High School Boys Basketball

BY BOB HERZOG

I took a break from my high school football weekend to get a sneak peak at some of the boys I’ll be watching when my beat switches to basketball for the winter. I got to see some impressive moves before a nice crowd at Island Garden in West Hempstead on Sunday for the Metro Classic, which matched the best of the city against the best of the suburbs.

The city kids were down 36-17 after one quarter, cut it to 57-53 at halftime, trailed 81-75 after three, fell behind by as many as nine four minutes into the fourth quarter then handed the keys to the smallest guy on the court and enjoyed the ride.

Chaz Williams, a quick, fearless 5-9 point guard from Bishop Ford, scored 16 points in the fourth quarter then added a spectacular reverse layup in overtime plus a flashy assist as the Boros triumphed over the Burbs, 124-120.

Williams, who has made a verbal commitment to Hofstra, scored a game-high 34 points and was named MVP. Durand Scott from Rice had 20 points before leaving the game with a knee injury.

The Boros, comprised of players from Long Island and Westchester, were led by Sherrod Wright of Mount Vernon and J.J. Moore of Brentwood with 26 points each. Moore hit a mid-range jumper that tied it at 109 with two seconds left and forced overtime. George Beamon of Roslyn added 21 points.

The other L.I. scorers:

Paul Bilbo (St. Dominic) 2
Justin Brown (Uniondale) 4
Ryan Creighton (Greenport) 2
Josh Elbaum (St. John the Baptist) 2
Josh Malone (Deer Park) 6
Kamil Parzych (Lindenhurst) 5
P.J. Walters (St. Dominic) 3.

My Web-exclusive column on the game will be posted on newsday.com/sports/highschool later this week. Keep checking for it on our site.

BY BOB HERZOG

I’m looking forward to getting a preseason peek at some of the best basketball talent in the area on Sunday at the Metro Classic.

Historic Island Garden in West Hempstead, once the home of the ABA New York Nets, is the site for a doubleheader that matches the New York City All-Stars against the a Suburban squad of players from Long Island and Westchester.

The girls’ game begins at noon; the boys’ game tips off at 3:30. Tickets are $10 for one game or $15 for both and proceeds go to a pair of notable charities, the Make A Wish Foundation and the Howie Frajberg Medical Research Foundation.

There will be future Division I players on all four rosters, and Zog will zero in on the Long Island performances in a web-only column that will be posted early next week. I’ll also be blogging about the event on Newsday’s basketball blog site.

NYC Boys star Lance Stephenson of Lincoln, a 6-6 guard, is the biggest name in the game. He is a nationally ranked player who is being recruited by Kansas and UCLA among others.

The Suburban Boys team features these nine Long Island players: George Beamon, Roslyn; Paul Bilbo, St.Dominic; Justin Brown, Uniondale; Ryan Creighton, Greenport; Josh Elbaum, St. John the Baptist; Josh Malone, Deer Park; JJ Moore, Brentwood; Kamil Parcych, Lindenhurst, and PJ Walters, St. Dominic.

The Suburban Girls team also includes nine LI players: Kristen Doherty, Sachem East; Gabrielle Gibson, Copiague; Terry Green, Holy Trinity; Bria Hartley, North Babylon; Christine Huber, St. John the Baptist; Tara Lonergan, South Side; Eugeneia McPherson, North Babylon; Megan Vasquez, Calhoun, and Ieasia Walker, Copiague.

BY BOB HERZOG

The ninth edition of the Nassau-Suffolk All-Star Basketball game to benefit ALS on Monday night was a good show all around, with a first-class feel.

It was staged at Stony Brook University’s old but refurbished Pritchard Gymnasium which was perfect for the modest crowd. Good scoreboards, good sound system, excellent job of officiating and good job by Jeff Bernstein at the microphone. Plus it was all for a great cause, the fight against Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

The coaches, George Holub of Elmont and Rob Scwender of East Islip, had their kids playing hard and made sure everyone got sufficient playing time. The all-stars put on the best show of all. It was their talents that were on display, after all.

They hustled for loose balls, followed up missed shots, ran the floor and, of course, took their offense seriously. Very seriously. Assists were down, shots were up and there were plenty of dazzling moves in Suffolk’s 117-102 victory that wasn’t really that close. Read my column on the game at newsday.com/sports/highschool.

Here are some leftover observations:

* Ryan Creighton, who told me after the game that he will play point guard for Greenport this season, will probably have to lose weight to gain the quickness necessary to play college ball. He’s got the court savvy and passing and shooting skills of a guard, but he’s still got that low-post, wide-body look to his game. He has a chance to set both the Long Island and state career scoring records this season, quite an accomplishment that I’ll be tracking all winter.

* I was told that there were at least four players on the court who have drawn some interest from Division I schools: seniors Josh Malone of Deer Park and George Beamon of Roslyn; and juniors JJ Moore of Brentwood and Kamil Paryzch of Lindenhurst. Hard for me to judge them on one game but I saw that Malone, Beamon and Moore can get to the basket and create their own shot. Paryzch sees the floor, looks to pass and has some three-point range.

