 10-0 Long Beach run that gave the Marines the lead and they pulled away for a 63-54 victory. Teemer scored 13 of his 15 points in the 2nd half and Cedrick Coad added 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals. Tom Megale led Wantagh with 18.... St. John The Baptist kicked off the KSA Holiday Tournament in Orlando, Florida with a 67-44 first round win over La Quinta, California. Joe Gibbons led the way with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, and Dante Thomas-Smallwood had 12 points and 11 rebounds for SJB......Bay Shore got off to a slow start, but outscored Bridgehampton 47-15 over the second and third quarters en route to a 66-31 victory. Jordan Allen led the Marauders with 20 points.....

North Rockland Surprises LuHi

North Rockland was one of the preseason favorites in Section 1, falling in the Class AA semifinals last season and getting everybody back, but they stumbled early this season with two unexpected losses. They seem to have found their rhythm, picking up their 6th win in a row with a 60-56 win over second ranked L. I. Lutheran. 12/26

St. Mary's Manhasset Champs

St. Mary's (6-4) defeated Manhasset (3-2) by a score of 88-55 in the 51st annual Fritz Mueller-Arnie Sims Tournament championship game at Manhasset. Using a balanced attack, St. Mary's jumped out of the gate with an early lead, posting a 45-31 half time advantage. Manhasset threatened early in the third quarter but St. Mary's was able to build on their lead and coasted the rest of way. This was the Gael's third game without injured guard Dante Agnew. Forward Chavaughn Lewis (14 points; 6 assists) was named Tournament MVP while center Charles McCann, who scored 8 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, made the all tournament team. Guard Wilson Molina led all scorers with 18 points, joined by Justin Bailey (17), Chaz Morrish (13), Kaleef Chaplin (13 ), Johnathan James (6), and Kirk Bailey (2). The Gaels start league action Saturday, Jan 2nd when they visit Kellenberg. 12/26

AJ Price Ceremony Postponed

The ceremony to retire AJ Price's number at Amityville this Wednesday has been postponed. Price's NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, scheduled a practice that day so he will have to be in Indiana. The new date is January 15th. 12/22

Gaels Back To Winning Ways

After a three game losing streak and watching their longislandbasketball.com ranking drop from 3 to 5, St. Mary's (5-3) returned to its winning ways with a resounding 73-46 victory over Carey (1-2) in the Fritz Mueller-Arnie Sims tournament, hosted by Manhasset High School. St. Mary's will face off against the host team, Manhasset, in the tourney final Saturday at 1pm. An injured Dante Agnew sat at the scorer's table, while junior guard Kaleef Chaplin started in his place. The Gaels got off to a slow start and trailed 10-15 at the close of the first quarter but, after regrouping, picking up the pace of their offense, and stepping up their defense, they were up 34 to 24 at the half. Having found their swagger the Gaels continued pummelling Carey in the third, with highlight dunks by Kirk Bailey and Chavaughn Lewis, working numerous players into the rotation, and putting up a final score of 73-46. The Gaels were led by Chavaughn Lewis' 16 pts and 6 assists, Charles McCann's 10 pts and 9 rebounds and Justin Bailey's 10 pts. Others on the scoreboard included Kaleef Chaplin 8 pts and 4 assists, Kirk Bailey (8), Derrick Caponi (8), Chaz Morrish (6), Dave Piekut (4) and Wilson Molina (3). Carey was led by Steven Matthews (15 pts) and Joe Champy (14 pts). Next up for the Gaels is another city squad, St. Francis Prep of Queens, which overcame the Gaels last year in the Aviator tournament and will be looking to repeat that success. 12/21

12/17 High School Recaps

Westbury used a 17-4 second quarter to pull away from Lynbrook on their way to a 65-38 victory. Paris Abrams led the Green Dragons with 20 points.....Farmingdale capitalized on another slow start by Hempstead and beat the Tigers 59-55. Freshman Dalique Mingo had 20 points and 10 assists for the Dalers......Bayport-Blue Point took the lead with a 16-5 second quarter and then held off an Amityville run before pulling away 53-44. Reid Drzal had his best game of the young season, finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and four blocks for the Phantoms and Miles Prendergast had 18 points..... Copiague tuned up for a tough part of their schedule with a 76-61 win over West Babylon. Nasha Smith led the way with 25 points. The Eagles play Uniondale, Brentwood, Central Islip, and Hills West over their next four games.

LuHi Smothers St. Doms 93-38

Two of Long Island's most storied basketball programs met for the first time in 10 years, and Long Island Lutheran emerged with a dominating 93-38 victory. You have to give St. Doms credit. They are in a rebuilding mode this year and Lutheran has one of Long Island's best teams, yet in the interest of future great battles, they wanted to renew the rivalry. Omari Harper led the Crusaders with 17 points, and Mike Florin and Achraf Yacoubou had 16 each. 12/16

12/15 High School Recaps

Kings Park threw their hat into the Suffolk Class A ring with a convincing 66-43 win over a shorthanded Islip team behind 23 points from Sean McCarthy.......

Freeport opened their season with an 87-33 drubbing of Mepham. Danny Andre had 23 points and Jared Staton 21.......Hampton Bays looks like they might challenge in Suffolk Class B this season. They overwhelmed defending Suffolk Class C Champion Port Jefferson 64-48 behind 29 points from Cameron Booth.......Syosset is off to a 4-1 start, beating Calhoun 78-38 behind 21 points from Spencer Hazan.....Two time defending Long Island Class A Champion East Hampton moved to 2-0 with an overtime win over Shoreham-Wading River. Alex Toussaint had 16 points and Tyler Brennemen 14 for the Bonackers

12/13 High School Recaps

Tyler Seidman had 13 of his 25 points in the 4th quarter as #14 Holy Trinity pulled away from Moore Catholic, outscoring them 25-10 in the 4th......William Floyd trailed Bronx Science (PSAL) by 7 after one quarter, and outscored them 50-18 the rest of the way for a 60-35 victory. Jarel Johnson finished with 19 points, 8 of them in the decisive third quarter......

Wiliam Floyd Tops Wyandanch

William Floyd defeated Wyandanch by a score of 65-50 in the first round of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce 2009 Tip-Off Tourney at Kings Park High School. The Colonials fell behind early and trailed 17-11 at the end of the first quarter, but rallied after they started to apply full court pressure and went on a 11-4 run to tie the game at 28 at halftime. The second half was all William Floyd, as Wyandanch had a difficult time dealing with the pressure defense, and the Colonials were able to consistently convert the Warriors' turnovers into points. William Floyd pulled ahead 43-38 at the end of the third quarter, and continued to force turnovers in the fourth quarter, rallying behind strong play from sophomore forward Anthony White to cement the 15-point victory. White finished with 27 points to lead all scorers, and junior guard Shabazz Thompkins added 16 points for the Colonials. Senior forward Saheam King led the Warriors with 13 points. William Floyd will play Sachem North in the tournament championship on December 29th at 6 PM, also at Kings Park High School. Wyandanch will play Kings Park in the consolation game at 4 PM. 12/27

12/23 High School Recaps

Zack Krischer hit a go ahead three pointer with 23 seconds remaining and A.J. Uhl hit two free throws to ice it as Comsewogue defeated Huntington 51-49 in overtime....Sachem East used a 20-9 fourth quarter to rally past William Floyd 66-63. Dan Candameres had 16 second half points and finished with 18 for East....Anthony Martelli hit two free throws with six seconds left to give Valley Stream North a 53-51 win over Bellmore..... Newfield trailed 36-13 at halftime and caught Greenport 63-59 in overtime. Dylan McBride led Newfield with 20 points and Brandon Piscak added 18......

12/22 High School Recaps

Jericho stunned previously unbeaten Hewlett, bouncing back from a 17-9 first quarter deficit to win 64-43. Andrew Bauman led the Jayhawks with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Joey Gallo added 15.....4th ranked St. John The Baptist picked up a tough road win, beating McClancy 83-80 in overtime. Joe Gibbons had 8 points in OT and finished with a game high 30 points, and Khaleev Ginyard knocked down 7 three pointers and finished with 27.....The Longwood juggernaught continues. The 3rd ranked Lions rocked Ward Melville 102-69. Paris Parks finished with 25 points and Darien Davis had 24 and 10 assists.....Great Neck South improved to 4-0, winning the battle of Great Neck over Great Neck North 54-45. Eric Doreste finished with 9 points and 5 assists and Drew Muller had 8 points and 12 rebounds for South.....13th ranked Lindenhurst pulled away from Walt Whitman 51-39. Stu Warren led the way with 19 points, including 12 in the second half and added 11 rebounds.....Nassau All-Star Jordan Richman returned to the Roslyn lineup after an ankle injury and led the Bulldogs to a 64-54 win over Farmingdale with 24 points 12 rebonds, and 4 blocks.....#5 St. Mary's gave up a 6 point 4th quarter lead and fell to St. Francis Prep 63-62. The Gaels were led by Chavaughn Lewis and Justin Bailey, both with 15 pts.....Corey Spevack hit the game-winning shot in Hills East's 53-52 victory over Mepham. Dylan Horowitz led Hills East with 16 points and 12 rebounds.....Miller Place moved to 6-0 overall, 3-0 in League VI by defeating Shoreham WR 79-64. Five players scored in double-figures for Miller Place, led by Taylor Sowah's 21 points.......

Long Island Leads NYC Again

Long Island high schools are holding onto a 7 game lead over New York City high schools in the head to head season series between the two regions. The lead had been 9, but NYC reeled off three straight wins, with All Hallows beating St. Mary's 65-63, Cardinal Hayes topping Kellenberg 87-70, and Dalton a 67-45 winner over East Hampton. LI bounced back, taking 2 of the next 3 with LWA defeating Flushing 66-60 and Hempstead beating John Bowne 42-34, while St. Mary's lost their 3rd straight, falling to Xaverian 75-59. Long Island has won the season series decisively the last two years. 12/20

Hills West On The Board

Some teams have played 6 games already, but because of an unusual schedule, preseason #1 Hills West just played their first game of the season, trouncing Eastport-South Manor 83-41 in a League IV matchup. The Colts don't play a single game against a team currently ranked in the Sweet 16, with all their non-league games coming against teams from off the Island. Long Islanders got their first peak at Tavon Sledge, who transferred to Hills West from New Jersey and is a nationally ranked player. He finished with 12 points and 12 assists, while Tobias Harris had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Tyler Harris added 16 points. 12/17

LuHi/St. Dominic Renew Rivalry

The two teams haven't played each other since 1999, when there was some animosity over the transfer of budding LuHi star Tim Doyle to St. Dominic after his freshman year. Doyle went on to be two-time Catholic League Player of the Year and played for St. John's and Northwestern in college. With new head coaches at both schools, the rivalry will resume at 7:15 PM this Wednesday at LuHi. 12/15

12/14 High School Recaps

Lawrence Woodmere Academy took on one of New York City's top private school programs, and rallied from a first quarter deficit for a convincing 76-58 victory over Columbia Prep. LWA had three 20 point scorers, led by Holden Collick and Trent Parrish with 21 each and Edwin Sainvil with 20....Manhasset scored 29 fourth quarter points in a come from behind victory over Locust Valley. They were led by Alessandro Troia's 20 points, 9 of them in the decisive fourth......Wantagh picked up their first win, racing out to an 18-4 first quarter lead over New Hyde Park and then putting it out of reach in the second half. Final 65-37. Tom Megale led Wantagh with 16 points.

Westbury Francis Lewis Champs

In the finals of the Francis Lewis Holiday tournament, Westbury defeated Newtown HS ( PSAL ) 73 to 38. Westbury broke the game open with an 18-0 run during a 31 point fourth quarter and cruised to the victory. Paris Abrams led the Dragons with 24 points and was named MVP. Lamard Herron chipped in with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals and Josh Golson added 9 points. Westbury defeated Flushing in the opening round. Golson came off the bench to lead the Green Dragons, scoring 16 points including 4 first half three pointers. Tyrece Redd chipped in with seven assists, 9 steals and 5 points. 12/13

12/12 High School Recaps

Miller Place defeated Northport 58-51. They used a 21-4 first quarter run to get out to a 39-15 lead at halftime. Taylor Sowah had 11 of his 18 points in the first half while Brian Campbell added 14.

Harris Nominated For Naismith

Tobias Harris was one of ten high school seniors selected for the Naismith Trophy Boy’s High School Player of the Year watch list.

