WINTER SPORTS SPECIAL: BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Herzog, Bob. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Dec 2012
In deep League I, Brentwood features one of the best big men in the county, 6-8 Femi Olujobi, who already has a pair of double-double games and is a feared shot-blocker. Defending champ Floyd won its first five games behind its trio of guards, Devin Burney, Devonte Dixon and Vantrell Nash. Longwood is led by the inside-outside tandem of guard Latrell Washington and post man Stephon Odle. Commack is a tough out because of Nick Arnold, a 6-5 forward who is averaging 24 points.
Longwood 10 20 14 16-60
Riverhead 9 7 13 12-41
LW: Washington 18, Ferreira 13, Barlow 3, Dixon 2, Jones 2, Orologio 4, Penate 7, Preudhomme 3, Odle 5, Boykin 2. Totals: 25-4-59. RI: Bitzer 8, Tolliver 11, Austin 9, Washington 2, Shorter 3, Funn 2, Cheatom 4, Greenidge 2. Totals: 15-9-41. Threes: LW 5 (Washington 2, Ferreira 2, Barlow); RI 2 (Bitzer, Tolliver). Dec. 9
Floyd 18 13 12 22-65
Longwood 13 15 17 13-58
FL: Nash 6, Samuelson 11, Rivera 7, Rios 6, Bridges 2, Dixon 15, Burney 14, Fulford 4. Totals: 23-14-65. LW: Ferreira 22, Washington 22, Penate 2, Orologio 2, Odle 6, Jones 2, Boykin 2. Totals: 20-12-58. Threes: FL 5 (Nash 2, Samuelson, Rivera, Rios); LW 6 (Ferreira 4, Washington 2). Dec. 16
Ward Melville 8 8 19 16-51
Longwood 13 9 11 10-43
W: Hart 8, Stanley 9, Smith 20, Winters 11, Kepes 1, Woods 2. Totals: 11-26-51. L: Washington 12, Barlow 5, Ferreira 9, Jones 7, Orologio 2, Odle 8. Totals: 18-3-43. Threes: W 3 (Hart, Stanley, Smith); L 4 (Washington 2, Barlow, Ferreira). Dec. 22
Longwood 13 13 20 10-56
Bellport 9 4 7 14-34
LW: Ferreira 7, Barlow 6, Washington 19, Penate 5, Orologio 4, Jones 7, Boykin 6, Johns 2. Totals: 24-7-56. BEL: Trent 16, Overton 9, Dunning 3, Jean-Pierre 2, Harris 2, Artis 2. Totals: 13-4-34. Threes: LW 1 (Ferreira); BEL 4 (Trent 2, Overton, Dunning). Dec. 29
Longwood 12 6 15 15-48
Patchogue-Medford 14 9 8 0-31
L: Washington 18, Preudhomme 2, Penate 2, Orologio 3, Odle 6, Jones 8, Ferreira 4, Boykin 3, Barlow 2. Totals: 15-13-48. P: Conklin 11, Clemente 4, Manning 2, Lacey 2, Genaway 4, Coughlin 8. Totals: 13-2-31. Threes: L 5 (Washington 5); P 3 (Conklin 3). Jan. 4
Brentwood 11 17 13 16-57
Longwood 10 9 18 13-50
BRN: Almonacy 18, Cureton 8, Allen 5, Olujobi 10, Mableton 5, Hall 3, Hall 4, Certain 4. Totals: 18-16-57. LW: Penate 11, Ferreira 16, Odle 1, Boykin 2, Washington 20. Totals: 21-6-50. Three-pointers: BRN 5 (Almonacy 2, Cureton 2, Allen); LW 2 (Penate, Ferreira). Jan. 9
Longwood 11 18 20 21-70
Sachem East 9 15 17 18-59
LW: Ferreira 17, Jones 11, Barlow 5, Washington 17, Boykin 2, Odle 12, Orologio 4, Penate 2. Totals: 19-25-70. SAE: Smith 23, Cruz 15, Payne 14, McEnaney 2, Madsen 2, Daniels 1, Wolff 2. Totals: 19-14-59. Threes: LW 7 (Ferreira 3, Jones 2, Barlow, Washington ); SAE 7 (Smith 4, Cruz 3). Jan. 12
Longwood 12 15 11 21-59
Commack 13 6 15 16-50
LW: Washington 19, Odle 19, Penate 5, Jones 6, Ferreira 6, Barlow 4. Totals: 24-8-59. COM: Hertell 10, Kenney 6, Arnold 25, Lynch 7, Greschuk 2. Totals: 20-4-50. Three-pointers: LW 3 (Washington 2, Odle); COM 6 (Hertell 2, Kenney 2, Arnold, Lynch). Jan. 16
Longwood 12 9 13 13-47
Floyd 16 7 6 15-44
LW: Odle 18, Barlow 5, Washington 10, Ferreira 7, Boykin 6, Penate 1. Totals: 18-7-47. FL: Burney 19, Rivera 6, Samuelson 3, Rios 4, Dixon 12. Totals: 13-13-44. Three-pointers: LW 4 (Odle 2, Barlow, Washington ); FL 5 (Burney 3, Rivera 2). Jan. 19