* Port Jefferson’s John Nielsen and Division’s Bobby Nagelberg looked like the best pure shooters, each providing sparks off the bench with a handful of three-pointers.

BY BOB HERZOG

Want to get your high school hoops fix a little early? Want to watch a dozen of the best basketball players in Nassau face their counterparts in Suffolk?

You’ll get the chance on Monday night, Oct. 6, at 7 o'clock at Stony Brook University’s Pritchard Gymnasium in the ninth Suffolk vs. Nassau All-Star Game for the benefit of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Good basketball for a good cause. What’s not to like?

Take the LIE to Exit 62 and follow signs to Nicholls Rd. (Rt. 97) North. Go nine miles and look for the entrance to the north campus on your left. The Indoor Sports Complex is the white building at the end of Gym Road.

I’ll be there, checking out such talents as Ryan Creighton of Greenport and Josh Malone of Deer Park for Suffolk and Justin Brown of Uniondale and George Beamon of Roslyn for Roslyn.

Check out my blog on Tuesday for an account of the game. Hope to see you there.

BY DARREN SANDS

We're back at it again basketball fans! I hope you got a chance to read my game story from yesterday. Lutheran was truly impressive in the win against Bishop Ford. But they can't play like they did against a very long, talented Jamesville-Dewitt team. I saw them play yesterday and they weren't very sharp but they've got length.

I'm gonna try and get a quick word with Lutheran coach Brian Carey. Hadn't had much time to hang, as Wyandanch girls basketball coach Warren Fuller was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame today. Read more about that in tomorrow's Newsday. Five minutes till tip. We'll be here.

UPDATE 7:42 -- Lutheran is out to a 14-8 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers from Rich Harkins and Jeriel Henriquez with 2:40 and running left in the first quarter.

UPDATE 7:50 -- Lutheran leads 19-12 after one complete. Matt Rooney was fouled on a driving layup that he made, but he missed the foul shot with four seconds left.

UPDATE 7:56 -- A couple of things: Didn't mention this, but Lutheran's Kevin Johnson picked up his second foul just 1 minute and 55 seconds into the first quarter. Henriquez has shot two air balls. It's about 60 degrees but they weren't even close. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

UPDATE 8:00 -- Jeriel Henriquez just responded with an emphatic dunk on a fastbreak. Lutheran leads 23-19 with 3:20 and running to go in the first half.

UPDATE 8:15 -- Jamesville-Dewitt tied the score at 31 with a layup to end the second quarter. Lutheran's shooters haven't been as stellar as they were in the semifinal against Bishop Ford, but they had better pick it up in the next 16 minutes. They've done a good job at neutralizing Jamesville-Dewitt's length inside. Back in a minute.

UPDATE 8:38 -- Jamesville-Dewitt had a 15-4 run to start the third and they now lead, 50-42, with 1:12 remaining.

UPDATE 8:49 -- LuHi's Matt Rooney has fouled out with 5:28. Huge three by Rich Harkins has brought Lutheran within five points, 59-54 with 4:45 remaining in the fourth. Getting interesting here in Glens Falls. They were behind for a majority of the game yesterday, and they just didn't get rattled.

-Lutheran's Matt Carpenter, Rooney's replacement, has hit a three-pointer that has tied the game at 59.

-Harkins two free throws give LuHi a two-point lead. There's 3:07 left in the game -- 61-59.

- Carpenter drains three with 7.2 seconds left. LuHi is down, 67-66. Timeout, Jamesville-Dewitt ball.

LuHi falls to Jamesville-Dewitt, 70-66.

BY DARREN SANDS

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- Hey folks! We're back live in Glens Falls at the New York State Federation Championships where Long Island Lutheran is about to take on Bishop Ford of Brooklyn. It's the 2, 3, D, 4, 5 and 6 trains against the Long Island Rail Road. It's Jay-Z against Busta Rhymes, Chris Rock against Eddie Murphy...you get the idea. I hope.

Lutheran is coming off a four-week layoff where they scrimmaged the likes of East Hampton and Hills West. I talked to Brian Carey yesterday before they left for Glens Falls, and all he talked about was how prepared they tried to stay and how ready they are to finally play in a game that means something. More on what he had to say later. Stay tuned!

UPDATE 6:08 -- Bishop Ford is out to an early 17-10 lead early in the first quarter. Jeriel Henriquez already has eight points with two NBA-threes. Chaz Williams (who we hear has committed to Hofstra) has eight for the Falcons.

UPDATE 6:14 -- After one here in Glens Falls, Bishop Ford leads 23-18. Lutheran made two straight threes to close the quarter. They came from seniors Rich Harkins and Matt Rooney.

UPDATE 6:25 -- Lutheran just took a 33-31 lead on a three-pointer by Matt Carpenter with 2:10 left in the half.

UPDATE 6:30 -- Bishop Ford tied the score at 36 as the buzzer sounded on the second quarter on a putback off of an air ball from Chaz Williams. Lutheran is letting the ball fly from deep. They've connected on seven three-pointers, largely because defenders are collapsing to help on guards Henriquez and Kevin Johnson. They can all shoot. They're all very disciplined. Considering they haven't played a real game in four weeks, they've got just three turnovers. Impressive.