Albany Academy Defeats St. Mary's

Last December, Albany Academy upset one of Long Island's top teams, Long Island Lutheran, and they did it again this year, defeating St. Mary's 67-61 at the Rim Rocker. Albany had the advantage in the early going, but Chavaughn Lewis knocked down a three pointer with 2:40 to go in the first quarter to give the Gaels a 17-15 lead. Albany tied it at 19 all on a baseline drive by Matt LaClair, and after a St. Mary's free throw, Mike Paparian scored from down low to put Albany back on top, but Lewis stole the ball and scored and Mary's was up by 1. With seconds left in the quarter, LaClair hit an amazing full court shot, pegging the ball like a football and swishing it at the buzzer to give Albany a 24-22 lead. Charles McCann tied it at 24 to start the second quarter, and Khalif Chaplin put St Mary's up 2 with a fast break basket, but Nolan Hart tied it at 30 all with a three pointer

and then hit another 3 off an inbound play to put

Albany up 33-30. Hunter McCarthy made it 36-30

with another three, and Hart's three as the half ended

sent the teams to the locker room with Albany on top 43-36. Lewis stole the ball and dunked to start the second half, and then after an Albany basket, McCann hit two free throws and then scored on a power move from the low post to bring St. Mary's within 3 with 5:40 to go in the third quarter. Dante Agnew made it a 1 point game with his fast break basket, and after an Albany free throw, McCann tied it at 46 all off a nice dish from Lewis, but after the teams traded baskets, Albany scored twice in the final seconds to take a 4 point lead going into the final quarter. Chaz Morrish buried a three pointer to open up the fourth, pulling the Gaels back within 1, and Lewis followed with a three for a 2 point St. Mary's lead. After an Albany free throw, McCann rebounded and scored to make it 56-53, and the teams traded baskets until 3:20 remained, when Hart nailed another three pointer for a 1 point Albany lead. Darrien White's driving layup pushed the lead to 3, but then neither team could find the basket, both missing the front ends of 1 and 1's down the stretch. LaClair finally broke the string, hitting 2 out of 3 in the closing seconds to give Albany the 6 point win. 12/12

Baldwin Defeats Fordham Prep

When you're missing your starting point guard, and don't play your best, yet still come up with a 14 point win, you have a pretty good team. That descibes the Baldwin Bruins, who picked up a 47-33 win over Fordham Prep at the Rim Rocker. Fordham Prep took the early lead, with Peter Carlino's three pointer putting them up 5-0, but T'ziah Wood-Smith tied it at 6 with a driving layup and Dominique Aberdeen put them on top with a free throw. Aberdeen followed it up with a three pointer from the top to give them a four point lead, but two Fordham free throws made it 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. Wood-Smith's free throw and a fast break layup by Brandon Williams made it 13-8 with less than 5 minutes to play in the half, and it was 15-8 after Wood-Smith's baseline jumper. Aberdeen knocked down a three pointer from straight on for a 10 point Baldwin lead, but Tom Whelan scored for Fordham as time wound down and it was 20-12 at the half. Jordan Menzies-Taylor scored from underneath to begin the second half, putting the Bruins up 22-12, and Wood-Smith added a fast break bucket for a 12 point lead. Ashanti DePass made it 14 with a fast break basket, and a steal and basket by Aberdeen with 3:51 to go in the 3rd quarter.made it 31-16 Bruins. DePass closed out the quarter with a three pointer to give Baldwin their biggest lead at 18 points. Kevin McTiernan opened the fourth quarter with a three pointer for the Rams, and Whelan curled to the basket and scored to make it 34-21. Williams got Baldwin on the board with a putback, but Martin Meirelles knocked down a three pointer to bring Fordham within 12 with 5:49 remaining. A three pointer by DePass made it 43-26 with 3:44 showing, and Eyituoyo Ofuyo scored on the break to make it 47-28 with less than two minutes to play. 12/12

College Commitments

The following players signed National Letters of Intent during the just ended early signing period:

Melsahn Basabe, Glen Cove, Siena

Jamel Flash, W. Hempstead, Towson

Tobias Harris, Hills West, Tennessee

Devon McMillan, Uniondale, Hofstra

JJ Moore, Brentwood, U. Pittsburgh

Achraf Yacoubou, LuHi, Villanova

New High School Coaches

Time once again for our annual list of new high school coaches. Here's what we have so far:

Charlie Boyle, Solomon Schecter, Boys

Jim Fenton, St. Anthony's, Boys

Pete Linderman, Lawrence, Boy's

Tim Lomont, Locust Valley, Boys

Lou Lowe, Sayville, Boys

Ken Parham, St. Anthony's, Girls

Gary Williams, Bay Shore, Boys

LET US KNOW about other new high school coaches

12/9 High School Recaps

Class C Friends Academy pounded Class AA Calhoun 56-21 for their second straight win over a AA school.......Playing without Metro All-Star Jon Ward-Adams, Center Moriches defeated St. Dominic 60-59 led by 21 points from George Williams......East Rockaway continued its island getaway, easily beating Staten Island Academy 63-37 after a 61-26 win last week over Shelter Island........ Cameron Cullen led East Islip to a 58-53 win over Islip, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the decisive fourth quarter........

#3 LuHi 59, #7 SJB 56

In a terrific high school basketball game, Achraf Yacoubou's free throw with 23 seconds remaining put Lutheran up one, and the Crusaders went on to a 59-56 win over St. John The Baptist. It was a tight game throughout between two good teams. SJB's Khaleev Ginyard led all scorers with 30 points, going 6-7 from behind the arc. Yacoubou finished with 22. 12/8

Chaminade Rocks Whitman

Chaminade continues to impress, dominating Walt Whitman 76-38. The Flyers had a 7 point halftime lead, and then outscored the Wildcats 46-15 in the second half. Whitman's Darrell Felder opened things up with a foul line jumper, but Chaminade's 6'10 center Kevin Hargrove tied it on a strong post move. The teams traded baskets, and then the Flyers went ahead for good on a steal and basket by Dylan Sinnickson. It was 8-4 at the 4:34 mark of the first quarter on Dan Vanderhoef's fast break hoop, and Tom Morgan closed out the quarter by knocking down a jumper to make it 15-8. The Flyers opened up a 30-14 lead with 1:54 to go in the half on Robert Keating's 3 pointer from the left baseline, but Whitman reeled off 9 straight points to close it out, 5 from Myles Jones, and it was 30-23 at intermission. Hargrove scored from underneath to open up the second half, igniting a Chaminade 9-0 run, with Sinnickson knocking down a three pointer from the left wing, Morgan dunking off a steal, Sinnickson scoring again, this time from underneath, and the lead was quickly back to 16. A putback by Anthony Aikhuele brought Whitman within 11 with under four minutes to play in the third, but a three by Sinnickson started a 13-0 Chaminade run to close out the quarter, giving the Flyers a 52-28 lead as the fourth quarter got underway. The run continued into the fourth, with Morgan hitting a three from the left baseline and Kevin Sheehy burying a three from the left foul line extended, and it was 58-30 with 6:10 to play. The Flyers continued the barrage, outscoring the Wildcats 18-8 the rest of the way. 12/10.

Baldwin Hammers No. Babylon

6th ranked Baldwin made short work of 12th ranked North Babylon, scoring 32 first quarter points on their way to a 71-44 win. Nassau All-Star Dominique Aberdeenled led the Bruins with 22 points. 12/9

Herricks Tops Wheatly

Herricks defeated Wheatley 77-47 in the first round of the Coaches for a Cause Tournament at Sewanhaka HS. Herricks was led by Dennis Vamvakas with 26 pts, who was 8 for 9 from 3 point range. Nassau All-Star Shaan Rahi had 19 pts and 10 rebounds and freshman Andrew Fellus scored 16 pts and was 4 for 4 from 3 point range. As a team, Herricks was 13 for 14 from behind the arc! 12/9.

12/8 High School Recaps

St. Mary's racked up their second impressive win of the young season, defeating 10th ranked South Side 66-51. Metro All-Star Chauvaughn Lewis led the Gaels with 16 points and Charles McCan had 15. 4th ranked St. Mary's takes on #2 Uniondale Wednesday at 7 PM at Uniondale in the young season's best match-up. Uniondale advanced by rolling over Bellport 65-42......16th ranked Walt Whitman wiped out a first quarter deficit with a 20-7 second quarter and went on to defeat Massapequa 55-45. Myles Jones had 24 for the Wildcats and Patrick Meehan led Massapequa with 19......Kamil Parzych returned to action for Lindenhurst, scoring 10 points in the Bulldogs 63-35 win over Babylon.......Kellenberg defeated Long Beach 67-65 in OT. Kellenberg tied the game on a 3 pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation. LB missed a 10ft baseline jumper to tie at the buzzer in OT........Tyler Seidman had 26 points, including 12 in the 4th quarter as Holy Trinity beat Floral Park 63-51. Rich Bess had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Holy Trinity outscored Floral Park 18-8 in

the 4th quarter.

MacArthur Defeats Roosevelt

William Cheshire came out firing in his varsity debut with the MacArthur boys’ basketball team. Showing no ill effects from a hard fall on an elbow during a scrimmage three days earlier against Valley Stream Central, the sophomore guard drilled consecutive three-pointers as the Generals rattled off the game’s first 12 points. MacArthur held on for a 52-42 nonleague win in its season opener. Cheshire ultimately nailed his first four three-point attempts, the final with four minutes, 56 seconds left in the second quarter, as the Generals opened a 21-point lead. He finished with 12 points. Junior Charles Cintron had a team-high 15 points and junior Evan Gardner had four points in their varsity debuts to lead the frontcourt. Guard Gerard Cunningham netted his first career field goal on a jump shot with 2:21 left in the first quarter. Queens College-bound senior guard Andrew Mege scored MacArthur's first four points of the 2009-10 season to contribute to the game-opening 12-0 run. The Generals at one point in the first half employed a lineup with four players in 10th grade or younger. After the Roughriders closed within seven points in the fourth quarter, Cintron converted a pair of free throws with 3:56 left to provide a 44-35 lead. Senior guard Sal Sanquini went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:13 as MacArthur withstood Roosevelt's second-half comeback bid. MacArthur next co-hosts the eight-team Jeff Shaw Memorial Tournament with Division Dec. 7-11. The Generals open the tournament in Game 2 of a doubleheader Monday against Friends Academy at 7:15 p.m. Island Trees and Calhoun meet at 5:30 p.m. at MacArthur in that site's other opening-round game. 12/5

SJB Over VS Central

Khaleev Ginyard is the kind of player that is unstoppable when he is on, and he was on to start the game against Valley Stream Central. VSC was already up against it, missing preseason All-Star Jeremiah Mordi for the second straight game, so when Ginyard nailed a jumper from the left baseline to make it 15-2, it looked like the beginning of a very long day for the Eagles. But they dug in and survived the onslaught, and the first quarter finished a manageable 26-16. It was still a ten point game with 2:45 to go in the half after Marc Augustin's fastbreak basket, but Sean Smith's backdoor cut pushed the lead to 12, and Ginyard's fastbreak basket made it 42-27 with 1:20 left and it was 44-29 at the break. VSC crept back within ten mid way through the third quarter, but St. John's opened it up again, with two free throws by Joe Gibbons giving them a 52-35 lead. The Eagles answered with three straight baskets and a free throw by Reggie Dennis to make it 53-44 as the third quarter wound down, but the Cougars scored the last four points of the quarter, including a putback by Dante Thompson-Smallwood to make it 57- 44 at the end of three. Robert Patch opened the fourth quarter with a steal and basket, and although Julio Medoza responded for VSC with a basket off a nice dish from Anthony Williams, the game would soon be out of reach. Gibbons and Ginyard scored back to back to give the Cougars a 19 point lead, and they cruised home from there. 74-55 was the final. Ginyard finished with 29 and Gibbons with 20 for SJB. Marc Augustin had 23 for Central and Dennis 19. 12/5

Jericho Pulls Away From St. Dom's

In a battle between two top programs in rebuilding years, Jericho pulled away from St. Dominic 47-40 at the Long Island Challenge. Jericho had the edge early on, leading 12-7 at the end of the first quarter. Jonathan Orr's basket gave them a 7 point lead as the second quarter got underway, but the Bayhawks reeled off 7 straight points to tie it on back to back fast break baskets by Dan Ahern and a three pointer by Jordan Mayr. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way and it was 18 all at the half. Shawn Francis gave Jericho a 29-23 lead by knocking down a three pointer with under a minute to play in the third quarter, and Andrew Bauman's drive with 40 seconds on the clock put the Jayhawks up by 8 at the end of three. Reed Longo scored from down low to start the fourth quarter for a 10 point Jericho lead, and it was 41-31 Jericho at the 3:40 mark on two free throws by Bauman. St. Dom's made it interesting, pulling within 3 with 49 seconds left on a three pointer by Mayr, but after two missed Jericho free throws, they couldn't get the big basket and Bauman iced the game with free throws. 12/5

St. Mary's Hammers Westbury

This was the game everybody at the Long Island Challenge was waitng for. #4 Westbury taking on #5 St. Mary's! Two talented, athletic teams that can score and defend. But it was not to be. Westbury was without their only legitimate big man, center Lukens Victor, and without Nassau County All-Star guard Sheldon Hagigal. However, the Gael's played so well and dominated so thoroughly, you had to wonder if Westbury could have competed with them even at full strenght. Before you knew it, it was 10-2 St. Mary's on a three pointer by Chaz Morrish, 14-4 on a jumper by Justin Bailey, 19-7 on a fastbreak bucket by Chavaugh Lewis, and 25-12 on a putback by Lewis. The teams traded baskets in the second quarter, and then St. Mary's poured it on again in the third quarter to remove all boubt. Final score 75-49. 12/5

