LONGWOOD LIONS
Coach: Patrick Hayes
Last season: 10-11
Key players
G Jordan Manderson 5-10 Jr.
F Ryan Percer 6-3 Sr.
G Emmanuel Rancy 6-4 Sr.
F Jalen Ryan 6-4 Sr.
G Isaiah Whitty 6-3 Jr.
Longwood 74, Floyd 45: Isaiah Whitty scored 19 points and Elijah Whitty added 13 for Longwood (3-0) in Suffolk I. Jan. 3
Longwood 55, Patchogue-Medford 49: Jalen Ryan had 15 points and eight rebounds for Longwood (6-0). Jan. 13
Longwood 59, Commack 46: Isaiah Whitty had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Longwood (7-1) in Suffolk I. Jan. 20
Ward Melville 52, Longwood 47: Alex Sobel’s 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks lifted Ward Melville (7-2). Ray Grabowski added 15 points. Ward Melville went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes. Jan. 24
Longwood 68, Floyd 59: Elijah Whitty scored 21 points to lead Longwood (8-2) in Suffolk I. Isaiah Whitty added 14 points. Kenneth Robinson had 16 points for Floyd. Jan. 27
Jalen Ryan, Longwood’s defense the difference: With help of rowdy Hoop Troop cheering section, Lions’ Jarenel Rancy, Ryan Percer hold Brentwood’s Zed Key to four points.
Herzog, Bob. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 10 Feb 2018.
They are known as the Hoop Troop, eight spirited male students who come shirtless to every Longwood boys basketball game, home and away, each displaying a large green letter emblazoned across the front of his body as they combine to spell out the school name. But as game time approached Friday night, the “W” was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, the missing letter / student showed up before the opening tip.
How fitting, then, that the host Lions got the “W.”
Longwood used a swarming, opportunistic defense and balanced offense to defeat Brentwood, 56-49, before a large, noisy crowd and forge a three-way tie for the Suffolk I regular-season title. Jalen Ryan scored 15 points and Emmanuel Rancy added 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Lions, Brentwood and Ward Melville finished 11-3. They are considered tri-champions and will await their seeds for the upcoming Class AA playoffs.
“It was one of our goals before the season, to win the league,” Ryan said of the first Lions’ share of a title since 2011.
They did it by holding Brentwood star center Zed Key without a point until 2:17 remained in the third quarter and limiting him to four points. “He is a great player and we had to give him different looks,” Longwood coach Patrick Hayes said.
Jarenel Rancy, Emmanuel’s brother, and Ryan Percer were the primary defenders, fronting Key whenever he got the ball in the paint. There was plenty of help, too.
“It was a team effort on defense,” Ryan said. “We played defense with emotion all night and it showed.”
The Lions took a 26-15 lead midway through the second quarter on a 9-0 burst sparked by several baskets off forced turnovers. Jordan Manderson (12 points, four treys) hit a three-pointer from the corner, Isaiah Whitty took a bounce pass from Emmanuel Rancy and converted a layup and Rancy returned the favor by hitting a streaking Whitty for another basket. Then came the roof-rocker: a behind-the-back pass from Whitty to Ryan for an easy lay-in.
“Heavy, intense defense and pushing it in transition. That’s what we do,” Hayes said. That formula produced the Lions’ biggest lead at 39-27 late in the third quarter. But Brentwood dug in and made it very tense down the stretch.
The Indians rallied behind point guard Kenny Lazo and forward Bryce Harris, who scored 15 points each, and eight points off the bench by Romello Wright to trim the deficit to four points three times in the fourth quarter. But Longwood had answers. Ryan made a critical three-point play, Emmanuel Rancy scored in traffic and Manderson hit a dagger from downtown to send the Hoop Troop home happy. “They’re part of the team,” Hayes said. And they made it a letter-perfect night.c
For Jordan Manderson, Longwood it starts with defense: Lions take an 18-point lead in first quarter and use full-court press to eliminate Connetquot in Suffolk Class AA first round.
Fessenden, Nick. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 18 Feb 2018.
The strategy of the Longwood boys basketball team is simple: create havoc.
The No. 7 Lions went ahead by 18 points in the first quarter and never lost the lead en route to a 67-55 home victory over No. 10 Connetquot Saturday in the first round of the Suffolk Class AA tournament.
“We just play with so much aggression,” said junior point guard Jordan Manderson, who had five points, five assists, three steals and was at the front of a suffocating full-court press that forced Connetquot into a ragged game that they were unable to survive. “If I stop my man and we’re all aggressive, then I feel like we’re going to win every time.”
The Lions raced out to a 22-5 advantage in the first quarter, led by Emmanuel Rancy’s eight points. But Connetquot recovered its composure in the second quarter, and chipped away at the lead at the free-throw line. Seth Goumba (21 points) made 8 of 9 free throws in the quarter.
Connetquot got within 10 points, but Longwood snuffed their momentum in the last 18 seconds, Manderson hitting a three-pointer, then making a steal that led to a layup by Jalen Ryan, followed by another turnover and a Ryan three-pointer from half court that put the Lions ahead 40-22 at the half.
“He had his hand down, so I made the three, and then Jalen got the ball and he knew what to do,” Manderson said. “It real ly had the crowd rumbling going into the half and we brought that energy into the second half.”
Isaiah Whitty scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and added four steals for Longwood. Jarenel Rancy had eight points, nine rebounds and seven blocks as the Lions led 56-35 after the third quarter.
“He’s our relief,” both Whitty and Manderson said of Rancy, their rim protector.
The team’s leading scorer with 12.2 points per game, Whitty understands his role on a team that is defined by their defense. “My job is to score,” said the junior, “but it’s just as important to play aggressively and talk to my teammates on defense.”
Communication is a key, especially on a defense as hostile as Longwood.
The Lions will face No. 2 Deer Park on Tuesday in the Class AA quarterfinal. As for the game plan, there is no surprise.
“Tough one-on-one, contain, and push in transition. Our whole emphasis is going to be on defense,” coach Patrick Hayes said.