Baldwin 11 13 13 16-53
Longwood 8 5 7 12-32
BDW: Hylton 20, Richardson 6, Abrahams 2, McMillan 6, Mack 6, Lyle 2, Doyle 2, Bembury 1, Williams 8. Totals: 21-6-53. LW: Jones 6, Odle 7, Barlow 3, Ferreira 6, Boykin 6, Penate 2, Washington 2. Totals: 12-3-32. Threes: BDW 5 (Hylton 4, Richardson); LW 5 (Jones 2, Odle, Barlow, Ferreira). Jan. 22
Longwood 23 13 22 19-77
Sachem North 15 14 10 18-57
LW: Washington 13, Ferreira 20, Preudhomme 3, Penate 8, Odle 15, Johns 2, Boykin 14, Barlow 2. Totals: 30-11-77. SN: Ferrari 25, Service 8, Bassford 3, Urbanski 5, Pierre 4, Morena 4, Chetuck 8. Totals: 19-8-57. Three-pointers: LW 6 (Washington 3, Ferreira 2, Preudhomme); SN 11 (Ferrari 7, Service 2, Bassford, Urbanski). Jan. 23
Ward Melville 56, Longwood 51: Ryan Hart had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead Ward Melville (6-4) in League I. The Patriots were down 47-43 with 3:39 left and ended the game on a 13-4 run, led by Sam Stanley who scored six of his nine points. – Jan. 26
Longwood 73, Patchogue-Medford 64: Latrell Washington scored seven of his 17 points in the second OT for Longwood (7-4), which clinches a playoff berth. Jan. 30
Brentwood 52, Longwood 45: Femi Olujobi had 20 points, 15 rebounds, 10 blocks and went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and Mike Almonacy had 25 points as Brentwood (11-1) clinched the Suffolk League I title. BR: Almonacy 25, Olujobi 20, Mableton 2, Hart 2, Cureton 1, Certain 2. Totals: 17-14-52. L: Odle 17, Washington 10, Ferreira 12, Penate 4, Boykin 2. Totals: 16-4-45. Threes: BR 4 (Almonacy 4); L 9 (Odle 5, Washington 2, Ferreira 2). Feb. 2c
Longwood 27 15 7 13-62
Sachem East 11 17 18 8-54
LW: Washington 32, Ferreira 10, Odle 12, Penate 2, Barlow 2, Boykin 2, Diggs 2. Totals: 23-5-62. SAE: Wolff 7, Santarpia 17, Powell 4, Wigham 2, Smith 8, Payne 7, Daniels 3, Cruz 4, Alexandrou 2. Totals: 18-15-54. Three-pointers: LW 11 (Washington 7, Ferreira 3, Odle); SAE 3 (Wolff, Santarpia, Powell). Feb. 16
Longwood 61, Riverhead 51: Emmanuel Ferreira and Latrell Washington each had 21 points and Stephon Odle had seven points and eight assists for No. 12 Longwood (12-6) in a Class AA first-round game. Markim Austin led No. 5 Riverhead (15-4) with 14 points. LW: Barlow 16, Jones 9, Ferreira 7, Washington 17, Boykin 3, Odle 15, Orologio 2, Penate 4. Totals: 26-13-73. PM: Conklin 27, Clemente 6, Manning 15, Lacey 10, Windsor 6. Totals: 23-4-64. Three-pointers: LW 8 (Barlow 3, Jones 3, Ferreira, Washington ); PM 14 (Conklin 8, Clemente 2, Manning 2, Lacey 2). Feb. 16
Washington, No. 12 Lions in semis
Gavin, Mike. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Feb 2013
Raise your hand if you had Longwood and Huntington playing in the quarterfinals on your bracket.
Odds are that few, if any, hands went up. But both upset their first-round opponents, setting the stage for a matchup between two bracket busters. With Cinderella rights on the line, No.12 Longwood defeated No.20 Huntington, 54-39, last night in a Suffolk Class AA Tournament quarterfinal.
But Longwood wants no part of that Cinderella stuff.
“We don’t want to be called that,” said Emmanuel Ferreira, who had 12 points. “In the beginning of the year, we had high expectations. We always thought we were going to be here.”
Now they’re here thanks in part to Latrell Washington. The senior guard scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including a corner three midway through the third quarter to give Longwood a 33-24 lead.
