Authors Posts by Bill Landon

Bill Landon

Shoreham-Wading River sophomore GraceAnn Leonard drives the lane against Wyandanch in a League VII matchup Feb. 24. Photo by Bill Landon

Shoreham-Wading River punched their playoff ticket with a 67-49 victory against Wyandanch at home led by Sophomore GraceAnn Leonard who topped the scoring chart for the Wildcats in the League VII matchup Feb. 24. 

The win lifts the Wildcats to 3-0 to conclude regular season play in the age of COVID-19, where Leonard had 13 field goals three triples and a free throw for a team high 36 points. 

Colleen Ohrtman followed with 14 points with Annie Sheehan and Mia Rosati netting 8 and 5 points respectively.

Photos by Bill Landon 

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It was a must win for the Patriots girls basketball team (3-0) in a home game against League I rival Longwood (3-0) for sole possession of first place to secure the top seed and a home game for the playoffs. Ward Melville stayed with the Lions through 16 minutes of play trailing by 1 to open the second half but Longwood stretched their legs, outscoring the Patriots by 20 points to win the game, 57-38.

Angelene Bailey led the Longwood leaderboard with 21 points followed by Taydra Simpson who added 14.

Ward Melville sophomore Julia Greek topped the scoring chart for the Patriots with five field goals, three triples and a free throw for 20 points. Teammate Summer Agostino, the lone senior for the Patriots, netted 11. Courtney Quinn added five and Grace Mulham banked two.

Ward Melville’s loss dropped the Patriots to third place Feb. 25, and they will travel to Northport for the first round of post season play Saturday Feb. 27. Tipoff is at noon.

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Photographer John Dielman captured the Ward Melville Patriots boys in their Feb. 23 game against Patchogue-Medford at home.

After a 73-49 loss to Brentwood Feb. 21, the Patriots boys basketball team rebounded with a 52-44 win against Patchogue-Medford. The win put Ward Melville in second place in League I (4-1 in the league and 5-1 overall).

The team will be back on the court Feb. 25 when they travel to Longwood High School.

Pictured clockwise from above, Asher Heilbron, Trevor Dunn, Frank Carroll, Ben Shank, Tommy Engel and Jason Flynn.

The Comsewogue Warriors extended their winning ways with another victory at home snaring the visiting Cougars of Centereach 73-61 to extend their league IV record to 3-0, 4-0 overall.

Liam Gray led the way for the Warriors nailing 3 triples, 4 field goals and 14 out of 16 from the charity stripe for a team high of 31 points. Matt Walsh followed with 3 treys of his own, 3 field goals and 5 from the line for 20 points along with teammate Anthony Chmela who netted 16.

Chris Cartolano was the offensive spark for the Cougars hitting eight from the floor 2 triples and a pair of free throws for 24 points. James Kiernan banked 14 and Riddick Drab tacked on 6.

In this Covid abbreviated season Comsewogue retakes the court hosting Deer Park on Feb. 23 before concluding their regular season on the road against Bellport.

Centereach searches for that elusive first win in their season finale on the road against West Islip Feb. 23.

Post season play begins Feb. 25 with the conference championship the following day at noon. Photos by Bill Landon 

Smithtown West needed the win in order to stay ahead of crosstown rival Smithtown East for sole possession of second place in the League 3 standings, and the Bulls did that handily at home downing the Huntington Blue Devils, 55-38, on senior night Feb. 23. 

The Bulls have one game remaining against Copiague Feb. 25 and will need that win to make the post season which begins Feb 27. 

Patrick Burke, the 6’6” sophomore, sat atop the scoring chart for the Bulls with six field goals for 12 points. Tyler Anderson, a junior, banked nine; senior Jack Driscoll netted nine; and Luke Jimenez, a senior, added eight. With the win, Smithtown West improves to 4-1.

Huntington junior Max Rentsch led the Blue Devils in scoring with 14 points followed by teammate Chad Rowe who banked six. Adrian Brooks and Kevin Drake netted five points apiece. The loss drops the Blue Devils to 1-4 with two games remaining.

