**** Class AA Championship Game ****
Elmont 53 Hills East 51
Two talented teams with good senior leadership that play lock-down defense, it was a great game that was expected to be a great game, with the ultimate ending - a game winning shot at the buzzer.
Hills East utilized a 17-7 second quarter, led by 10 points from Brandon Varlack, to take a 28-23 halftime lead, but the Spartan's regained the lead behind Osagie Ekafor and Nassir Edwards, who combined for 13 of Elmont's 17 third quarter points, and the Spartans were up by 2 heading into the decisive fourth quarter. Kymani Dias put back his own miss early in the fourth to put the Spartans up 44-39, but Hills called time and set up a nice alley-oop play to Alan Brown that cut the margin to 3. Ekhator answered off an inbound play and it was back and forth from there down to the 3:06 mark, when Jordan Cador drained a right elbow jumper to bring the Thunderbirds back within 2. Elmont had three chances to build the lead on the other end, but thanks to two blocked shots by Cador, came up empty, and Cador continued to assert himself, drawing a foul and tying it up with two free throws with 2:25 to play. Cassius Moore put the Spartans back on top with two free throws, but Varlack kept pace, pump-faking from the lane and scoring on a drive to even it up at 49 with 1:29 left. Elmont retook the lead again with 1:03 to play, but missed 2 out of 4 free throws to do it, and Hills took advantage, drawing even on two pressure packed shots from the charity stripe by Ryan Zeh with 18 seconds remaining. East's Alan Brown almost got a steal as Elmont worked the ball around looking for the last shot, but he deflected the ball out of bounds, so after a time out, it was still Elmont ball, inbounding at mid court with 2.6 seconds to play in regulation. The Spartans could not inbound the ball at first, and a 5 second violation looked possible, but Arlyn Brown got open coming back to the ball, took two dribbles and launched a shot from behind the right elbow in heavy traffic and it bounced off the glass and into the basket at the buzzer for the game winner! BOX SCORE WATCH REPLAY
THE 2023-2024
THE LONG ISLAND REGIONAL FINALS OF
THE NYSPHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
**** Class A Championship Game ****
Friends Academy 61 Southampton 60
Two of Long Island's most successful basketball programs that have both made recent trips upstate , and Friends was on a 16 game winning streak and Southampton on an 11 game winning streak. You couldn't ask for a better matchup.
Friends Academy got off to a great start, with freshman point guard Evan Valdez and senior forward Jackson Obrien sparking them to a 16-8 lead at the first quarter buzzer, but the second quarter was back and forth, with Josh McKenzie and Jake Bock carrying the load for the Quakers, while Dominick White had a big quarter for the Mariners, finishing with 8 points. In the end, the quarter ended 18-17 Friends and the Quakers took a 9 point lead into the halftime locker room
The Mariners struck first in the second half, with Naevon Williams pulling up for a jumper from the left side of the lane and Tyson Reddick burying a left wing three pointer to cut the margin to 4, but McKenzie answered with a short jumper from the left baseline and O'Brien barreled to the basket on a fast break and scored and the Quaker lead was 8. Southampton relentlessly continued their push, cutting the lead to 4 repeatedly, and then to 3, but Friends promptly answered each time and as time ran down in the quarter, Jake Bock drilled a left wing three and O'Brien scored on a drive from the top to make it 47-39 Friends. A Williams jumper from the top of the key made it a 6 point game, and after a controversial call on the other end that took a basket away fgrom the Quakers, he added a free throw to cut the margin to 5 at the third quarter buzzer.
