Preview
LONGWOOD LIONS
Last season: 21-2
Coach: Patrick Hayes
KEY PLAYERS
Anthony Adams F 6-3 Sr.; Jeremiah Mobley G 5-5 Sr.; Ke’Andre Penceal F 6-1 Sr..
ABOUT THE LIONS: A defensive-oriented team, which graduated a strong senior class. Longwood will be led by Mobley, who averaged 5 points, 3 assists and 2 steals per game last season. Dec. 8
Edmead makes statement: Point guard’s slam caps game-changing run in Deer Park’s win
Kersich, Peter. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 04 Dec 2019
It might have been the first game of the regular season for the Deer Park boys basketball team, but it felt like a playoff atmosphere.
Point guard Malik Edmead set the tone in the early going and sent the Falcons’ crowd into a frenzy when he threw down an emphatic one-handed slam during the first half in Tuesday night’s non-league game against Longwood.
The dunk capped a 12-0 run to end the half and helped propel host Deer Park to a 71-59 win over the Lions. Edmead scored eight of his 27 points in the second quarter and had 15 going into halftime. Fellow senior Mark Cordero knocked down three three-pointers in the game and chipped in 20 points.
“We all came in amped up for this game. It’s my senior year and a lot of my friends on the team are seniors,” Edmead said. “We started to play good defense after the first quarter and converted that into scoring opportunities. After I threw down the big dunk it was a big momentum boost for the rest of the game.”
“Malik is a great player and he knows how to find the open man,” Cordero said. “Him distributing the ball gives me the energy to keep knocking down shots.”
The turning point came late in the second quarter with the Falcons trailing 24-19. Deer Park coach John McCaffrey called a timeout to calm his team after Longwood went on a 6-0 run.
Out of the timeout Cordero connected on a three-pointer to cut the deficit to just two. Jeremiah Mobley (17 points) had an answer as he nailed a three-pointer from the right wing to put the Lions back up five.
Then the Falcons exploded, holding Longwood scoreless for the final three minutes of the half to take a 34-27 lead at halftime.
“During the timeout coach told us to just keep our composure because we were going back-and-forth,” Edmead said. “We wanted to play our game.”
Deer Park outscored the Lions 19-9 in the second quarter and scored the first five points of the third quarter to extend its 12-0 run to 17-0.
“Malik is as good of a guard as there is on Long Island. He’s had a spectacular career and when the game is on the line the ball is going to be in his hands,” McCaffrey said. “When the game gets close, he’s got to play defense for us too.”
Ke’Andre Penceal did all he could for Longwood, scoring 19 of his 27 points in the second half. The Lions are one of the top teams in Suffolk I and McCaffrey knows the importance of playing competitive games outside of the conference.
“There’s no point in playing a non-league schedule that is soft, that isn’t going to get us better. These games get us better,” McCaffrey said. “Competing against a team like that who is physical, defends and has a tradition of winning, makes you better as a program and that’s why we booked the game.”
Anderson lifts Center Moriches: Gets 29 points, 10 assists; Frazier scores 18 for Devils
Morris, Gene. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Dec 2019
Multiple times in the second half of Friday’s non-league boys basketball game between Center Moriches and host Longwood, the crowd got to its feet to urge the home team back into the game.
And each time the Red Devils came up with a big play to quiet them down.
Ahkee Anderson had 29 points and 10 assists, Emond Frazier had 18 points and Jaden Kealey chipped in with 16 as the Red Devils built a big lead early and held steady to defeat Longwood, 77-62.
Anderson, playing in his second game for Center Moriches after previously starring at Greenport, scored nine of his 29 in the fourth and all but two points after the first quarter.
“I think it’s been a great fit here for me,” Anderson said. “We’re coming together and everybody is working hard in practice and it’s showing on the court.”
An Anderson steal and layup with under a minute left in the first half gave Center Moriches its biggest lead at 43-26 before the Lions cut their deficit to eight multiple times in the second half.
“We just wanted to keep attacking,” Anderson said. “We talked about keeping our composure and not letting the crowd get into our head and not fouling. We were able to close out the [third] quarter well.”
Early on the game was back-and-forth with neither team able to grab a lead of more than four, which the Red Devils did just 25 seconds after the opening tip. Frazier hit his second three later in the first quarter to put Center Moriches ahead 15-12 and had two more threes in the second as the Red Devils opened up a 43-26 lead.
“Emond has always been a good player but it’s just now that people are starting to see it,” Center Moriches coach Nick Thomas said. “There were times last year in practice where he was the best player on the floor. This is what we’ve known him to be all along and I’m happy for him that he gets to show everybody else.”
The Lions crept back into the game largely on the back of Ke’Andre Penceal, who scored 26 points, including 10 in a span of just more than two minutes late in the second quarter to keep Longwood in the game. Jeremiah Mobley chipped in with 18 for the Lions.
“We’ve been through these scenarios against good teams many times,” Frazier said. “Coach just tells us to keep calm, stay engaged and don’t let them match our intensity and to just keep going harder.”
Thomas intentionally put together a tough non-league schedule to help the newcomers quickly mesh with a core that reached last year’s state Class B semifinal.
“We have big players that came in and they were the perfect pieces that fit right into the puzzle,” Frazier said. “We’ve been doing this and we’re used to it. We’re trying to go back upstate.”
BRENTWOOD’S 109 A PROGRAM RECORD
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 21 Dec 2019:
Kenny Lazo had 20 points and eight assists to lead Brentwood over Longwood, 109-63, in a Suffolk I boys basketball game on Friday night.
Brentwood (3-0) broke the program’s single-game team scoring record of 106 points set in 2015. “I think we had one of the better shooting nights I’ve seen in my time coaching here,” Anthony Jimenez said. “The ball moved exceptionally well and guys found each other and knocked down shots.”
Romello Wright had 18 points and eight assists and Amari Isaacs added 15 points for the Indians.
Longwood 76, Sachem East 66: Anthony Adams had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Ke’Andre Penceal added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Longwood (1-3) in Suffolk I. Chris Boothe had 47 points, including eight three-pointers, for Sachem East. Jan. 5
Longwood 51, Floyd 47: Ke’Andre Penceal led all scorers with 21 points for Longwood (3-4) in Suffolk I. Jan. 23