St. Anthony's Slips By Bay Shore

A good game played with great defensive intensity on both sides, neither team could take command, with a 5 point lead the biggest advantage for either team. It was 5 all with 4:09 remaining in the first quarter, 12 all at the end of the first quarter, 15 all with 4:30 to go in the half, and 24 all at intermission. Bay Shore's Jordan Allen opened the second half scoring with a fast break bucket, but Niko Roberts answered with a three pointer from the left wing to give St. Anthony's a 27-26 lead. Malik Jackson answered back with a three of his own, but a spinning baseline drive by Marko Peraica tied it at 29 all. Roberts put the Friars on top by banking a runner off the glass, but Allen tied it with a jumper from just inside the foul line. Ryan Wooley entered the game for the first time and knocked down a three pointer to put St. Anthony's up 3, and it was 36-33 at the third quarter buzzer. Allen rebounded and scored to bring Bay Shore within 1 as the fourth quarter got underway, and then knocked down two free throws to give them a 1 point lead. It was Bay Shore by 3 after a baseline drive by Jackson, but 5 straight points by the Friars, including another 3 by Wooley, gave them a 2 point lead with 3:27 on the clock. Roberts made it 4 points with a driving layup, but Allen kept the Marauders in it with a basket from the low post with 2:30 to go. Jordan Awoye tied it at 43 with two free throws at the 2:01 mark, but Wooley nailed another three pointer for a 46-43 lead with 1:35 left. Two free throws by Kadeem Topping made it 46-45 with 21 seconds on the clock, and then Bay Shore fouled, sending Roberts to the line for a 1 and 1. He missed the front end, and the Marauders came down and shot, missing but getting the rebound. They called time with 10.9 seconds on the clock to set up a play, but could not convert and had to foul. Marc Ciccareli hit both free throws for a three point St. Anthony's lead, and Bay Shore's attemted buzzer beater was off target. 12/5

Chaminade Rocks Amityville

When you graduate your entire starting line-up, there are a lot of questions marks coming into the new season. It took them a while to get their sea legs, but the Chaminade Flyers answered many of them with a decisive 74-50 victory over a good Amityville team in the first game of the 2009 Long Island Challenge. The Flyers jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, but the Warriors got right back into it, and it was back and forth the entire first half. Then Chaminade took control in the second half, going on another 8-0 run to start the third quarter. Tom Morgan opened the scoring with fast break layup, Dan Vanderhoef did the same, Dylan Sinnickson knocked down a jumper from the lane, and Rich Zoller put back a missed shot, and it was 38-29. Charles Durrant's baseline jumper put Amityville on the board, and his steal and fast break basket made it 40-35 with 3:20 to go in the quarter, but a second 10-0 run, started by a Sinnickson putback, followed by two Zoller baskets, two free throws by Vanderhoef, and a steal and fast break basket by Sinnickson, and it was 50-35 and Amityville never seriously threatened after that. Kevin Hargrove and Sinnickson led Chaminade with 14 points a piece, and Morgan finished with 13. Darien Croft led Amityville with 18 points, Brian Kretz finished with 10, and Durrant had 9. 12/5

Kellenberg Nips Brentwood

Tom Madelmayer's two free throws in the 1 and 1 gave the Firebirds the lead, and then his two free throws with 10 seconds remaining iced Kellenberg's 69-66 win over Brentwood. After a 14 all first quarter, Kellenberg made its move in the second quarter. Madelmayer put them ahead with a fast break basket, Chris Pisciotta's back door cut made it 21-18, and Mike Cotty's two free throws gave them a 5 point lead with 5:28 remaining in the half. Back to back fast break baskets by Tom Turner and Pisciotta gave them a 10 point lead at the 2:20 mark, but Brentwood got right back in it when Andrew Jones scored off a missed free throw, then hit two free throws of his own, and Dominique Snell went 1-2 from the line to bring them within 5 at intermission. Kellenberg opened it up again in the second half, with Turner's fast break basket giving them a 7 point lead, and then a jumper by Stirrup and a putback by Matt Gues made it 39-28. But Brentwood outscored the Firebirds 20-12 the rest of the way and cut it to 3 as the third quarter ended. The Brentwood run continued into the 4th quarter, with Tyler Powell's two free throws giving the Indians a 3 point lead, and a steal and a basket by Jones putting them on top 58-53 with 5:10 remaining. It was Turner's fast break basket with 3:42 to go that turned the tide, making it 60-57, and then Pisciotta went coast to coast and it was a one point game. Stirrup put the Firebirds back on top with a fast break hoop, but a Snell free throw tied it at 61 all with 2:50 showing. That's when Madelmayer knocked down his first two key free throws to put Kellenberg on top for good, although it looked like it wouldn't last long. Jean Chery, probably Brentwood's best shooter, was fouled attempting a three pointer, but he was having an off night and it continued when he missed two of three free throws. Pisciotta took advantage, giving Kellenberg a three point lead when he hooked in a shot from the lane, but Michael Rollins hit two clutch free throws for the Indians and it was back to one with 1:56 to go. Pisciotta countered with two clutch free throws of his own, but with 54 seconds left Chery rose to the occasion, hitting a floater to keep the pressure on. Pisciotta then missed two free throws, leaving the door open, but Kellenberg made a big defensive stand, forcing a shot clock violation. Brentwood had to foul, sending Madelmayer to the line with 10 seconds to go, where he hit both shots to make it 69-66. A desperation shot by Chery was off target, although Brentwood fans thought there was enough contact to warrant a foul call. 12/5

12/4 High School Recaps

Hewlett pulled ahead in the second quarter and rolled to an impressive 71-57 win over 16th ranked Valley Stream Central. Returning All- County player Michael Eckerle had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Rivlin had 20 points in his first varsity game. VSC played without preseason All-Star Jeremiah Mordi .....

10th ranked Elmont needed a big fourth quarter to put away Oyster Bay in the championship game of the

Tom Robinson Memorial Tournament at Oyster Bay. Dillon Williams was named Tournament MVP......Steve Dill's jumper at the buzzer gave Hauppauge a 32-30 win over Central Islip......

Northport Rocks Sayville

With a nod to the schedule makers, two teams that finished 0-14 in league play last season faced off in a non-league game to open the new season, and it was Northport that emerged with a convincing 55-30 victory over Sayville. The Tigers utilized a tenacious defense, dominating board work, and a balanced attack to steadily pull away from the opening tip. Sayville's Pat O'Connor opened the scoring with a fast break lay-up, but three straight baskets, the first by Ross Ragonesi and then two from Chris Gorman, and Northport was in front to stay. A running hook shot by Joe Surace made it 10-5, and a steal and fast break basket by Ragonesi and it was 13-5 at the end of one. Anthony Sbarro's reverse layup gave Northport a 10 point lead with 4:20 to go in the half, and a three pointer from the right wing by Ori Cohen and it was 23-11 at intermission. Sbarro opened the second half with a basket from underneath to give the Tigers a 14 point lead, and a jumper from the left wing by Gorman made it 27-11 and the Tigers cruised home from there. Surace led Northport with 13 points, Ragonesi and Dorian Hayden had 9 a piece, and Cohen finished with 8. Hayden, a senior that moved to Northport from Germany, made several athletic baskets off the bench for the Tigers. Rich Geiger led Sayville with 9 and O'Connor had 7. 12/2

Coaches For A Cure Tournament

Wheatley, Herricks, New Hyde Park, and Sewanhaka High Schools are holding a charity fund raising tournament to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on December 9th and 11th. Varsity games will be held at Sewanhaka HS, and JV at New Hyde Park HS. Matchups on Wednesday the 9th are Wheatley vs Herricks at 4:30 and at 6:15 a nice rivalry game between NHP vs Sewanhaka. Consolation and finals at 4:30 and at 6:15 on the 11th. Donations will be taken at the door both days. Come see some good basketball and support a good cause too!

Uniondale Tournaments

Two outstanding events featuring 6 Sweet 16 teams will take place at Uniondale High School. First on Tuesday, December 8th, #2 ranked Uniondale takes on perrenial Suffolk County power Bellport, and then at 7 PM #5 St. Mary's takes on #11 South Side. Championship Game and consolation Wednesday the 9th. Then on Saturday the 12th, it's the Long Island/Westchester Challenge, featuring White Plains vs 11th ranked South Side, New Rochelle vs #12 Chaminade, and Lincoln (Yonkers) against #2 Uniondale.

JJ Moore To Pittsburgh

Brentwood's JJ Moore has committed to Pittsburgh of the Big East Conference. STORY He makes the second Big East recruit from Long Island. Long Island Lutheran junior Achraf Yacoubou committed to Villanova.

McMillan Signs With Hofstra

Devon McMillan of Uniondale signed his National Letter of Intent to play at Hofstra next year.

Odom Switches To Vanderbilt

Long Island's Rod Odom has changed his mind and decided not to attend Arizona. He is headed to Vanderbilt instead!

Achraf Yacoubou To Villanova

Long Island Lutheran junior Achraf Yacoubou, who along with Tobias Harris led Long Island Lutheran to the New York Federation Class A State Championship last season, has verbally committed to Villanova. Yacoubou was an All-State selection last year and has a strong game on both sides of the ball.

Summer League Report

Varsity summer leagues are in full swing all over Long Island. Last we heard, Bellport was on top in the large school division of the Brookhaven Summer League, and Comsewogue in the small school division. Westbury leads the Hempstead summer league, while St. Mary's trails Cotumaccio in the Island Garden Summer League. In the Central Nassau League, it's Hicksville leading the way.

From The Editor's Mailbox

....Keith Williams, a freshman from John Glenn High School, was named to the Right Bounce All-Tournament team. ........Interesting article:Exodus of City Hoops Stars.........

Tobias Narrows His List

Tobias Harris, who will play for Half Hollow Hills West this season, has narrowed his list of colleges to seven and will make visits in the coming weeks in order to make his final decision. The final seven are: Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Good to see Long Island coaches Paul Hewitt and Rick Pitino still in the hunt, but St. John's didn't make the cut.

Big Summer For Tyler Harris

Tyler Harris, the younger brother of Tobias Harris, is a talented 6' 7 sophomore, and is joining Tobias at Hills West this season. Needless to say, the Colts, already a playoff team without them, are looking very formidable. You've heard all about the great summer Tobias had, but Tyler had a big summer too. He started it off playing for the Ben Gordan All-Stars in an international tournament in Paris, which they won, and then traveled to Pittsburgh and Providence for Jam Fest tournaments. From there he went to to Raleigh for the Bob Gibbons Tournament before joining his brother in Chicago for workouts with pro elite athletes. He then took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame, and played at the Summer Classic in New Jersey and Hoop Group- West Virginia. After that, he attended the Rutgers Elite Camp, and then headed down to Orlando, where his team reached the final four at both the Super Showcase and AAU Nationals. He was picked for the Nike T.O.C All Star Game at the Gauchos gym, and ended the summer at Five Star Camp. By all accounts, he is headed for a big high school season, and with Tobias and some very talented teammates, makes Hills West one of the teams to beat.

Suffolk Boys Coaches Meeting

Suffolk Boys Basketball Coaches Association Meeting will take place Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 at Connetquot HS. Executive Board and League Reps meeting will take place prior at 6:30. All Varsity coaches are expected to attend. We will discuss our 30th annual academy, non league games and scrimmages, meet new Varsity coaches, among other issues. Any questions, contact John Albano; SCBCA president

Stony Brook Team Camp Report

The new Stony Brook Team Camp wrapped up with William Floyd capturing the championship in a win over Newfield. It is already clear that a new Long Island institution has been established: Seawolves Coach Steve Pikiell and his staff put together a terrific camp, with lectures, coaches chalk talks, and of course, non-stop basketball action. If you want to kick-start your season and have your players work with D1 coaches and players, make plans to enter your team next year.

Carey Steps Down as LuHi Coach

Brian Carey, who led the Long Island Lutheran Crusaders to the New York State Federation Class A Championship this past season, has stepped down both as head coach and as director of the school's summer camp programs. Assistant Coach John Buck will be elevated to head coach. A replacement has yet to be named for the summer program.

Brentwood Title Hopes Take Hit

You might have heard that for the second straight season, Brentwood's title hopes wil take a big hit as Star JJ Moore has announced that he will be transferring to a prep school. Last year, star big man Kendall Harris and his family moved to Pennsylvania prior to his senior year. Harris will be playing college ball for Kutztown State this season.