Washington drained a baseline jumper to make it 41-34 with 4:07 remaining in the fourth. He then found Stephon Odle (nine points, eight rebounds) under the basket for a three-point play that increased the lead to 10.
“My team expects me to be a playmaker,” Washington said. “I have to make big plays when they need me to.”
Huntington’s Patrick Reilly had 13 points, including a baby hook with 5:15 remaining to cut the deficit to five. Devon Nelson added 12 points for Huntington (10-11), Suffolk’s lowest-seeded team, which was coming off a stunning win over No.4 Central Islip.
“We really started clicking at the end of the season,” Reilly said. “We got as far as we could. Overall we had a good effort, it just wasn’t good enough today.”
Longwood (13-6) advances to play No.1 Northport in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The game originally was scheduled to be played at the neutral site of Longwood High School.
But that location is no longer neutral and likely will be changed because of a Cinderella team that refuses to be called one.
“We weren’t one of the teams that were picked to get this far,” Washington said. “Everybody doubted us. So, it feels great to be here.”
CLASS AA QUARTER
LONGWOOD 54
HUNTINGTON 39
02.15.2013 SPORTS
Boys Basketball: A missed opportunity for Riverhead
CLASS AA FIRST ROUND | LIONS 61, BLUE WAVES 51
The loss itself stung.
The missed opportunity hurt even worse.
A pile of jerseys lay on the floor inside the locker room Friday night for the final time this season as coach John Rossetti reflected on the Blue Waves’ 61-51 first-round playoff loss to Longwood in front of a capacity crowd at Riverhead High School.
“I feel like I let the community down today,” Rossetti said.
A few minutes later, when Rossetti learned No. 4 Central Islip had been upset by No. 20 Huntington, he slammed his right hand onto the bench, the frustration boiling over. If the Blue Waves had pulled out a win against the Lions, another home game would have awaited Tuesday against the lowest-ranked team in the Class AA bracket.
Instead, it’ll be the Lions (12-6) advancing with an unexpected home game in the quarterfinals.
For the Blue Waves, the quick exit out of the playoffs marked the end of a remarkable season that saw them win their first league championship since 1997.
“I told [the players] after the game, it’s going to sting for a little bit,” Rossetti said. “But when these kids look back on their careers when they’re 10 years out of high school, no one can take away from them that they’re league champs. That’s going to last with them forever.”
Even as a No. 5 seed, the Blue Waves (15-4) faced an arduous task in the first round against a battle-tested Longwood team that went 8-5 in arguably the most competitive league in the county. Brentwood and William Floyd also advanced into the quarterfinals.
And the Lions know a thing or two about winning in the postseason. Friday’s win marked the eighth straight year they’ve advanced into the quarterfinals. In that time they’ve played in two county finals (’09, ’10). The Lions knocked off the Blue Waves in the first round in 2011 as well before advancing to the semifinals.
“A lot of pride,” said Longwood coach Pierce Hayes, whose team had opened the playoffs at home in each of the past seven seasons. “Coming out of League I, which was awesome this year, I mean everybody was good.”
The Lions jumped out on Riverhead with a 10-0 run to open the game and the Blue Waves could never close the gap all the way.
All season the Blue Waves have played their best in the third quarter, and they needed another big one Friday. In what was a wildly entertaining quarter, the Blue Waves trimmed the deficit down to three going into the fourth at 45-42 when junior Brandon Tolliver sank a pair of free throws with :36.9 left.
“Usually that third quarter surge we carry over into the fourth,” Rossetti said. “But I think we hit a wall.”
Longwood opened up the fourth on a 9-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Latrell Washington, who had a huge day with 21 points. He drilled another corner three to seal the victory with 2:03 left that extended the Lions’ lead to 15, the largest of the night.
“They’re a very good team,” Hayes said. “We kind of wore them down a bit. But they never quit.”
The Lions looked to push the pace against Riverhead, and Washington ignited the offense.
“That was our game plan,” Hayes said. “Our guards are our strength. We like to get the ball down the court and get it off quick.”
Longwood shot 6-for-17 (35 percent) from beyond the arc. Washington, who hit seven in a 32-point game to end the regular season, connected on four treys. Emmanuel Ferreira hit the other two as part of his 21-point game. Riverhead shot 1-for-10 from three.
The Lions have averaged 5.2 threes per game.
“We take a lot of threes, but we don’t always make them like today,” Hayes said. “Today we were on. The kids were focused.”c
The Blue Waves got a team-high 14 points from senior Markim Austin and 11 from senior Ryan Bitzer. Tolliver added eight and Jeremiah Cheatom had seven. The loss snapped a six-game win streak for Riverhead.
