In the aftermath of Wednesday night's Suffolk Class A title game, won by Kings Park, 41-39, a singular question sprung up from the stands at Stony Brook University.

To put it mildly: How in the world did these teams get here?

It's true, the sexier championship matchup would have been No. 2 Amityville vs. No. 1 East Hampton. But No. 6 Kings Park beat Amityville and No. 4 Glenn stopped East Hampton and its 20-game winning streak fair and square. Like "Ugly Betty," these teams had charm.

That these two teams put on one of the uglier championship displays in recent memory left basketball aficionados grumbling. But what happened was two tough defensive teams did what they've done all year long. In the case of Glenn and its quick guards, it was to force turnovers. For Kings Park, it was defending the low post.

With 6-8 intimidator Jon Koop in the middle for Kings Park, Glenn shot a miserable 23 percent (15-for-65) from the field. Koop finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and even more altered shots.

Sneaky-quick Glenn senior Trevor Coston (15 points) helped turn up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter. The Kingsmen built a 39-29 edge with 6:11 left. That's when Glenn began to press and forced turnover after turnover. Coston's steal and layup with 2:42 left closed the gap to 39-36.

So the body of work may not have been pretty, but it was by design. Now Kings Park can celebrate its first county title since 1950. There's nothing ugly about that!

Posted by Jason Molinet at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

No. 1 East Hampton brought a 20-0 record into the Suffolk Class A semifinals. No. 2 Amityville took a 14-game winning streak and some powerful playoff history into its semifinal.

But this being high school boys basketball, anything is possible. Anything and everything happened Thursday night in Suffolk as both East Hampton and Amityville went down. Thanks for playing. We'll see you again next season.

No. 4 Glenn and Ifeanyi Momah stopped East Hampton, 62-53, while No. 6 Kings Park and Jon Koop held off Amityville, 63-51. Glenn hasn't had a meaningful playoff win probably since it captured back-to-back Suffolk Class B titles from 1987-88. Kings Park avenged years of playoff frustration at the hands of Amityville.Who woulda thunk it?

Recent history didn't support these outcomes either. Glenn has had trouble finishing games this season (losing four games by two points or less) and Kings Park is one year removed from a two-win season. Now one of these teams can seize the moment and crown themselves champs next Wednesday at Stony Brook University.

It's not quite March, but the madness is already here. Embrace it folks!

Posted by Jason Molinet at 05:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's not a given that Wyandanch senior guard Chris Barber will earn Newsday's Suffolk player of the year award once again. Barber is off to a strong start this season one year after leading the Warriors to the state Class B final four. But he has competition.

East Hampton junior point guard Mikey Russell has that same score-from-anywhere mentality, and like a great point guard, makes his teammates play better. I came away from Tuesday's impressive win over Huntington wowed at how good East Hampton looks. But I think the guard play of Russell had a lot to do with it. Everyone seems to feed off his energy.

Playoff time is when great players step up their game. And if Russell helps East Hampton to its first county title in 18 years -- and in the deepest Suffolk Class A field ever -- he'll earn strong considration for player of the year.

What do you think?

Posted by Jason Molinet at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)