UARY

HIGH SCHOOL

News Desk

INTERSTATE

SPORTS ACADEMY

Suffolk Based Leagues and Tournaments

SJB Over Bay Shore At Buzzer

#6 Bay Shore stormed back from a 14 point 4th quarter deficit to take the lead, but Khaleev Ginyard's three pointer at the buzzer gave #8 St. John The Baptist a dramatic 62-61 victory in the opener for both teams. St. John's had the best of it in the early going, with a Joe Gibbons three pointer from the left baseline giving them a 14-8 lead, but Malik Jackson drove wide, looped down the baseline and scored, drawing the foul, and his free throw made it 16-15 with 1:40 to go in the first quarter. A putback by Jordan Allen gave the Marauders a 17-16 lead, but SJB responded with a short jumper from Dante Thompson-Smallwood to reclaim it. Bay Shore was back on top after two free throws by Jordan Awoye, but Sean Smith's putback gave the Cougars a one point lead at the first quarter buzzer. Gibbons opened the second quarter with a jumper from just inside the foul line, and at the 6:20 mark, a runner by Tom Hirten made it 26-21 SJB. Thompson-Smallwood's turn around jumper from the low post pushed the lead to 9 with 4:10 to go in the half, but Bay Shore kept it close, cutting it to four at the 2:20 mark on Allen's basket from down low. St. John's finished the half on a run however, with Thompson-Smallwood's putback and a free throw by Gibbons giving them a 40-29 lead at the break. Gibbons opened the second half with a jumper from the foul line extended to give the Cougars a 13 point lead, and a jump hook from the low post by Thompson-Smallwood made it 44-29, but Jackson broke the run with a pull-up jumper from the left side of the lane, and Awoye rebounded a missed free throw and scored at the 6:10 mark to bring Bay Shore within 12. The Marauder's rally stalled on four straight misses from the foul line, but Karl Hall got them going again on a cut down the baseline and basket that made it a 10 point game with 4:40 to go in the third. After a Bay Shore free throw made it 46-37, Smith swept across the lane and scored, and Gibbons added two free throws, and St. John's was threatening to break it open again. Gibbons' basket off an inbound play made it 54-40 as the third quarter came to a close. Jordan Allen opened the fourth quarter with a putback, and then he stole the ball and dunked to cut the margin to 10. After a Jackson free throw, three straight baskets by Allen, the last one on a nice feed from Awoye, made 55-51 with 4:30 remaining. The Cougars had gone cold and were taking bad shots, but two free throws by Gibbons gave them some breathing room. Not for long. Back to back three pointers by Jackson gave Bay Shore the lead at the 2:13 mark and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Gibbons responded, cutting from left to right and nailing a jumper to put SJB back on top. With 24 seconds on the clock, Bay Shore came out of a time out and patiently worked the ball around until they found Hall wide open on the baseline, and his basket gave them a 60-59 lead. St. John's missed on the other end and sent Awoye to the line with 3.7 seconds remaining, where he made 1 of 2 to make it 61-59, but on the miss, Gibbons rebounded and quickly fired the outlet pass to Ginyard, who launched a three from the left wing that found nothing but net. 12/3

12/2 High School Recaps

Islip is one of the teams to watch in Suffolk Class A this season, and they showed it in their opener, overwhelming Pierson 80-41. Big man Andrew Oberg led with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Terrence Dzus and Earl Zelaya both chipped in 10........West Babylon rallied for a 52-47 win over Patchogue-Medford despite 20 points from PM big man Nick Sergio. Kyle Cube, who led the WB rally, had 15. Islip and West Babylon will meet in the championship game of the Islip Tournament Friday at 7 PM.....Calhoun took its first lead of the game with less than 1 minute remaining and went on to beat Mineola 50-46. They outscored Mineola 20-6 in the 4th quarter. High scorer was Devon Pazmino with 18 points and 3 assists, and John Wigand added 14 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks

High School Game Schedules

The Schedule Page has been updated and will continue to be updated as schedules are submitted to us. Same for our list of Can't Miss Games. Don't forget to submit your suggestions for Can't Miss games!

12/1 High School Recaps

Lindenhurst had their work cut out for them, facing a good Copiague team without star Kamil Parzych. It looked for a moment like they might be able to pull off the upset, getting back into the game after falling into a 17-3 hole, but Copiague held them off and went on to a 44-34 victory. Nasha Smith led the way with 17 points......So how is LuHi this season? They steam rolled the PSAL's Grand Street Campus 85-66 behind 27 points from Villanova signee Achraf Yacoubou. Terry Brutus added 15 points and Joe Savaglio 14......

Preseason All-Long Island

The following players have been selected as preseason All-Long Island:

Paris Abrams, Westbury

Darien Davis, Longwood

Joe Gibbons, SJB

Tobias Harris, Hills West

Myles Jones, Walt Whitman

Chavaughn Lewis, St. Mary's

Kamil Parzych, Lindenhurst

Tyler Seidman, Holy Trinity

Leon Taylor, South Side

Jonathan Ward-Adams, Center Moriches

Achraf Yacoubou, LuHi

HONORABLE MENTION

Jordan Allen, Bay Shore

Tajric Boggs, Longwood

Goey Charles, Uniondale

Ashanti DePass, Baldwin

Joe Douglas, Hempstead

Connor Fedge, Bellport

Jamel Flash, West Hempstead

Mike Florin, LuHi

Khaleev Ginvard, St. John The Baptist

Rexton Gordon, St. Anthony's

Sheldon Hagigal, Westbury

Lamard Herron, Westbury

Jorell Johnson, William Floyd

Dantre Langhorne, Greenport

Taylor Sowah, Miller Place

LI vs NYC Christmas Challenge

The Second Annual Christmas Challenge, Sponsored by the Oceanside Christopher Federal Credit Union and the The Catholic Credit Union, will be played Sunday, December 13th at Molloy College in Rockville Centre. The Challenge features teams from Long Island taking on teams from New York City, and the schedule is as follows:

11:00 am Kellenberg vs St. Joseph's By The Sea

1:00 pm Holy Trinity vs Moore Catholic

3:00 pm Oceanside vs St Peter's

5:00 pm Chaminade vs Mount St. Michael's

We're Off! Season Underway!

The high school season got underway over the Thanksgiving holiday with a few catholic school and private school games being played, and New York City grabbed the early lead in the head to head battle between the two regions as Archbishop Molloy defeated Holy Trinity 70-59 and All Hallows defeated St. Anthony's 53-50. Holy Trinity cut a 12 point halftime deficit to 2 with five minutes to go, but Molloy fought them off and pulled away down the stretch. Tyler Seidman led the Titans with 19 points. In the St. Anthony's game, the Friars batted last years CHSAA AA semifinalist all the way, but couldn't get over the top.. Niko Roberts had 17 points, and Rexton Gordon had 15 points for St. Anthony's. 11/30

Basabe Chooses Siena

Melsahn Basabe, a 6'7" power forward from Glen Cove that attends prep school, committed to Siena.

"Melsahn is a tremendous athlete with great skill who can play multiple positions. He can play the three, four or five, can shoot it outside, and there is no doubt in my mind that he’s going to have a tremendous impact on our program immediately.” said Siena coach Fran McCaffery.

Flash To Towson

West Hempstead's Jamel Flash signed a National Letter of Intent with Towson University. Towson plays in the Colonial Athletic Conference along with Hofstra. Flash is an excellent student who was recruited by Ivy league schools Columbia and Yale. His first year of organized basketball was his freshman year. In the off-season he works out with his cousin, Shawnelle Scott, a former St. John's player who was a 1994 draft pick of the Portland Trailblazers.

Hills West In Hoophall Classic

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the high school teams that will participate in the 9th Annual Spalding Hoophall Classic January 15-18 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Over 45 of the top teams in the US - representing 16 states and the District of Columbia - will be competing this year in the tournament's largest field. Half Hollow Hills West, generally considered a top contender for the New York State Class AA Title, will be representing Long Island.

McMillian Returns To Uniondale

Devon McMillian, who transferred to Uniondale from Lincoln High School in Coney Island last year, returned to the New York City basketball powerhouse this year following the graduation of basketball phenom Lance Stevenson, who played the same position. It was assumed that "Fatty" would help the Railsplitters retain their iron grip on the New York City Public School Championship, which they've held for 4 straight years now. All that has changed. McMillian has had a change of heart, and has returned to Uniondale for his senior year because he feels its better for him academically. It's good to hear that kids make decisions like that. READ MORE

Rod Odom To Arizona

Long Island's Rod Odom, ranked 77th nationaly in the class of 2010 by ESPNU, has decided to attend the University of Arizona. Odom, who went to a prep school in Massachusetts, is a 6'8 small forward.

JJ Moore Cuts List

JJ Moore, who surprisingly transferred to a prep school for his senior season, has apparently cut his list of colleges down to Louisville, Florida,

St. John’s, and Pittsburgh.

LI Right Bounce All-Stars

The Right Bounce All Star Games are for the top players from the classes of 2014, 13, and 12 in the New York, Philly and DC metro areas. Long Islanders selected after having strong summers are: Chancellor Ellis, Hempstead, Tyler Harris, Hills West, Kyle Williams, Freeport Middle School, and Keith Williams, John Glenn. The games will be played at Holy Cross High School this Sunday 9/27

Jim Frauenberg At Oyster Bay

Jim Frauenberg is the new coach at Oyster Bay High School. Jim grew up in Hewlett and graduated from St. Mary's in 99 where he was a 3 year varsity starter. Two of those years were on NSCHSAA Championship Teams. In 98 he was the MVP of the NSCHSAA Championship Game when he scored 25 pts against St. Anthony's. In 99 he lead the team with 18ppg, was named first team NSCHSAA, and second team all Long Island. He graduated from Dominican College in 03 where he played for 3 years (missing his junior year with a knee injury). In 01 he was 4th in the nation in assists in NAIA.

Basabe Another Top LI Player

With all the hoopla about Long Island's strong class of 2010, one player managed to fly under the radar, despite having a very strong summer. Fortunately, the college coaches took notice, even if the folks back home were out of the loop. Melsahn Basabe, a 6'7 forward from Glen Cove that attends prep school in Massachusetts got high marks at the Hoop Group Elite Camp and the Elite 75 Showcase, and then his overall play with the Gauchos continued to push him up the rankings the rest of the summer. The result was plenty of college offers, and although he's had serious interest from high major schools, he has narrowed down his choices to VCU, Siena, and Drexel because he "wants to play".

Harris May Decide After Visits

Tobias Harris might make a college decision after his home visits conclude and without making any official visits. GO TO STORY

Big Summer For Bailey

St. Mary's will be one of the favorities this season in the NSCHSAA, and one of the reasons is 6'4 senior forward Kirk Bailey. Kirk is coming off a good junior year, and this summer received Top Rebounder honors at the famous 5 Star Basketball Camp. He was also ranked #8 out of 250 high school players in Prep All Star's Elite Camp last month. On the AAU circut, he averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game for the LI Kings, one of Long Island's top travel teams. He is an athletic player, a good passer and ball handler, can shoot the jumper, clean the boards, and is also a good defender.

Island Garden Fall League

For the past 10 years Island Garden has hosted an outstanding High School PreSeason League which gave teams an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming year. We always begin in mid-September and finish prior to the beginning of the high school practice season. We have consistently sold out while receiving excellent feedback about the favorable impact which this preparation period had on the team's regular season. This year we are offering two options and expanding the age groups from 5th grade through high school. The first option will be the standard 8 game season plus playoffs (if the team qualifies). The cost for the 8 game season will be $595 plus $35.00 per game for the referee. The 4 game season will be $325.00 plus $35.00 per game for the referee. MORE

St. Mary's Tops At Hofstra

St.Mary's took top honors this week winning the Hofstra weeknight H.S. camp. Junior Chaz Morrish led the way for St Mary's averaging 10pts and 4 assists.

Harborfields Sweeps

Both the Varsity and JV team teams at Harborfields were crowned champions of the Brookhaven Summer League. The Varsity defeated Bellport 62-34 in the Large School Championship game and then Small School Champion Comsewogue 57-31 in the finals. Matt Mcleod was named MVP of the Large School final, and Matt Curry was MVP of the Championship Game. The JV was a 54-36 winner over Rocky Point in the final. IF YOU HAVE RESULTS FROM OTHER SUMMER LEAGUES, LET US KNOW!

Upper Room At Pitt Team Camp

Upper Room traveled to the University of Pittsbugh to attend their Team Camp, going 6-1 to win the Gold Pool. Great performance from Ramel Anderson, and strong performances from Matthew Milk, Victor Holder, Cortell King, and Shaun Midy. They got a chance to play against teams form OH, PA. VA. Md. They received help from Matthew Difillopo, Keith Williams and Jeff Grubad. Victor Holder, Matt Milk, Cortell King and Shaun Midy had a chance to take a picture with Lavan Fields.

Edmead Impresses In Arizona

Team Underrated's Aaren Edmead, a 5-foot-5, 120-pound 8th grader from Robert Frost Middle School in Deer Park was selected for this year's Underclassmen All-Star game at the Arizona Preps Fall Showcase. An honor roll student, Edmead hopes to play on the junior varsity basketball team this season for Deer Park as a freshman, and hopefully see time on the varsity as the season progresses.

Elmont Team Camp Champs

Elmont HS took the championship at the Providence College Team Camp this past weekend. They were a perfect 9-0 defeating teams from MA, CT, & RI. Elmont's dominant guard play impressed the Providence coaches all week, Strong guard play was turned in by: Dominique Williams, Dillon Williams, Dean Walker, Isaiah Watson, Devin Guerre, and Rocky Chambers. While Chris Fincher and Anthony Elechi dominated inside. This is the second team camp Elmont has taken this summer. Earlier in July at the Guy Rancourt Team Camp at Lycoming College, they were a perfect 7-0 defeating teams from DE, MD, PA.

Pavinelli Leaves Doms Sideline

In another stunning news development, Rob Pavinelli, who has guided the St. Dominic basketball program for the last 13 years, winning three Long Island Catholic School Championships, one Catholic School State Championship, and One Federation State Championship, has announced what may turn out to be his retirement from coaching. Coach Pavinelli, who was an assistant at the Oyster Bay school for eight years before taking the reigns as Head Coach, is universally considered to be one of Long Island's finest coaches, racking up 225 career victories at the school and sending dozens of players on to play college basketball in the process. In announcing his decision, Pavinelli said that he will continue to teach at St. Dominic, and is looking forward tp spending quality time with his wife and four young children, and possibly pursuing other business ventures .