It was senior night for Miller Place in a League VI matchup where despite a late game surge the Panthers fell to visiting Islip 55-42 Feb. 22.

The quartet of seniors topped the scoring chart for the Panthers with Charlie Byalick leading the way with 3 triples 2 field goals and three from the line for 16 points. Kyle Callahan scored a three pointer and 3 field goals for 9 points, Vincent Maronski followed with 7 and Matt LoNigro banked 6.

In a COVID-shortened schedule the Panthers will conclude their season with a road game at Bayport-Blue Point Feb 24, the results of which were unavailable at press time. 

Photos by Bill Landon 

The Bulls of Smithtown West were able to hold off Newfield despite a late game surge by the Wolverines, to cap a 55-45 road victory Feb. 20. The win lifts Smithtown West to 3-0, 4-0 overall for second place, one game behind Hills East for the League III title chase. Newfield falls to 0-3 in league in this COVID-19 shorted season.

Tyler Anderson topped the scoring chart for the Bulls with five field goals, a triple and three from the line for a team high 16 points followed by teammate Patrick Burke who banked 9 to go along with 9 rebounds.

Newfield senior Ziggy Hoe stood atop the leaderboard for the Wolverines with 12 points, Michael Agostino netted 9 and Jordan DeJesus tacked on 7. Teammates Isiah Brown the senior and junior Hamza Yousef banked 6 points apiece.

Both teams have three games left that they’ll play in five days-time before post season play gets underway Feb. 26.

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Mount Sinai protecting a two-point lead over Islip with 11 seconds left in regulation went to Mount Sinai junior Kylie Budke who drained a three pointer from the corner to ice the game giving the Mustangs a 50-45 win in a League VI matchup at home Feb. 19.

Mount Sinai junior Casey Campo topped the scoring chart for the Mustangs with 8 field goals a triple and 4 from the line for a team high 23 points. Budke followed with 2 treys and 5 from the floor for 16 and Brielle Williams and senior Makayla Hartcom banked 4 points apiece.

The win lifts the Mustangs to 2-2 dealing Islip their first loss of the season falls to 4-1. Mount Sinai has two games remaining in this Covid shortened season before playoffs begin Feb. 26.                                              Photos by Bill Landon 

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With 11 seconds left in regulation, the Northport Tigers boys basketball team clung to a 1-point lead hoping to run out the clock on the road against Bay Shore Feb. 16. But the 1-point victory was not to be, when Bay Shore grabbed an offensive rebound, passed to Jamari Smith-Elie who drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to snatch a 46-44 win.

Northport tasted its first defeat of the season having handily defeating Lindenhurst 80-31 in their season opener and besting Central Islip 55-40 Feb. 15.

Northport senior Patrick Healy scored 3 from the floor, a triple and 3 from the stripe to lead the Tigers with 12 points. Jason Ahlstrand followed with 11 and teammates Nicholas Watts and Jake Santamaria banked 8 points apiece.

In this COVID-19 abbreviated season, the Tigers have five games left in the next eight days as the regular season wraps up Feb. 25, before post season play begins.

Trailing the Bulls of Smithtown East, 15-2, late in the opening quarter the Cougars of Centereach clawed their way back to draw within 6 at the halftime break Feb. 14. The Cougars found their rhythm in the third quarter and closed the gap to a single point in the last three minutes of play, but the Bulls were able to hold off the late game surge and win the non-league matchup, 35-28.

Ava Mueller topped the scoring charts for Smithtown East with two field goals, a triple and 4 from the charity stripe for 11 points. Teammate Paige Doherty netted 8 and Josie Lent banked 6.

Two sophomores led the way for Centereach with Juliana Speziale netting 9 for the Cougars, and Ashlynne Gangji tacked on 7.

In this COVID shortened season, Centereach has three games left as Smithtown East has four before post season play begins on Feb. 26.