The teams combined for 40 points in the third quarter. The Blue Waves were able to get out in transition some and beat Longwood’s press to get a few easy hoops. In one flurry, Washington converted a three-point play before Austin answered on the other end with a three-point play of his own five seconds later to get the Blue Waves back within four.
“You got to give them credit,” Rossetti said. “They hit open shots. In games like this it’s the team that hits the open shots that’s going to win.”
Longwood handed Riverhead its worst loss of the regular season Dec. 8, 60-41. But the Lions knew that game wasn’t a fair representation of what the Blue Waves look like now. Three of Riverhead’s starters were only a week off of football season for that game.
Hayes said maintaing the lead during each of Riverhead’s runs Friday came down to toughness.
“That’s always been our quest this year — to be a tough team,” he said. “We haven’t always lived up to that expectation, but tonight we did.”
Washington, No. 12 Lions in semis
Gavin, Mike. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Feb 2013
Raise your hand if you had Longwood and Huntington playing in the quarterfinals on your bracket.
Odds are that few, if any, hands went up. But both upset their first-round opponents, setting the stage for a matchup between two bracket busters. With Cinderella rights on the line, No.12 Longwood defeated No.20 Huntington, 54-39, last night in a Suffolk Class AA Tournament quarterfinal.
But Longwood wants no part of that Cinderella stuff.
“We don’t want to be called that,” said Emmanuel Ferreira, who had 12 points. “In the beginning of the year, we had high expectations. We always thought we were going to be here.”
Now they’re here thanks in part to Latrell Washington. The senior guard scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including a corner three midway through the third quarter to give Longwood a 33-24 lead.
Washington drained a baseline jumper to make it 41-34 with 4:07 remaining in the fourth. He then found Stephon Odle (nine points, eight rebounds) under the basket for a three-point play that increased the lead to 10.
“My team expects me to be a playmaker,” Washington said. “I have to make big plays when they need me to.”
Huntington’s Patrick Reilly had 13 points, including a baby hook with 5:15 remaining to cut the deficit to five. Devon Nelson added 12 points for Huntington (10-11), Suffolk’s lowest-seeded team, which was coming off a stunning win over No.4 Central Islip.
“We really started clicking at the end of the season,” Reilly said. “We got as far as we could. Overall we had a good effort, it just wasn’t good enough today.”
Longwood (13-6) advances to play No.1 Northport in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The game originally was scheduled to be played at the neutral site of Longwood High School.
But that location is no longer neutral and likely will be changed because of a Cinderella team that refuses to be called one.
“We weren’t one of the teams that were picked to get this far,” Washington said. “Everybody doubted us. So, it feels great to be here.”
CLASS AA QUARTER
LONGWOOD 54
HUNTINGTON 39
Smith (28 points) saves Northport
Herzog, Bob. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 23 Feb 2013:
Lions and Tigers and scares.
That would be No. 12 Longwood, No. 1 Northport and what was nearly a stunning upset last night in a Suffolk AA boys basketball semifinal.
Despite deficits of 12 after the first quarter, nine at the half and five entering the fourth, despite star center Luke Petrasek being held to one field goal, Northport found a way to rally for a riveting 51-47 victory over host Longwood. The Tigers will face Deer Park on Tuesday night in the county championship game.
Northport (20-1) can thank 5-11 senior guard Matt Smith for this one. He had 28 points, five rebounds and five assists. He was, quite literally the entire offense early, scoring all eight Tigers points in the first quarter, when they trailed 20-8, their largest deficit of the season.
“We’ve been down before,” Smith said matter-of-factly.
But not by this much, not for this long and rarely this late. When Smith made a slick steal and a driving layup to tie it at 41 with 5:16 remaining, it was the first tie since 2-2.
This uphill battle was more like up-Everest. “We didn’t stop believing and our fans didn’t stop believing,” forward Matt Milligan said, referring to a huge contingent of Northport fans who matched the large crowd for Longwood (13-7). Attendance swelled to more than the 2,400 capacity.
Smith put Northport ahead 47-45 when he navigated a traffic jam in the lane to make a layup. Milligan made a key defensive rebound and drew a foul with 26 seconds left. With the crowd roaring, he sank both foul shots for what proved to be an insurmountable lead.
Smith seemed immune to every distraction, including taller players, as he scored most of his points in the paint. “I’m not afraid to go among the big guys,” Smith said.
With Petrasek limited to six points – the 6-9 star did block five shots and grab 10 rebounds – the ball and the offense was in Smith’s hands. “Sometimes I fall off the radar with Luke and Mike,” Smith said.
Not anymore. Last night, Smith’s play was downright scary.
CLASS AA SEMIFINAL
NORTHPORT 51 LONGWOOD 47