Bebry New St. Dom's Coach

St. Dominic grad and Farmingdale State Assistant Coach Jim Bebry has been named the new boy's Varsity Head Coach at St. Dominic. Before taking the Farmingdale State position, Bebry was an assistant at the US Merchant Marine Academy, and prior to that, a student assistant coach at Trinity College, where he played his college ball. He graduated from Trinity with honors. In 2001, he earned All-State honors playing for the Bayhawks, and helped lead them to the NSCHSAA Class B Championship in 2000. A native of Farmingdale, Bebry was a head coach for the Long Island Lightning AAU program during the summers of 2003-04. His team placed third in New York State, and competed for the AAU National Championship.

Suffolk All-Star Doubleheader

Suffolk County's top boys basketball players converged on St. Joseph's College in Patchogue for the annual Suffolk County Top 40 Doubleheader. As always, there were many outstanding performances, and Longwood High School made it clear that they will once again be a force to be reconded with by placing five players in the top 40. In the first game, Longwood's Tajric Boggs led the Black Team to a 26 point halftime lead with 14 first half points, but Jon Ward Adams from Center Moriches led a rally that saw the White Team take the lead before falling down the stretch. Boggs finished with 20 points, Longwood teammate Darien Davis finished with 16, and Bruno Cavallo from Hampton Bays with 15 to lead the Black Team. Ward Adams finished with a game high 21 points, Bellport's Connor Fedge added 18, and Kings Park's Sean McCarthy finished with 12 for White. In the second game, a balanced attack led the White Team to a wire to wire victory, with Copiague's Nasha Smith, Lorenzo Warren from Lindenhurst, and Longwood's Pat Piasecki all finishing with 13 points, while Amityville's Darien Croft led the Black Team with a game high 18 points, Hills West's Emile Blackman had 15, and Longwood's Paris Parks added 11. A last minute fill-in, Matt Curry from Harborfields, played very well for the White Team, finishing with double digit points and rebounds. The Suffolk County All-Star Team that will face off against Nassau County on October 12th in the Long Island All-Star Game will be selected from the players that played in these games.

Kneeling: Cory Maiorana, Jordan Lefkowitz, Joseph Lipsky Standing: Corey Tavel (head of St. Pius X CYO program), Father Simon, Coach Anthony Maiorana, Greg Rankel, Uchie Ogbonna, Brett Lawler, Coach Steve Amateau, Zach Amateau, John Petrucelli, Danny Nardiello, Daniel Brody, John Egan, Msgr. Domenick Graziadio, and Dan Marino (former head of St. Pius X CYO program).

St. Pius CYO Champions

In their last game together as a team for St. Pius X of Plainview, the Senior Division team coached by Steve Amateau + Anthony Maiorana won the 2009 CYO Long Island Championship by defeating our Lady of Victory 86-70. The game capped off a memorable undefeated 13-0 season.

CYO Fall League Finalists

The CYO Fall Championships are double elimination, so it gets a bit confusing, but It will be St. Pius of Plainview taking on the winner of the St. Mary/East Islip vs Our Lady Of Victory/Floral Park game in the final of the CYO Boy's Senior Division , while St. Edward/Syosset faces Our Lady Of Grace/West Babylon for the right to battle Our Lady Of Victory in the Tyro Division semifinals. The winner takes on St. Gertrude from Bayville in the final. Bayville is in the Locust Valley school district.

.All-Star Thriller

Uniondale sophomore Shaq Mosley knocked down two free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining to give Nassau County an exciting 100-99 victory over Suffolk County in the Long Island Preseason All-Star Game. The game was close throughout, with Suffolk taking an early 15-10 lead on a baseline jumper by Deer Park's Marques Charlton, but a three pointer by Baldwin's Ashanti DePass and two free throws by Mosely tied it at 19. A Reid Drzal (Bayport-Blue Point) baseline jumper from the right side put Suffolk up six with just under 8 minutes to go, and a steal and basket by Longwood's Tajric Boggs pushed the lead to 37-28 at the 5:30 mark, but a three pointer by DePass just before the buzzer brought Nassau within five at the half. Greenport's Dantre Langhorne scored to open the second half and give Suffolk a seven point lead, but DePass responded with another three, and a nice driving layup by South Side's Leon Taylor brought Nassau within two. Uniondale's Bolade Akingboye scored on the break with 16:20 remaining to slice the lead to one, but a runner by Jonathan Ward Adams of Center Moriches and a three pointer by Charlton and it was 60-54 Suffolk. Nassau drew even at 66 all on a reverse layup by Westbury's Sheldon Hagigal and a three pointer by Mosely, and it was 73-71 Nassau on a Hagigal three pointer from the left baseline with 11:20 to go, but Jorell Johnson of William Floyd tied it with two free throws and Ward Adams put Suffolk back on top with a three pointer. Bellport's Connor Fedge gave Suffolk a five point lead on a putback, and Drzal added two free throws for a seven point margin, but Akingboye scored five straight points on a three pointer and a layup off an inbound play, and then Mosely tied it at 84 all on a pull-up jumper with 7:20 to go. Westbury's Lamard Herron gave Nassau the lead on a jumper from the right foul line extended, and Valley Steam Central's Marc Agustin put them up four off a feed from Mosely with 5:20 to go, but Johnson stopped the run with a three pointer and Suffolk trailed by one with under 5 minutes to play. West Hempstead's Jamel Flash slammed home a putback to give Nassau a 94-91 lead with 3:11 to go, but Fedge hit two free throws and then scored on the break and Suffolk was back on top with 2:30 left. Nassau regained the lead on a putback by DePass, and his two free throws with 1:13 remaining made it 98-95 Nassau, but after a Suffolk free throw, Ward Adams stole the ball and scored and it was a one point game with just 56 seconds remaining. Suffolk tied it on a free throw with 31 seconds to go, but Nassau ran the clock down, and Mosely was fouled with 4.9 seconds showing, hitting both shots for a two point lead. Suffolk had two chances in the closing moments, but went 1-2 from the line to draw within one, and then missed a baseline jumper off an inbound play as time expired. DePass led all scorers with 21 points, and Mosely, Akingboye, and Herron all finished with 12 for Nassau. Connor Fedge led Suffolk with 14, Ward Adams had 13, and Johnson and Charlton both finished with 12.

Returning All-State Players

The following players were named All-State last season and will be returning this season:

Tobias Harris, Hills West

Dantre Langhorne, Greenport

Tim Pandolfi, Stony Brook

Kamil Parzych, Lindenhurst

Achraf Yacoubou, LuHi

Jonathan Ward-Adams, Center Moriches

High School Rules Changes

The NFHS has released its rules changes for the upcoming season. Most of them are minor, which tells us the rule makers are pretty satisfied with the state of the game. We'll have some specific play situations in a future column. RULES CHANGES

Changes In League Assignments

Two big changes will take place in league assignments next high school season. In Nassau, Elmont is moving from Class AA to Class A, where they will be a significant threat to preseason favorite Westbury in Conference ABC1. In Suffolk, Lindenhurst is moving from League 1 to League 2, joining preseason favorites Walt Whitman and Bay Shore. Commack switches from 2 to 1.

Metro Suburban Sweep

The boy's Suburban All-Star team rallied for a 118-112 victory over the New York City All-Stars in the 6th Annual Metro Classic. With the Suburban Team trailing by 8, Bay Shore's Jordan Allen scored on a dunk, South Side's Leon Taylor pulled up at the foul line for a jumper, and then Allen scored again off a sweet dish from Jon Ward Adams of Center Moriches, and it was a two point game. Taylor tied it at 99 all with two free throws, and after a free throw by Uniondale's Goey Charles gave the Burbs the lead, Mount Vernon's Jabarie Hinds put them ahead for good with a basket from the lane. There were two dominant performances in the game: Hines, just a junior, finished with 33 points for the Suburban team and showed he is a big time talent, and Jayvaughn Pinkston of Bishop Loughlin displyed a 3 point game along with his strong inside game on the way to 26 points for the City. Charles led Long Island players with 11 and Chavaughn Lewis from St. Mary's had 8. It was a suburban sweep, with the Girl's team defeating the New York City All-Stars 93-75. North Babylon's Bria Hartley was the star, finishing with 22. Hartley crossed over, stepped back and knocked down a three pointer to give the Suburban Team a 12 point lead just before halftime, and then closed out the half with a running hook shot with a defender draped all over her for a 53-38 lead at intermission. The City never threatened in the second half. Tori Jarosz from Lakeland HS added 17 points, and Kristen Doherty of Sachem East finished with 15 for the Burbs. Ariel Edwards of Christ the King led the city with 14. MORE COVERAGE: NYHOOPS.COM NEWSDAY

Metro Classic Roster

The following Long Islanders were chosen for the Suburban Team that will take on New York City at the Metro Classic on October 25th.:

John Ward Adams, Center Moriches

Jordan Allen, Bay Shore

Goey Charles, Uniondale

Jamel Flash, West Hempstead

Lamard Herron, Westbury

Chavaughn Lewis, St Mary's

Leon Taylor, South Side

Metro Classic Tryouts

Two rounds of cuts have been made, and the following Long Islanders have been selected to move on to the next round of the Metro Classic tryouts, joining players selected from the Hudson Valley.

Jonathan Ward Adams, Center Moriches

Dante Agnew, St. Mary's

Jordan Allen, Bay Shore

Tajric Boggs, Longwood

Goey Charles, Uniondale

Ryan Clark, Lynbrook

Reid Dryzl, Bayport BP

Jamel Flash, West Hempstead

Khaleev Ginvard, St. John The Baptist

Rexton Gordon, St. Anthony's

Sheldon Hagigal, Westbury

Lamard Herron. Westbury

Dantre Langhorne, Greenport

Chavaughn Lewis, St. Mary's

Matt McCloud, Harborfields

Daniel Minto, West Hempstead

Leon Taylor, South Side

David White, South Side

Nassau Top 40 All-Stars

The Nassau County All-Star Team that will face Suffolk County in the Long Island All-Star Game on October 12th will be determined October 6th at the Nassau County Top 40 All-Star doubleheader at Molloy College in Rockville Centre. TOP 40 ROSTERS:

6:30 game

Red: Coach Jim Hegman, Mineola

25-Rob Goldstein, 5'10" Seaford, Jr.

75-Daniel Minto, 6'3" West Hempstead, Sr.

116-Brett Cohen, 6'5" South Side, Sr.

62-Ryan Kenny, 6'3", Valley Stream North, Sr.

68-Sheldon Hagigal, 6'1", Westbury, Jr.

110-Jamel Flash, 6'11", West Hempstead, Sr.

9-Isaiah Watson, 5'8", Elmont, Sr.

69-Shamoy Mcintosh, 6'0", Floral Park, Jr.

114-Jordan Richman, 6'5", Roslyn, Sr.

49-Marc Augustin, 6'3", Valley Stream Central, Sr.

White: Coach Fabian Jara, Valley Stream North

31-Leon Taylor, 6'0", Southside, Sr.

66-Lamard Herron, Westbury, 6'2", Sr.

76-Bolade Akingboye, Uniondale, 6'2", Sr.

32-David White, Southside, 6'3", Sr.

73-Dominique Aberdeen, Baldwin, 6'1", Sr.

109-Jim Bulva, Mineola, 6'6", Jr.

33-Justin Mosley, Uniondale, 5'7", Soph.

15-Josh Golson, Westbury, 5'11", Sr.

112-Anthony Elechi, Elmont, 6'4", Jr.

53-Dominique Williams, Elmont, 6'2", Sr.

7:30 game

White: Coach Eric Rubin, Macarthur

107-Morton Chambers, Farmingdale, 6'4", Sr.

14-Donte Howell, Baldwin, 5'9", Sr.

16-John Petrocelli, Hicksville, 6'2", Sr.

64-Justin Wilson, Floral Park, 6'3", Jr.

119-Tziah Woodsmith, Baldwin, 6'4", Jr.

7-Dean Walker, Elmont, 6'1", Sr.

108-Jordan Menzies-Taylor, Baldwin, 6'5", Sr.

52-Obinna Nwaigwe, Valley Stream North, 6'0", Sr.

57-Kevin Roach, Macarthur, 6'2", Soph.

111-Shaan Rahi, Herricks, 6'5", Sr.

Red: Coach Larry Steimer, Garden City

115-Claudy Cassius, Uniondale, 6'3", Sr.

18-Matthew Nagelberg, Division, 5'11", Jr.

50-Jeremiah Mordi, Valley Stream Central, 6'2", Sr.

63-Ashanti Depass, Baldwin, 6'3", Sr.

54-Terrence Meaney, Valley Stream South, 6'5", Sr.

41-Kevin Monahan, Macarthur, 6'0", Jr.

44-Uchechi Ogbonna, Hicksville, 6'4", Sr.

40-Tyrone Conyers, Valley Stream North, 6'2", Sr.

74-Terrance Murchie, Carey, 6'4", Sr.

101-Paul Allington, Valley Stream North, 6'4", Sr.

Suffolk Top 40 All-Stars

The Suffolk County Top 40 All-Star Doubleheader is Thursday October 1 at 6:00 and 7:45 at St. Joseph's

All players in the 6 PM game be at St. Joe's BY 5:00

Game 1 - 6 PM

White Team coached by Ryan McNeely, Centereach

#1 Paul McKenzie, 6'0 Senior Guard Central Islip

#2 Jonathan Ward Adams, 6'1 Senior Guard C. M.

