Just Another Day in Nassau
It’s not just championship week in college basketball, but high schools all around the country are deciding who is the best. This weekend, I checked out some great Long Island Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships.
Friday, March 12th, I was back at Old Westbury High School for a double-tilt of Boy’s High School Finals. This was one exciting day of ball, filled with buzzer beaters and future college standouts.
Uniondale 53, Bay Shore 52
Bay Shore stepped onto the scene with guns blazing. After trailing early, 5 to nothing, the Marauders reeled off a 24 -2 run to close out the first quarter. Uniondale, which had lost the previous 2 years in the Long Island Championship looked like a bunch of lost souls: enter, senior guard Jason LaMarre and sophomore wing, Lance Fuertado (remember this name). Together, they scored 15 points in the first half, and drew the Knights to within a 36-27 deficit at halftime. The big time star for Uniondale, Kahiem Seawright, had his share of problems. He shot poorly and just could never get into the flow of things offensively (7 points). Defensively, he altered numerous shots (7 blocks, to go along with 6 rebounds). Bay Shore’s Bryant Lassiter was stellar after sitting out last weekend’s Suffolk Championship loss to Amityville due to an injured ankle (13 points, 3 rebounds). He is a small guy (listed at 5-10 but more like 5-7 or 5-8) who does it all for Bay Shore. Keith Hinnant did his share of damage in this game, as well (15 points, 8 rebounds).
Heading into the fourth quarter, Uniondale still trailed by 8. Then came the inevitable Knight run. Herman Pyatt scored a bucket with about 2 and half minutes remaining, and gave the Knights their first lead since it was 5-4 in the first quarter. The teams would trade baskets, before Lassiter looked to put it away with a beautiful shot, making it 52-51. LaMarre, with the hot hand (19 points, 4 assists) drove the lane with 7 seconds remaining and threw up a floater that rimmed out. The ball bounced around, knocked off of the shoulder of Bay Shore’s Aikeem Vanderhorst before falling into the hands of Fuertado. Lance, from about four feet out, quickly tossed the ball towards the hoop, netting the basket with 7 tenths of a second left on the clock. The basket would prove to be the game winner.
Bay Shore’s constant pressure on Uniondale forced them into 15 turnovers, but Bay Shore couldn’t hold onto the ball either (18 turnovers). As the Knights move onto the New York Championships, they may have problems if they run into a team who can press and has good enough size inside to contain Seawright.
Amityville 70, South Side 62
It was the AJ Price show once again, folks. This Uconn signee continues to impress everyone, every time he steps on the court. His stroke from outside is flawless; his handle is impeccable; his vision is blinding; his leadership is unparalleled; his athleticism is uncanny. Simply put, if not for an early season suspension, he would have been a McDonald’s All-American. Mike Cove, Dwayne Fielder, and Karl Perryman drew the unenviable job of trying to slow Price down. Let’s just say, you’d have to wonder if AJ at any point said something like this: “Hope you guys are enjoying this opportunity. Someday you’ll be able to tell your kids you played ball with me.” Ok, so he probably didn’t say anything like that, but you couldn’t blame him if he had. Price’s line read like this: 24 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists.
South Side led for most of the first half and at halftime things were knotted up at 33. Amityville went up by 6 at the conclusion of the third quarter and the lead got to as high as 13 in the fourth. Mark Johnson, 6-5 junior forward for Amityville, was a behemoth on the blocks (17 points, 13 rebounds). The win provided Coach Agostino with his fourth consecutive Public School State Championship.
When Price and senior Craig Stewart graduate after this season, the weight of Amityville will squarely fall upon Johnson’s shoulders. Johnson is an undersized big man for the next level, but in high school he just dominates smaller and weaker opponents. If Mark were to grow a few inches, he would be a legitimate D-1 caliber player.
New Hyde Park 60, Amityville 36 (Girl’s Championships)
On Saturday, I headed over to St. Joe’s College in Patchogue to check out the best that Long Island has to offer on the girl’s side of things. Lisa Karcic is for real! The 6-foot senior is headed to Villanova next season and this all-around guard/forward is an amazing player. Her court vision was a breath of fresh air considering she could score whenever she felt like it. Some of her passes were so on-point that her less-than ready teammates just could not handle them. She finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists. Karcic is the real deal.
As for the actual game; it was never even close; 30-10 at half and 44-22 after 3 quarters, in favor of the Gladiators. Senior forward Anne Verdino had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. For Amityville, senior forward Tiffany Stewart led the way with 8 points and 16 rebounds.
Northport 64, Elmont 58
This was a much more competitive game, also showcasing a D-1 signee for next season. Kaylie Schiavetta can flat-out shoot. She is lights out! Schiavetta paved the way to victory with her 28 points and 8 assists. Kaylie is headed to Umass next season. Ali Fourney, just a junior, notched 20 points and 12 rebounds.
In the third quarter, the Lady Tigers utilized a 14-1 run to jump out to an ultimately insurmountable lead. Elmont got solid games out of Dana Brown (14 points, 4 rebounds) and Christine Daley (14 points, 4 rebounds). The Lady Spartans are a promising team, as they will return 4 starters to next year’s squad.
