Suffolk Boys Pull Away
It was a hard fought back and forth battle most of the way, but a late 13-3 run gave the Suffolk boys a 89-80 win over Nassau in the 2014 Alzheimer’s All-Star Basketball Classic. It was LuHi’s Elijah Bailey that opened the scoring with a fast break basket, then Southampton’s Naises Fulford answered with a three pointer from the right wing, and Baldwin’s Shane Gatling responded with a three from the top to quickly set the tone and give Nassau a 5-3 lead. Gatling scored again on a beautiful drive, but Brentwood’s Jamel Allen answered with a fast break basket and a jumper from the left wing to put Suffolk on top 8-7 and Floyd’s Devonte Dixon made it 10-7 with a great spinning drive through traffic that drew the approval of the packed gym. Gatling kept it close with two free throws, South Side’s Alex Sorenson put Nassau back on top with a putback, and LuHi’s Jose Martinez gave Nassau a four point lead with two free throws and a fast break basket, but Suffolk countered with a short turn-around jumper from the lane by Babylon’s Brendan Laing, a step-back jumper by Tavon Ginyard from Brentwood, a putback by Southampton’s Isaiah Johnson, and a baseline three by Ginyard and led 22-16 at the 10:23 mark. It was 25-18 after Newfield’s Jerrell Cowel knocked down a three pointer from left wing, but Bailey answered with a three from the top and LuHi’s Marvin Prochet rebounded and scored with 5:28 left in the half to bring Nassau back within 3. Uniondale’s Shomari Redd streaked down the court and got a beautiful outlet pass from LuHi’s Devonte Green, and then Green added two free throws to make it 31 all and it was 35 all at halftime. Dixon stole the ball and scored for a 2 point Suffolk lead as the second half got underway, but back to back baskets by Prochet and two free throws by LuHi’s Chris Burkley put Nassau on top 42-37. Northport’s Lucas Jarret broke the Nassau momentum with a short jumper from the left side, and then Dixon added a drive and a putback, and Jarret a putback to make it 45-42 Suffolk, but Sorenson responded with a three from the left wing to tie it. Suffolk moved back in front on a basket by Johnson and a putback by Cowell, and then Ginyard drilled a three off a nice pump fake to make it a 7 point game with 12:28 to play, but Nassau quickly closed the gap, tieing it at 59 on a fast break basket by Chris Kelly of St. Mary’s and a three from the top by Green. Suffolk edged out in front again, going up 64-61 on a drive by Ginyard, and then Cowell nailed a big three from the right baseline, Brentwood’s Jamel Allen converted a three point play, and Jarret scooped one in from the lane to make it 72-62. Allen’s three from the top made it 77-65 with 4:45 to go and put Nassau on the ropes, and they struggled to close the gap from there, coming up empty twice at the free throw line down the stretch. There was still hope, with the deficit down to 7 on a fast break basket by LuHi’s Chris Atkinson at the two minute mark, but Ginyard closed the door on them, knocking down two three pointers in the final seconds to seal the victory. MVP Ginyard led Suffolk with 17 points, Cowell had 12 points, and Allen and Dixon had 10 each. Prochet led all scorers with 20 points for Nassau, Green added 11, and Gatling and Atkinson had 9 each. 

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