#3 Kaylin Strickland, 5'10 Senior Guard, W. Floyd

#4 Lucas Woodhouse, 5'10 Soph Guard, Harborfields

#5 Curtis Smith, 5'10 Junior Guard, Eastport SM

#6 Sean McCarthy, 6'2 Senior Guard, Kings Park

#7 Connor Fedge, 6'3 Senior Guard, Bellport

#8 Phillip Page, 6'4 Junior Forward, Copiague

#9 Neal Fishenden, 6'7 Senior Forward, Sayville

#10 Nicholas Sergio, 6'9 Senior Center, Pat - Med

Black Team coached by William Farrell, Bayport BP

#1 Zachary Krischer, 5'11 Senior Grd, Comsewogue

#2 Melvin Ruffin, 5'11 Senior Guard, Bellport

#3 Darien Davis, 6'2 Senior Guard, Longwood

#4 George Williams, 6'3 Junior Forward, CM

#5 Willie Turner, 6'4 Senior Forward, Riverhead

#6 Dan Candemeres, 6'1 Junior Guard, Sachem East

#7 Pat Fabian, 5'10 Senior Guard, Eastport SM

#8 Nick Fessenden, 6'6 Junior Forward, Harborfields

#9 Bruno Cavallo, 6'3 Senior Guard, Hampton Bays

#10 Tajric Boggs, 5'11 Senior Guard, Longwood.

Game 2 - 7:45 PM

White Team coached by Jim Mott, Central Islip

#1 Marques Charlton, 6'1 Senior Guard, Deer Park

#2 Nasha Smith, 6'0 Senior Guard, Copiague

#3 Joe Cepelak, 6'4 Senior Forward, Southold

#4 Lorenzo Warren, 6'2 Soph Forward, Lindenhurst

#5 John Ford, 6'4 Senior Forward, Sachem North

#6 Matt McLeod, 6'3 Junior Forward, Harborfields

#7 Cameron Cullen, 6'5 Senior Forward, East Islip

#8 Jorell Johnson, 6'0 Senior Guard, William Floyd

#9 Patrick Piasecki, 6'7 Senior Center, Longwood

#10 Curtis Williams, 6'5 Senior Fwd, Ward Melville

Black Team coached by Brian Stzabnik, Miller Place

#1 Taylor Sowah, 6'4 Senior Guard, Miller Place

#2 Derrick Franklin, 5'11 Junior Guard, Central Islip

#3 Jean Chery, 5'9 Senior Guard, Brentwood

#4 Reginald Augustus, 5'10 Junior Guard, C. Islip

#5 Paris Parks, 6'0 Junior Guard, Longwood

#6 Chris Green, 6'2 Senior Guard, Longwood

#7 Dantre Longhorne, 6'5 Senior Forward, Greenport

#8 Darien Croft, 5'11 Junior Guard, Amityville

#9 Emile Blackman, 6'2 Sophomore Forward, HHHW

#10 Reid Drzal, 6'6 Senior Center, Bayport Blue Pt

Suffolk Coaches Academy

The 30th Annual 2009 Fall Suffolk County Coaches Academy, which was attended by over 40 college coaches last year, will be held Saturday, September 19th and Saturday, September 26th at Suffolk CC Selden Campus. Underclassmen should report at 5:30 PM.and seniors at 7:30 PM. The cost: is $70/player. Public school players only, and you must be invited by your high school coach. The rosters for the Suffolk County Top 40 All-Star Double Header, which is 10/1 this year, are chosen from players that attend the Coaches Academy, and the team that represents Suffolk County in the Long Island All-Star Game, which will be 10/12, are chosen from the Top 40, so make sure you're at the Academy if you want to play in these top events!

Dr. John Foley Passes At 76

Former Ward Melville Athletic Director Dr. John "Jack" Foley passed away after a long illness. Jack Foley compiled an incredible list of accomplishments in his long career, but to basketball fans he is best known as the former chairman of Suffolk County Basketball, which he oversaw during the 70s and 80s. Many believe that was the golden age of Suffolk hoops. He was also instrumental in the development of the New York State Basketball Championships. A former president of Section XI, he was inducted into the Suffolk County Hall of Fame, the NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame, and the National Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. A funeral Mass will be offered Friday at 9:30 a.m. at St. James Roman Catholic Church. Burial will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson, the Special Olympics or the United Way. OBIT

Jerry Powell's

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Tobias Chooses Tennessee

Hills West's Tobias Harris, one of the top ranked high school prospects in the country, will be attending the University of Tennessee. MORE There is a good article about him on ESPN's website. ARTICLE

Harborfields Rolls Over Jericho

Harborfields displayed all of their strengths in a commanding 66-43 win over previously unbeaten Jericho. The Tornadoes shot well, dominated the boards, and played tough defense, preventing the Jayhawks from mounting any serious threats.

Jordan Kanzer's three pointer cut an early Harborfields' lead to 1, but 8 straight points by Matt McLeod, including back to back threes, gave Harborfields an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Brian Lindo drove into the lane from the right wing, pulled up and scored to make it 24-11at the 6:40 mark of the second quarter, and Nick Fessenden's tip-in made it 33-19 Harborfields at the half. Eric McLean's jumper made it 36-19 early in the 3rd quarter, and as the quarter wound down, jumpers by Matt Curry and Patrick Ryan gave the Tornadoes a 19 point lead. Curry opened up the fourth quarter with a putback to make it 50-29, and a three point play by McLeod made it 55-33 with 5:21 remaining and Harborfields cruised home from there. 12/28

12/27 High School Recaps

DeShawn Moorer's two free throws gave Malverne the lead in the 4th overtime period, and his basket iced it as the Mules defeated West Hempstead 92-89. Moorer finished with 56 points!.....Hempstead Coach Ted Adams picked up his 480th career win, good for 2nd place all-time on Long Island behind East Hampton's Ed Petrie, as Hempstead added to Long Island's lead over New York City by defeating Samuel Gompers 71-57.....Battle tested Sachem North faced unbeaten Kings Park having lost five in a row, but against some of the top teams in the county. The tough competituion paid off, as the Flaming Arrows handed the Kingsmen a 47-43 defeat. North's Jon Ford led all scorers with 15 points....A missed LuHi free throw in the final seconds of regulation forced overtime, and #2 Long Island Lutheran then gave up a four point lead with 1:27 to go in the extra session and fell to Stepinac 43-40.

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Wyandanch Defeats CM

Wyandanch has a firm grip on first place in Suffolk League 7, improving to 6-0 with a 73-58 win over second place Center Moriches. The Warriors rallied from a 36-28 deficit behind 31 points from Qualice Jones. Jones got them going by hitting a three pointer just before the halftime buzzer to bring them within 5, just when it began to look like Center Moriches might take control. Then with the score 40-33 Center Moriches early in the third quarter, Wyandanch made its move, reeling off 10 straight points on a putback by Alexander Williams, a fast break basket by Mark Granville, back to back baskets by Jones, and a turn around jumper by Saheam King in the low post that gave them a 3 point lead. Joe Gonzalez broke the run for CM, and the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with Wyandanch leading by 2 at the end of 3 quarters. Harvey Houpe's three pointer from the right wing gave Center Moriches an early 4th quarter lead, and two free throws by Jon Ward-Adams made it 50-47 CM, but back to back three pointers by Jones and it was 53-50 Wyandanch with 6:25 to go, and back to back fast break baskets by Williams made it 59-52 with 4:39 to go. Jumpers by Williams and King gave the Warriors a 10 point lead with less than 3 minutes to play, Jorell Pinckney's fast break basket made it 67-55 at the 2:45 mark, and a putback by Will Hart and Williams' basket off a drive from the left wing made it 71-55 with 1:20 to go. Game Over. 1/13

Friends Catches Locust Valley

Friends Academy dug themselves out of an early hole, and then in the game's final seconds, Kellan Sehring scored off a set play to give them a dramatic 54-52 home win over Locust Valley and a share of first place in Nassau Conference ABC 5. It looked like it would be an easy win for first place Locust Valley, who raced out to a 24 - 7 lead, but the Quakers bounced back in the second quarter, with back to back three pointers by Marc Godlis and Travis Hefele and a putback by Sehring cutting the margin to 24-17. A drive by Tommy Costa continued the run, but a baseline jumper by Scott Yamond ended the drought for the Falcons, and a pull-up jumper by Chad Cloninger gave them a 28-19 lead at the half. Will Brennan's driving layup made it 30-19 Locust Valley as the second half got underway, and his steal and layup at the 6:26 mark of the third quarter gave them a 34-22 lead. Two free throws by Tom Sheehan bumped the lead to 14, but Peter Kaplan kept Friends within striking distance with a basket from underneath, and a three pointer from the left baseline by Josh Feshbach brought them within 9. Another three pointer, this time by Costa from the right wing, cut it to 43-37 with 1:03 remaining in the third quarter, and after the teams traded baskets, Costa's fast break basket made it 45-41 as the third quarter ended. Hefele opened up the fourth quarter with a three pointer from the left wing to make it a 1 point game, Sehring went 1 for 2 from the line to tie it at 45 all, and then Hefele knocked down another three, this time from the right wing, to give Friends their first lead. Back to back jumpers by Cloninger and Haydon Taylor put the Falcons back on top, and then Cloninger's free throw gave them a 2 point lead, but Feshbach tied it on a short jumper from the right baseline. Both teams struggled to score down the stretch, trading baskets, and with the score tied at 52, it was Friends ball under their own basket with 9 seconds remaining. They got the ball to Feshbach, who drove towards the lane, and as the defense converged on him, found Sehring alone under the basket for the game winner. 2/2

St. Mary's Rocks Molloy

St. Mary's was in complete control, rolling over Archbishop Molloy 83-60 behind 22 ponts and 10 rebounds from Chauvaughn Lewis. 1/31

Chaminade Over Holy Cross

With the score tied, Chaminde went on a late third quarter run to take a 43-38 lead on their way to a 60-50 victory over Holy Cross. Thomas Morgan finished with 17 points and Dylan Sinnickson 16.

St. Anthony's Hammers McClancy

St. Anthony's blew it open with 42-27 second half, beating Msgr. McClancy 71-48. Rexton Gordon led a balanced attack with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. 1/31

1/30 High School Recaps

In one of Long Island's top rivalries, #3 Longwood defeated Brentwood 86-74 to sweep the season series from the Indians. Paris Parks led the Lions with 23 points, Tajric Boggs had 20, and Darien Davis 19. Longwood improved to 10-0 in conference and 14-0 on Long Island.....St. Anthony's rode a 44-24 second half to a 71-62 win over #15 Holy TrinityRexton Gordon finished with 26 points for St. Anthony's.....#16 East Islip, playing their second straight game without leading scorer Cameron Cullen,improved to 9-0 in conference with a 49-41 win over rival West Islip. Anthony Gibson led the way with 19 points and Evan Maxwell had 15 points and 12 rebounds.....Copiague jumped out to a 19-6 lead, but Bellport battled back to take a 71-64 win. Connor Fedge had 19 points and 12 rebounds.....West Babylon moved into a second place tie with Bellport in League 4 after defeating Smithtown West 78-61 for their 5th straight victory. The streak includes wins over both Bellport and Copiague. Kyle Kube had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles ....

1/29 High School Recaps

#2 Long Island Lutheran took it on the chin from Cordozo of the PSAL. The Judges, who had been struggling, put it all together and came away with a 74-32 victory.....Miller Place moved into a second place tie in Suffolk League 6 with a 61-46 win over Amityville. Taylor Sowah led the way with 24 points and 6 assists..... Manhasset rocked Jericho 70-47 to remain in a first place tie with Malverne in Nassau ABC2. Alessandro Troia had 25 points and Evan Pupelis 12 points and 16 rebounds.....LWA met Martin Luther in a PSAA first place showdown, with the Tigers removing all doubt with a dominating 75-42 win. Cantrell Barker had 16 points and Holden Collick 13 points and 17 rebounds for LWA.....Westbury was finally at full strength, with Sheldon Hagigal erupting for 28 points in his return to the lineup as Westbury defeated South Side in a 65-64 OT thriller......Southold and Hills West are the only undefeated teams left on Long Island. The Settlers picked up a classic 44-39 win over defending league champion Greenport. Greenport took a third quarter lead, but the Settlers rallied for the win to take control in League 8. Jon Cepelak had a game high 14 points.

