TEAM NEWS
Team Long Island Wins Pool
When you go into a big game missing three of your top seven players and then shoot poorly but still pull out a win against a good team, it’s a great feeling. Team Long Island took on PSAL Class AA Champion South Shore for first place in their pool and held off a three point shooting barrage by the Vikings to win it and finish 4-0 heading into next week’s playoffs. Copiague’s Mike Snowdon stepped into the starting lineup and had a big game to lead the way, scoring from inside and out, and he got help from St. Anthony's Tyrone Lyons, who scored, rebounded, and blocked shots, Alex Sobel from Ward Melville, who clogged up the lane, blocked shots and controlled the boards, and Frank Phelan from Floral Park, who once again ran the offense with skill and played very tough D. Savion Lewis came through down the stretch as he always seems to do, playing lockdown defense on a hot shooter to help stall the South Shore rally, Kevin Voigt was impressive once again, rebounding, defending and moving the ball well, Kenny Mathurin was his usual solid, aggressive self, and Jericho’s Brandon Weiss filled in again and did a nice job, capping off a good day with two big free throws in the final seconds to ice it.
Doubleheader Sweep
Team Long Island swept two games at NIKE/IS8 to improve to 3-0 in pool play, putting them in a great position to capture one of the top seeds in the Championship Round. Savion Lewis returned to the line-up after resting a sore toe and exploded for 14 first quarter points in the opener and finished with 24, a 77-51 win over 2 The Rack, and in game two, they avenged last Fall's loss to Positive Direction by a 74-65 margin, and Lewis had 25. Tyrone Lyons, Tyler Small, and Frank Phelan all played well in both games. Their last pool game is next Saturday May 12th at 4:15 PM and it should be a good one against the PSAL Champion Vikings, again at IS8 in Queens.
Team Long Island Takes Opener
Team Long Island went into its NIKE/IS8 opener knowing they would be without New York State Mr. Basketball Savion Lewis from Hills East and First Team All-Long Island selection and Nassau County Large School Player Of The Year Danny Ashley from Uniondale, but this is our deepest team ever and they quickly put any fears to rest, rallying from an early deficit to roll past a physically imposing Ball Hogs squad 86-68. Floral Park's Frank Phelan stepped into the starting point guard slot with only two practices under his belt and did an outstanding job, running the team with great skill and composure, Holy Trinity's Tyler Small and Hills East's Julien Crittenden did what they do best - score in bunches and defend, and forwards Tyrone Lyons from St. Anthony's and Alex Sobel from Ward Melville overcame first half foul trouble to completely outplay their bigger, stronger counterparts. The clincher, though, was that Team Long Island had the incredible luxury of bringing Garden City's Andrew DeSantis, North Babylon's Billy Muller, Massapequa's Kevin Voigt, Hills East's Kenny Mathurin, Copiague's Mike Snowden, and Jericho's Brandon Weiss off the bench, and as one fan said to me on the way out, “When their starters came out, they didn’t miss a beat!” It will be very exciting to see what they look like with everyone there, which they expect in Game 2. Crittendon was high scorer with 19 points and Small finished with 13. - 4/14/18
NIKE/IS8 Spring Pools Set
We take on the Ball Hogs in game 1, 2 The Rack in game 2, PD Nation in game 3, and the Viking Basketball Club
in game 4 of pool play. 2 The Rack is Springfield Gardens HS, a PSAL AA team who finished 13-12 last season, we lost to PD Nation (Queens based Positive Direction) in pool play last fall, and the Vikings, I believe, are PSAL AA Champion South Shore. - 4/12/18
Long Island's Home Court Advantage
A new program designed to showcase Long Island's best basketball players!