White got a pass underneath and scored to open the fourth quarter, and Williams caught a pass on a basket cut from the left side and dunked and suddenly, Southampton was within 1, but Kramer held them off with a three from the left foul line extended. The teams traded baskets and free throws from there down to the 3:42 mark, when a charging call against Friends set up a determined Alex Franklin drive that tied the score at 54. The Quakers regained the lead on a free throw, and then O'Brien preserved it with a block on the other end and after a time out, he hammered home a dunk on the inbound play that put Friends up by 3. White answered quickly, scoring on a drive from the right baseline, and then Franklin, who already had 6 points in the quarter, tied it with a free throw with 47 second to play. The Quakers brought the ball into the front court and called time with 38 seconds left, and coming out of the time out, a foul call sent Kramer to the line and he knocked down both shots to make it 59-57 Quakers with 0:28 showing. With everybody in the gym expecting Southampton to hold for the last shot, Williams caught the defense off guard, scoring easily on a beautiful hesitation drive, drawing a foul and knocking down the free throw with 18 seconds remaining to give the Mariners their first lead of the game. But Friends had plenty of time and once again, brought the ball into the front court and called time, this time with 14 seconds to play. Valdez got the inbound pass and after surveying the play developing in front of him, saw an opening, looping around the right wing and down the baseline heading for the basket. The defense converged and cut him off, but he found Josh McKenzie underneath and McKenzie knocked down an acrobatic shot in traffic as the seconds ticked down for the game winner. Great game. Next up, the Final Four in Glens Falls against Section 5 Champion Warren HS from western New York.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
LONG ISLAND BASKETBALL
NYSPHSAA
****Class B Champion Game****
Section 8 Champ West Hempstead (18-4) vs Section 11 Champ Pierson (15-6)
West Hempstead 75 Pierson 54
It was a tight game at first, with West Hempstead taking a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter on a Kayden Nuzzi drive down the right baseline. Luke Seltzer’s jumper put Pierson back on top as the second quarter got underway, and he added a runner to make it 18-15 Whalers, but Isaiah Blunt kept it close with an elbow jumper. The Pierson lead was 4 after Decaln Cole’s three pointer from the right baseline, but Jonathon Houston converted a three point play and Blunt’s jumper from just outside the lane put West Hempstead on top, and Anthony Graffeo-Jackson got a pass under the basket and scored and then got out on the fast break and scored to make it 26-21 Rams. Seltzer answered with a baseline drive, but the run continued on Blunt’s two fast break baskets and a putback by Joey Thomas, and after a Seltzer jump hook, Graffeo-Jackson put back a miss, Blunt put back a miss and then hit back to back three pointers to give West Hempsted a 12 point lead at intermission. It was a back and forth third quarter, with the Rams taking a 13 point lead into the fourth quarter, and they immediately began to build on it, with Chris Young knocking down two free throws, Blunt catching an ally-oop pass and laying it in, and Graffeo-Jackson scoring a fast break basket to put West Hempstead in control, 66-47, still early in the fourth quarter. Once Hempstead had the lead, the teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with Pierson never generating another serious threat. BOX SCORE WATCH REPLAY
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**** Class AAA Championship Game ****
Bay Shore 66 Baldwin 45
Bay Shore is 23-0 and will be the favorite against any public school team in New York State, but the Bruins are comfortable in the underdog role, and after a slow start, came roaring from behind to make it a 1 point game at the half. A good floor general and defender, freshman Peyton Howell has stepped up offensively in the second half of the season and he led the second quarter comeback with 8 points in the quarter. Chase Timberlake, who has developed into a star, had 8 points in the half, but Christian Smiley and Tashaun Bumpers and the Bay Shore defense sparked a dominating 20-3 third quarter that Baldwin never recovered from. Khamari Broomfield has been a force in the playoffs, hitting big shot after big shot and playing tough defense and he led the way 18 points, and Smiley has been terrific too, shutting down whomever he guards, blocking shots and pulling down big rebounds to go with his 16 points. Bumpers had his best scoring game of the playoffs, also finishing with 16 points and he's another high energy guy and a top defender, and Carter Wilson, the perfect point guard for a high powered offense, not only efficiently runs the show, initiating the offense and finding the open man, he also rebounds well from the guard position, scores the big basket when needed, and relentlessly hounds the opposition defensively. Very impressive win against one of Long Island's all-time great programs. Now it's on to the Final Four, with traditional upstate powerhouse Niagara Falls their opponent in the semifinals.
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