Ward Melville Scares Longwood

#3 Longwood remained unbeaten on Long Island, escaping with a 67-65 road win over Ward Melville. The Lions trailed by 6 at the half. Darien Davis saved the day with 31 points, including the go-ahead three pointer with 1:25 remaining. 1/27

Harborfields Rolls Past Newfield

Harborfields was in command the entire way, rolling to a 70-47 victory over Newfield, the Wolverine's first home loss of the season. Matt Curry's three pointer from the left basline gave the Tornadoes a 12 point lead with about 6 minutes to go in the half, and then a steal and fast break basket by Eric McLean made it 28-14. Four straight points by Travis Simon cut the lead to 10, and two free throws by Ed Wenzel and 1 by Dylan McBride made it 28-21, but a putback by Curry, a baseline drive by Nick Fessenden, and a three point play by Curry and the lead was back to 14 with 1:12 to go and that was the lead at the break. McBride opened the second half scoring with 2 free throws to bring the Wolverines within 12, but Curry answered with a three pointer. Matt McLeod's fast break basket at the 5:47 mark of the third quarter made it 46-29, and two free throws and a putback by Fessenden made it 50-29. A free throw by McLeod and another basket by Fessenden gave Harborfields a 34 point lead with 3:42 to go in the quarter, and the game was never in doubt after that. 1/25

St. Mary's Over Friars in OT

This year’s L.I. CHSAA is incredibly exciting. It appears that almost any team can win on any given day. St. John the Baptist may be undefeated, but, with the exception of St. Dominic’s, the Cougars have beaten their opponents by an average of just 4.8 points. Most of the other CHSAA league games have been very close contests. St. John the Baptist recently defeated Holy Trinity by 3, St. Mary’s outlasted Holy Trinity by 1, Holy Trinity upended Kellenberg by 2, St. Anthony’s overcame Holy Trinity by 3, and St. Mary’s beat Chaminade by 8. St. Dominic, clearly in the midst of an off-year, even came within 2 points of beating St. Anthony’s. So there was no surprise when St. Mary’s visited the St. Anthony’s Friars Friday evening and Gaels found themselves trailing for the entire first half. The half time score was St. Anthony’s 41 St. Mary’s 31. The Gaels racheted up their defense in the third quarter and by quarter’s end, they were trailing the Friars by 1, 48-47. The 4th quarter was a dandy one with Nico Roberts on a hot 3-point shooting spree but the Gaels were also hitting their shots and playing fierce defense at the other end. St. Mary’s finally took the lead late in the 4th and were about to celebrate a victory …until Rexton Gordon hit an impressive 3-pt bucket at the buzzer. Enter Overtime. The teams traded leads back and forth in the O.T. period and the Gaels struggled at the free throw line, making it anyone’s game until the final minute. Guard Dante Agnew injured his finger and was replaced at the free throw line by Kaleef Chaplin, who coolly sank two pressure free throws, followed shortly thereafter by one more free throw that gave the Gaels a three point lead with less than 10 seconds left. St. Anthony’s was unable to get off a 3 basket to tie the score. The final: St. Mary’s-69 St. Anthony’s-66. Agnew led the Gaels with 15 points and 5 assists, joined by 14 each from Chad Morrish and Chavaughn Lewis. Justin Bailey and Charles McCan had 12 and 10, respectively. Chaplin added 4 assists. St. Anthony’s was led by Gordon’s 26 and Roberts’16. 1/23

South Side Keeps Pace

The South Side Cyclones remained in a first place tie with Elmont after a decisive 65-47 win over Hewlett behind 21 points from Leon Taylor. South Side broke it open with a 21-7 second quarter. The Cyclones took an early 4-0 lead on a putback by Julius Jones and a fast break basket by David White, and after a three pointer by Hewlett's CJ Brady, back to back threes by Greg Cove and Taylor put them up 10-3. Michael Eckerle made a nice move in the lane and scored for the Bulldogs, but six straight points by the Cyclones, on a jumper by Cohen from the left elbow, two free throws by White, and a fast break basket by Cove and they were up 16-5 with 3:20 to go in the opening quarter. Eckerle continued to battle against the tide, making another strong move inside, and then he followed it up with a three pointer to bring Hewlett within 6. Dylan Pastor's fast break buck made it 16-12 with under 2 minutes to play in the quarter, and after a Cohen free throw, Roey Shmuel's baseline jumper made it 17-14 at the end of one. Darren Nickelson's athletic putback got South Side going as the second quarter opened, and Ryan Spadaford rebounded and scored to make it 21-14, but Eckerle answered with a spinning hook shot in the lane. South Side was undeterred, with Taylor knocking down a three from straight on, the first of 7 straight South Side points. The Bulldogs were still in it after Dylan Sasson's three pointer made it 28-21 with 2:52 to go in the half, but not for long. Back to back threes by Taylor and Cohen made it 34-21, and back to back fastbreak buckets by White 38-21, and that was the score at the half. Brady opened the second half with a three pointer for Hewlett, but nothing came of it. Taylor and Cohen answered with baskets, and the Bulldogs were never able to seriously threaten the rest of the way. The Cyclones host Westbury 1/29 and Elmont 2/5. 1/22

1/19 High School Recaps

St. Mary's fought off Holy Trinity 69-68, recovering from a first quarter deficit with a 22-8 second quarter. Justin Bailey led the Gaels with 17 points..... Bayport-Blue Point claimed sole possession of first place in Suffolk League 6 with a 68-55 win over Amityville. Brandon Mincher led a balanced attack with 15 points and 8 assists.....St. John The Baptist rallied from a 7 point halftime deficit to beat Chaminade 73-68. Khaleev Ginyard and Joe Gibbons had 30 points each......Greenport pulled away from Stony Brook to claim sole possession on 2nd place in Suffolk League 8. Dantre Langhorne had 22 points and 11 rebounds.....Last place Lynbrook stunned first

place Manhasset 52-37 in Nassau ABC 2 action. It was Lynbrook's first conference victory and Manhasset's first conference loss. Matt Patick led the Owls with 17 points.....

1/22 High School Recaps

Greenport kept pace with league leading Southold, defeating Class D rival Bridgehampton 54-47. They got 18 points from both Dantre Langhorne and Tristen Mangham. The big rematch with Southold is 1/29 at Southold.....Lindenhurst picked up their 11th win in their last 12 games with a 77-63 win over Sachem North. Rob Balkam was 7-11 from three point range for 21 points.....Malverne dropped Manhasset into a three way tie for first place with a 64-63 come from behind victory. Xavier Bernard knocked down a three pointer with 6 seconds on the clock for the win. Malverne, Manhasset, and Jericho are all 4-2 in ABC 2.....

1/20 High School Recaps

Second place Hicksville brought Nassau AA 2 leader Oceanside back to the pack, defeating the Sailors 43-42 John Petrucelli had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.....Patchogue-Medford had a 15-10 first quarter lead, but a 20-4 second quarter put #4 Longwood on top and on their way to a 68-49 victory. Darien Davis had 21 points and Pat Piasecki 17.....

Long Island vs New York City

Martin Luther King weekend is traditionally a big weekend in the LI/NYC rivalry, with many games scheduled between the two regions, and this year was no exception. Long Island came into it with a comfortable 10 game lead, but that cushion quickly evaporated as the city reeled off wins in 4 out of the first 5 games, with only Westbury breaking through. But Long Island finished strong, with LWA beating the PSAL's John Bowne, LuHi defeating Forest Hills, and Hills West knocking off Bishop Loughlin to bump the lead back up to 10 games. Long Island is going for their third straight win in the series. 1/19

Long Island's Leading Scorers

5 game minimum through 1/17

NAME

Marc Augustin

Dantre Langhorne

D'Angelo Smith

Tobias Harris

Franklin Milian

DeShawn Moorer

Garen Spendjian

Darien Davis

Michael Eckerle

Warren Jackson

James Bulva

Darien Croft

Cameron Cullen

Shamoy McIntosh

Christian Lynch

Christian Sbarro

Matt McLeod

Chris Pisciotta

Paris Abrams

Robert Goldstein

Jerry Mordi

Patrick Granata

Jordan Richman

TEAM

V.S. Central

Greenport

Southampton

Hills West

OSNA

Malverne

Glen Cove

Longwood

Hewlett

Martin Luther

Mineola

Amityville

East Islip

Floral Park

Mercy

Portledge

Harborfields

Kellenberg

Westbury

Seaford

V.S. Central

North Shore

Roslyn

PPG

24.0

23.6

23.5

23.4

22.6

22.3

21.5

21.4

21.2

21.1

20.8

20.7

20.5

20.4

20.3

20.2

20.0

Hills West Rocks WB

West Babylon stayed with top ranked Hills West for most of the first half, trailing by 3 with 3:38 to go in the second quarter, but the Colts started a run just before halftime that never ended, adding 56 second half points to defeat the Eagles 94-65. It looked like Hills West might take command right from the opening tip, jumping out 7-0 on a putback by Tobias Harris and 16-3 on a steal and dunk by Tavon Sledge, a steal and fast break layup by Aaron McCree, and a three pointer by Tyler Harris, but West Babylon scored the last 6 points of the first quarter on back to back putbacks by Kyle Kube and a pull up jumper at the buzzer by Matt Sullivan to cut the lead to 16-11. Tobias opened up the second quarter with a turn-around jumper from the low post to make it 18-11, but Sullivan pulled up at the three point line and knocked one down to make it a 4 point game. Tobias answered with a three from straight away, and Sledge scored on a drive from left wing to make it 23-14 with 5:25 to go in the half, but Taylor Frisch looped one in from the lane and Kube nailed a baseline jumper to cut the Hills West lead to 5. Tyler Harris made it a 7 point game with a pull-up jumper, but a three pointer by Kyle Manuelian and a free throw by Frish cut it to 25-22. Hills West responded decisively, with Tobias hitting a pull-up jumper from the lane, Anthony Rollino stealing the ball and scoring, and Emile Blackman hauling in a long rebound and scoring to give the Colts a 9 point lead. They took an 11 point lead into the locker room. Tyler Harris scored on a drive from the left wing as the second half got underway, and then his three point play made it 42-26 Hills West. He added a three pointer at the 5 minute mark for a 17 point lead, and back to back baskets by Sledge made it 53-33 with 3:01 to go in thr 3rd quarter. West Babylon wouldn't threaten the rest of the way. 2/4

NAME

Landon Twine

Chad Coachman

Tobias Harris

Marc Augustin

DeShawn Moorer

Garen Spendjian

D'Angelo Smith

Darien Davis

Dantre Langhorne

James Bulva

Terrance Murchie

Michael Eckerle

Christian Sbarro

Shamoy McIntosh

Khaleev Ginyard

Tim Pandolfi

Darien Croft

Franklin Milian

Christian Lynch

TEAM

Waldorf

Upper Room

Hills West

V.S. Central

Malverne

Glen Cove

Southampton

Longwood

Greenport

Mineola

Carey

Hewlett

Portledge

Floral Park

SJB

Stony Brook

Amityville

OSNA

Mercy

PPG

29.8

25.2

24.0

23.8

23.7

22.6

22.3

22.2

21.7

21.0

20.9

20.8

20.6

20.3

20.2

20.0

SJB Over St. Mary's By 1

Khaleev Ginyard's two free throws in the game's final seconds gave St. John The Baptist a big 69-68 come from behind road victory over St. Mary's and solidified the Cougar's lock on first place in the NSCHSAA. The fans were all pumped up as this one got underway, and so apparently was the home team, jumping out to a quick 13-0 lead, capped off by a steal and fast break basket by Chauvaughn Lewis, a three pointer by Dante Agnew, and a free throw by Charles McCann. Dante Thompson-Smallwood broke the opening run with a basket from underneath, but Lewis hit a three pointer as the quarter wound down to make it 18-4. St. John's got right back into it as the first quarter ended and second quarter got underway, scoring 8 straight points on a fast break basket by Thomas Hirten, another by Ginyard, a pull-up jumper from the foul line by Thompson, and two free throws by Joe Gibbons to make it 18-12 with 5:43 to go in the half. It was 24-14 St. Mary's on a jumper from the left baseline by Justin Bailey, and 26-14 when Kirk Bailey drove the baseline and got off a hook shot in the lane, but John Peloso's short jumper and two free throws by Sean Smith cut the Gael's lead to 8. Wilson Molina picked up a loose ball and knocked down a jumper from the left wing to push the St. Mary's lead back to 10, and Justin Bailey's three pointer with 1:07 left made it 31-18, but the lead was down to 11 at the half on a fast break basket by Gibbons at the buzzer. Gibbons' two free throws and a pull up jumper by Robert Patch from just past the foul line brought St. John's within 7 at the 5:15 mark of the third quarter, and then two free throws by Smith and a fast break dunk by Thompson cut it to 37-34. Gibbons scored off a give and go to make it a 1 point game, and then a drive by Ginyard right through the heart of the defense with 3:44 left in the third quarter put the Cougars on top for the first time. Another jumper by Patch gave them a 3 point lead, but a three point play by McCann tied it at 40 all. Peloso put back his own miss to make it 42-40 SJB with 2:25 to go in the quarter, but Chaz Morrish answered with a three pointer for a 1 point St. Mary's lead. Peloso drove the baseline to put the Cougars back on top, and then Ginyard nailed a three pointer from the right wing to make it 47-43 St. John's, but the Gael's retook the lead on a putback by Lewis and a three by Morrish. Smith's drive in the waning seconds of the quarter put the Cougars up by one, but a three point play by Agnew made it 51-49 St. Mary's at the end of three. Lewis put back his own miss to start the 4th quarter, giving St. Mary's a 4 point lead, and followed it with a steal and fast break basket that made it 55-49. A baseline jumper by Morrish with 4:18 remaining gave the Gael's an 8 point lead, but Ginyard hit a big long range three to cut it to 64-59, and two clutch free throws by Patch, who had struggled from the line, brought the Cougars within 3 with 3:40 on the clock. Ginyard's two free throws made it a 1 point game, and then a putback by Gibbons put St. John's on top with 2:11 showing, but Lewis answered with two free throws, and then Morrish drove from the left wing and banked one off the glass for a 3 point St. Mary's lead. Patch kept the Cougars in the game, cutting the St. Mary's lead to 1 with a jumper from the the top of the key with 27 seconds left, and after a St. Mary's turnover with 19 seconds on the clock, Ginyard was fouled trying to break free on the inbound pass and sank both free throws for the win and sole possession of 1st. 2/2