We'll be back with the third quarter. Lutheran is 16 minutes from advancing to the Class A final.

UPDATE 6:41 -- Bishop Ford scores five quick points in the first 1:05 of the second half. Lutheran's Brian Carey calls a 30-second timeout.

UPDATE 6:52 -- The score is 56-47 with 1:09 left in the third quarter. Lutheran has not been able to get into a rhythm from beyond the arc. Johnson just made a driving layup to help Lutheran pull within seven. That's the score we have at the end of three. Eight minutes to go.

UPDATE 6:59 -- Big three-pointer from Henriquez! Score is 60-58 with 5:30 and counting to go.

UPDATE 7:10 -- Henriquez has 12 points this quarter, and is leading a surge from Lutheran. They are up here 67-62 with 2:12 remaining. We just overheard that Bishop Ford has eight turnovers this quarter. Ouch. Henriquez also has three steals.

UPDATE 7:18 -- Long Island Lutheran is going to pull this game out, folks. Rich Harkins just made two free throws to make the score 75-66 with 35.9 seconds left. Bishop Ford has given to just fouling.

THE CRUSADERS ADVANCE! FINAL SCORE: 77-66.

Tomorrow night at 7:30, Lutheran will play the winner of Jamesville-Dewitt and East New York Transit Tech.

By Stephen Haynes

My apologies for the blog not having been live, but Fordham University's gym isn't as technologically advanced as some others. Extra power sockets? Nope. Extension cords? Nope. Well, it is the Bronx (I can say that because I'm from there). But, here goes it...

Bishop Ford (23-5) beat Chaminade (19-6), 72-62, and it wasn't that close. Powered by point guard Chaz Williams' 32 points and 12 assists, the Falcons dominated. Ford ran a high-octaine offense and the perimeter-oriented Flyers couldn't keep up.

The score was 18-11 at the end of the first quarter, but Ford extended it to 33-21 at halftime. By then, Williams had scored 16 points. Ford pulled away in the third, leading by as many as 18 (41-23) with just over three minutes left in the period.

In the fourth quarter, Chaminade rallied with 30 points to make the game interesting in the final minutes. Sean Wildes went wild inside, scoring 14 of his team-high 28 points, but Williams kept the Flyers at bay with 12 points (and some flashy passes for assists) in the quarter.

When the final buzzer sounded, Williams hurdled the scorer's table (at 5-8, he's got some ups) and climbed into the bleachers to hug his mother. Mama Williams, by the way, is a pretty astute stat-tracker. Right after the game, without seeing the scorebook, she insisted that her baby had 13 assists. She was just one off.

Chaminade seemed dejected after the game (naturally), but coach James Quinn wasn't too down. He kept reiterating the ol' bromidic mantra of the underdog: "Nobody believed in us except us." But he's right. Not many people picked the Flyers to get this far.

By Kimberley A. Martin

There was really nothing East Hampton could do.

When your tallest starter (Hayden Ward) is 6-5 and he's matched up against a 6-10 bean stalk (J-D center Nick Pascale), chances are you're going to get outhustled on the boards. Chances are you're going to wear yourself out jumping for loose balls and shooting over outstretched hands.

No amount of Mikey Russell three-pointers (three in all) is going to change that. It's just that simple.

Continue reading "Class A Championship: Jamesville-Dewitt 78, East Hampton 54" »

BY KIMBERLEY A. MARTIN

This is it people! Our hopes of a Long Island boys state title rests solely on the shoulders of the Bonackers. I'll be the first to admit it -- not many people were talking about East Hampton early in the season (well, not positively I should say). But Ed Petrie's team is the last Island team standing.

Yesterday, the Bonackers outlasted a much bigger Buffalo East team, relying on their quickness and athletic ability (have you seen how high Marcus Edwards elevates off the ground?). But the Red Rams just ran by the press table onto the court, and I've got to say -- they are some BIG BOYS. I'm looking at the roster as we speak and they have a 6-10 center in Nick Pascale. Throw in 6-7 Marcus Williams and Mickey Davis, Mitchell Howe and Mychal Weekes (all of whom are 6-5), and this could end up being a long afternoon for East Hampton.

But the one thing Marcus Edwards and Mikey Russell have stressed to me this season is how much they love proving the haters wrong. Let's see if it happens.

8:35 and counting....

Continue reading "Class A Championship: East Hampton vs. Jamesville-Dewitt (Section III)" »

BY KIMBERLEY A. MARTIN

Less than seven minutes until the Class B championship game. The Mules don't look nervous at all. One thing's certain, though: they'll need to start and end strong against Olean (Section VI).

OK, gotta finish my Burger King meal before tip-off...be back in a flash!

(Whoa...Olean just did this really weird "on-the-floor-huddle"...apparently that psyches them up. Whatever does it for you, I guess. Laura took a pic using her camera phone -- hopefully we can find a way to post it online for your viewing pleasure.)

Ta-da:

Continue reading "Class B Championship: Malverne vs. Olean" »