Long Island's Leading Scorers

5 game minimum through 1/31

#3 SJB Rips #5 Chaminade

St. John The Baptist ended Chaminade's 7 game winning streak decisively, hammering the Flyers

72-49. It looked like it might be the game everybody was expecting at first, with the teams trading baskets at a fast pace. But St. John's gradually started to build a lead, going up 8 on a steal and basket by Thomas Hirten, and they had a 16-10 lead at the quarter. It wasn't clear what was happening though, and Chaminade seemed to be just a run away from getting back into it. But the lead slowly kept building.....a jumper from the left wing by Robert Patch made it a 10 point game, and then a nice cut and basket by Joseph Gibbons made it 31-20. Still, it was 31-22 at the half and the Flyers were well within striking distance. Things, however, were starting to come into focus. The Chaminade shooters were really struggling to get touches and open looks, and their shots were all closely contested. Even when they did get off clean shots, they weren't falling. On the other end, Gibbons was getting good looks and knocking everything down, while Ginyard was having a tougher time getting open looks, but it didn't seem to matter. He was knocking down the shots anyway. The second half began with a putback by Chaminade's Kevin Hargrove, but back to back jumpers by Gibbons and Ginyard made it 35-24. The Flyers did manage to pull within 7 during the quarter, but Hirten's looping drive made it 45-32 at the 1:31 mark, and a three pointer at the buzzer by Gibbons made it 49-33 SJB at the end of three. Still plenty of time for Chaminade to make a run, but a feeling of inevitability had started to fill the gym, and if there was any hope left for the visitors, St. John's removed all doubt by opening the final quarter on a 14-1 run, capped off by back to back threes by Ginyard and Patch. 2/16

Hills West Nationally Ranked

#1 Hills West is now ranked 25th in the country by USA Today, the only school from New York State to appear in the rankings, and the first from Long Island to be nationally ranked since St. Mary's in 2005 and both St. Mary's and Amityville in 2002.

Syosset Tests Hempstead

Syosset rallied in the 4th quarter to take the lead, but Hempstead fought them off and came back for a 68-66 victory on a clutch driving layup by Marquis Posey with 40 seconds remaining. Hempstead had command of the game right from the start, jumping out to a 12-0 lead on a baseline three pointer by Skyler Moore and Ismael Pierre's short jumper from the lane, but Syosset wouldn't let the Tigers put them away, cutting the lead to 5 on a basket by Matt Quinn from the lane, and the teams traded baskets the rest of the opening quarter, with Pierre's jumper making it 20-13 Tigers after one. Hempstead reestablished control early in the second quarter, with a dunk by Moore and a three pointer by Posey giving them a 14 point advantage, but 7 straight points by the Braves, including a three point play by Brett Schwartz, made it 27-20 with 3:19 remaining in the half. The Tigers answered with 9 straight points of their own, including two spectacular baskets by Moore, who hit a beautiful turn around fade away jumper, and then hammered home a fast break dunk, but Spencer Hazan's three pointer at the buzzer kept Syosset within striking distance, making it 38-25 at the half. The teams traded baskets the entire third quarter, but as it wound down, Syosset shaved three points off the lead on 2 free throws and a jumper by Quinn, and it was a 10 point game after three. Erik Schwarz drove down the right baseline and scored to open the 4th quarter, drawing Syosset within 8, and then a drive by Brett Schwartz and a three pointer from straight on by Matt Cohen cut it to 58-55 with 5:22 remaining. Back to back drives by Pierre and Posey put the Tigers back up 7, but they couldn't hit free throws down the stretch, while Hazan knocked two down and Mohammad Kassamali went 1-2 for Syosset, and it was a 3 point game with 2:19 showing. Hazan's basket cut it to 1, and Quinn's runner with 1:29 remaining gave Syosset their first and only lead, sending the big Syosset contingent into a frenzy, but Posey saved the day for Hempstead. He tied it up with a free throw, and then hit the game winner on an aggressive drive down the lane. The Tigers now face Valley Stream Central next Thursday in the Section 8 Class AA quarterfinals. 2/13

Hewlett Rallies Past Floral Park

In a Nassau/Section 8 Quarterfinal game, Floral Park had a 9 point lead after three quarters, but Hewlett opened the fourth quarter on a 15-0 run and went on to defeat the Knights 69-59 behind 31 points and 15 rebounds from Michael Eckerle 2/21

Malverne Repeats In Class B

The Malverne Mules, who were not expected to be as strong as they have been in recent seasons, closed out their regular season with 6 straight wins, and then tore through both Cold Spring Harbor and Oyster Bay in the Nassau/Section 8 Class B playoffs to capture their 5th title in the last 6 years. DaShawn Moorer totaled 55 points in the two playoff games. 2/20

Farmingdale Snuff's Massapequa

Both Farmingdale and Massapequa struggled to score in their Section 8 Class AA Quarterfinal matchup, with the Dalers coming away with a 36-21 victory

over their Route 110 rivals. Massapequa took a 5-1 lead with 4:13 to go in the opening quarter and led 8-4 after Matt Smocovich's three pointer, but 7 straight points by Farmingdale's Dalique Mingo, on a looping shot from the lane, a three pointer from straight on, and a back-door cut, gave Farmingdale an 11-8 lead as the first quarter ended. A foul line jumper brought Massapequa within 1 as the second quarter got underway, and the Chiefs took the lead on a 3 pointer by Matt Young from the left baseline. They led 15-13 at the half. Morton Chambers tied it with a basket from underneath to start the second half, the first of 21 straight Farmingdale points, and his two free throws put the Dalers ahead to stay. Barnabas Prince ended the third quarter with a runner to make it 25-15, and it was 30-15 after Alex Woloshin's three pointer with 5:48 left. Prince hauled in a long rebound and hit a short jumper to make it a 17 point Farmingdale lead, and a drive by Mingo made it 34-15. Patrick Meehan finally broke the run with a free throw with 4:10 remaining, but the game was already well in hand. 2/18

Harborfields Overwhelms Glenn

Harborfields had no trouble with rival John Glenn, beating them 77-37 in a Section 11 Class A Quarterfinal. Glenn's Roshawn Polight opened the game with a runner, but Matt Curry's three point play gave Harborfields the lead, a baseline drive by Matt McLeod made it 5-2 Tornadoes, and a three pointer by Curry made it 8-2 and Harborfields was ahead to stay. Curry's second three pointer made it 12-5, his third 23-8, and Patrick Ryan's three pointer at the buzzer gave Harborfields a 30-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ryan put back his own miss to start the second quarter, giving Harborfields a 24 point lead, Nick Fessenden's hook shot made it 34-8. and a jumper by Curry made it a 30 point game with 4:22 left in the half. Glenn never seriously threatened the rest of the way. Curry had 22 first half points and finished with 26, while McLeod carried the load in the second half and finished with 24. Lucas Woodhouse had 10 assists 2/18

John Glenn Hammers Hauppauge

John Glenn has been very impressive at times this season, and not so impressive at other times. Today they impressed, rolling over Hauppauge 55-39 in a Suffolk Class A outbracket game. Roshawn Polight led the Knights with 20 points. 2/15

Hills West Over Christ The King

#1 Hills West continued their string of impressive victories, defeating Christ The King 73-69 at the Prime Time Shootout. The Colts took the early lead, but foul trouble sent McDonald's All-American Tobias Harris to the bench, allowing Christ The King to rally for a 1 point advantage at the half. Back at full strength, Hills West bid to take command in the second half behind Harris and Tavon Sledge, but could not put the Royals away and had to hold them off from the free throw line down the stretch, where Sledge and Tyler Harris went a combined 6-8 in the closing minutes. Sledge finished with 24 points and 12 assists, while Tobias Harris, who fouled out with 2 minutes remaining, finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 blocks. 2/14

Elmont Holds Off Jericho

The 11th ranked Elmont Spartans had to rally from a first quarter deficit, and then battled the Jayhawks back and forth before pulling away for a 49-41 victory in a Nassau/Section 8 Quarterfinal game. Dominique Williams had 13 points and Devin Guerre 10 to lead Elmont 2/21

Southold Falls To Stony Brook

Southold and Stony Brook played two terrific games during the regular season, with Southold winning both and finishing the regular season undefeated. But when the two teams met again in the Suffolk County/Section 11 Class C Final, it was Stony Brook that prevailed in another great game, winning 50-48 to advance to the Long Island Championship Game against Nassau C Champion Friends Academy. Tim Pandolphi lifted the Bears to the dramatic win, nailing a three pointer from somewhere in Connecticut with 20 seconds on the clock, and then icing it with three free throws down the stretch. He finished with a game high 27 points. 2/20

2/18 High School Recaps

LWA Coach Jeff Weiss picked up his 400th career victory as the Tigers finished their regular season with a 74-63 win over Browning, improving to 23-1, the best record in school history. Edwin Sainvil led LWA with 25 points.....Top seeds Center Moriches and Wyandanch advanced to the Section 11 Class B Championship Game. CM defeated Southampton 70-56 behind 30 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists and 8 steals by Jon Ward Adams, and Wyandanch rallied past Hampton Bays 68-63. Qualice Jones was the hero, scoring twice in the final seconds as Wyandanch overcame a 6 point deficit with less than two minutes remaining.... After losing decisively to Valley Stream Central in their last regular season matchup, Hempstead rebounded with a 70-66 victory over the Eagles in the Section 8 Class AA Quarterfinals. Ismael Pierre led a balanced attack with 19 points for the Tigers....Top seeds Uniondale and Baldwin advanced easily in other Section 8 Class AA action. Uniondale rolled past Hicksville 57-32 behind 14 points from Goey Charles and 12 by Romario Williams. Baldwin pulled away from Herricks 54-39 led by Donte Howell's 13 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals.....Bayport-Blue Point and Miller Place advanced to a Section 11 Class A Semifinal match-up. Miller Place rocked Comsewogue 63-31. Taylor Sowah finished with 22 points. BBP tripped up Kings Park 63-42. Brandon Mincher and Miles Prendergast both had 20 points for the Phantoms

FINAL FOURS

Section 8 Class A

Elmont vs Hewlett

Westbury vs South Side

CHAMPION: Westbury

Section 11 Class A

Islip vs Harborfields

Miller Place vs Bayport-BP

CHAMPION: Harborfields

Section 8 Class AA

Uniondale vs Hempstead

Baldwin vs Farmingdale

CHAMPION: Uniondale

Section 11 Class AA

Longwood vs Lindenhurst

Hills West vs Bay Shore

CHAMPION: Hills West

NSCHSAA

St. Mary's vs Chaminade

SJB vs Holy Trinity

CHAMPION: St. Mary's

SJB Undefeated League Season

St. John The Baptist beat Holy Trinity 77-63 to wrap up the first undefeated league season in the school's history, and then traveled to Colts Neck, New Jersey and beat the host team 75-67 to finish 22-2 overall heading into the NSCHSAA playoffs. Joe Gibbons led SJB with 27 points against Holy Trinity and Khaleev Ginyard had 23, while Ginyard led with 23 against Colts Neck and Gibbons had 20. 2/20

2/19 High School Recaps

South Side slipped by West Hempstead 46-44, rallying to take a 9 point fourth quarter lead and then holding on for the win. Leon Taylor had 16 points for South Side.....Walt Whitman beat Bellport 41-39 on the road. Anthony Iakhuele and Myles Jones had 10 points each for Whitman and Jones added 13 rebounds....Westbury came from 12 down to defeat Manhasset 67-65 behind 24 points from Sheldon Hagigal, 18 by Lamard Herron, and 17 from Paris Abrams.....Bay Shore rocked East Islip 65-44. Jordan Allen had 18 for the Marauders and Malik Jackson 17

Islip Blisters Amityville

With a red hot Terrence Dzus knocking down shot after shot on his way to 18 first half points, and Andrew Oberg swatting away everything that came into the paint, Islip overwhelmed Amityville 64-49 in a Section 11 Class A quarterfinal game that was not as close as the final score. Islip moved right in front, with Dzus scoring on a fastbreak layup, and with the score tied at 4 all, his baseline 3 pointer ignited a 15-2 run that put the Buccaneers up 19-6 with 1:12 still to go in the first quarter. Amityville got the lead down to single digits early in the second quarter on Dejuhan Grey's pull-up jumper from the baseline, and C.J. Durrant's 3 free throws brought the Warriors within 8 with 5:25 to go in the half, but Dzus answered with 5 straight points, and a steal and basket by David Powell at the 2:50 mark gave Islip a 32-16 lead. As the half wound down, Matt McPartland's jumper made it a 20 point game at the break. Tyler Murphy's tip-in opened the second half scoring and gave the Buccaneers a 46-24 lead, and another three by Dzus put them up 25. Oberg made it 51-24 with a tough move from the low post, and then early in the fourth quarter, Dzus's drive gave them a 28 point lead. The lead was still 27 with 3:27 left. 2/18

Spring League 17 to 20 Year Olds