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Tiffany Slicklein leaps up to the rim. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The Kingsmen are a powerhouse full of offensive threats — and as has been the case all season, senior Tiffany Slicklein and junior Sam Schultz stole the show this week.

The dynamic duo scored 20 points each in a 74-54 win over East Islip Jan. 24. Kings Park girls’ basketball head coach Tom Edmundson said the victory was just what the team needed after a pause in performance last week.

Sam Schultz carries the ball into East Islip’s zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“It was tough,” the coach said of the two games against Hauppauge and Bellport, the first resulting in a loss and the second a close-call win. “We were talking about picking up the intensity, picking up the pace and coming out and playing well, and I think we did. I was telling the girls they need to build off this. We’re kind of right there on the doorsteps, so we need to start playing our best basketball. This was a pretty good example of that.”

The team has five more games before playoffs start. The next matchup will be a home contest against a tough Half Hollow Hills West team. When the Kingsmen saw their opponent last, Jan. 3, they pulled away with a close 63-60 win.

“This is definitely a confidence booster” Schultz said, who added eight rebounds and four assists. “Everyone got on the board today, everyone was taking shots, so hopefully that translates to the game against Half Hollow Hills West — we had a tough game against them last time — and to the rest of the season.”

Slicklein and fellow senior Selena Ubriaco traded baskets for the first few Kings Park scores, Slicklein scoring six points and Ubriaco tallying five, before Schultz got the ball rolling. After grabbing a put-back on Slicklein’s missed extra-point attempt at a three-point play, she scored the next two field goals for Kings Park. At the end of the first quarter, the team had a 10-point lead, 21-11.

Taylor Slicklein moves the ball around a defender. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Schultz continued her scoring streak in the second, adding a field goal, three-pointer and free throw, all the first points for Kings Park in the next eight minutes.

“She can knock down the three, she can get to the rim, she makes free throws, she has a complete game,” Edmundson said of his athlete. “She’s the kind of player that will definitely play at the next level, and she’s only a junior. She’s just fantastic.”

But Schultz credits her teammates for her scoring.

“This is my fourth year on the team and I can always count on them to get me the ball if I’m open or communicating on offense, seeing the extra pass, being unselfish — and I think that helped me personally get my shots,” she said. “But it really helps us all as a team.”

Schultz had 17 first-half points, and Slicklein added 14. The pair played in the third quarter, but Edmundson continued to get his bench players time on the court, and had all starters except sophomore Sam Hogan sit in the fourth.

“I’m not looking for one girl to score all the time — although it does happen to work out that way — but our offense is geared toward everybody,” the head coach said. “I think we have a very good team, I think we have one of the best teams in the county and I think we’ll be right there with a chance to win a county championship. I think we have the ability to and I think we have the talent to.”

Slicklein, who scored her 1,000th career point last week, had a double-double in the game with 10 rebounds and also had seven blocks.

Sam Hogan drives to the basket. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We call her LeBron James because she can do everything,” Edmundson said. “She’s leading the team in rebounds, steals, assists, points, although Sam [Schultz] might have just taken over because they’ve been neck and neck all year, but she does it all. It’s very rare that you have a girl that has the ability to score on every possession, but is also willing to give it up and distribute the way she does.”

Shultz also shares the wealth. Slicklein said she’s enjoyed working alongside her teammate.

“We know exactly where each other are, we’ve been playing together for a while and it’s good to play with a girl who knows how to play like that,” she said. “It’s always fun.”

Slicklein’s twin sister Taylor finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Hogan had eight points.

Schultz said she’s hoping the total team success can propel the team further into the postseason this year. Tiffany Slicklein said she thinks if any Kings Park team can do it, it’s this one.

“We’re getting ready,” Schultz said of the team preparing for playoffs. “Each and every practice we’re working hard, getting better, working on the little things and it’s all coming full circle — with good timing, too.”

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Smithtown West's Chris Crespo prepares to move the ball across the court around Centereach's Chris Witherspoon. Photo by Desirée Keegan

It’s raining “threes.”

A total 15 3-pointers swished through the netting on Centereach’s court Jan. 17. The Cougars got off to a hot start from long range thanks to senior Jon Agostino, who hit three of the first four treys in the game, but the Smithtown West boys’ basketball team only allowed Centereach to score one more after that in the Bulls’ 87-52 win.

Smithtown West’s Greg Giordano scores his first of three 3-pointers. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Coming off a big win over Copiague Jan. 10 — a 74-67 overtime victory after Chris Crespo tied the game at the fourth-quarter buzzer — the senior said his team has all the confidence in the world.

“It really boosted us as a team and I think we all got closer,” Crespo said. “We definitely bonded over that game. It was the first big test I think we’ve had. We played a few hard games against Half Hollow Hills West [the only loss this season but non-league] and St. Anthony’s, and we respect all those teams, but especially in a league game against Copiague it was a different atmosphere. I really felt good, and I feel we have a lot of confidence running through us for the rest of the season.”

That confidence showed against Centereach, as the Bulls — now on an eight-game win streak — built momentum throughout its total team success.

Agostino scored all four of his 3-pointers in the first half of the contest. He knocked down his first on the Cougars’ first possession, and added another at the 1:33 mark to tie the game 8-8. Smithtown West seniors Greg Giordano and Kyle LaGuardia scored a free throw and 3-pointer, respectively, to close out the scoring for the first eight minutes, leaving the Bulls up 12-8.

“In spite of our slow start in the first quarter, we were able to provide a strong second quarter and basically end the game in the third,” Giordano said. “It always amazes me how resilient we are and how we are able to get so many contributions.”

Three Bulls scored in the first, and two others contributed in the team’s 24-point second quarter.

Centereach’s Jon Agostino scores a 3-pointer. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“This was really a great game,” Smithtown West head coach Mike Agostino said. “Defensively, we played consistent, but I thought our ball movement was the difference. You could see when the ball moves, people get open and we knock down shots.”

Senior Gordon Shouler and junior Michael Gannon helped extend West’s lead to 36-20 by halftime.

Shouler tacked on two of his team-high four 3-pointers in the second, and added the other two in the third.

“Copiague is arguably one of the best teams in our league this year, and after getting a win coming from behind, getting out here and playing a good team, we were ready to go,” Shouler said. “We were very confident, and the biggest thing was just not having a letdown. You beat a team like that, you win a good game like that, you want to come out and carry that momentum, and we did that.”

Gannon added 11 points in the second, including a basket of his own from beyond the arc, and a pair of free throws. Giordano, who finished with a team-high 17 points, added two assists on Gannon’s scores.

“We perform with consistency,” Agostino said of his team. “We know who we are, we’ve won a lot of games the last couple of years and we’re confident. We know who we are and we’re going to play our way, and as hard and we’re going to play in a playoff game regardless of our opponent.”

The head coach said he was excited to see the team reach its offensive potential, finding the basket more than it has been. On days like that, he said he wishes he could play 11 players at a time, instead of five.

Smithtown West’s Kyle LaGuardia makes a layup. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“They all practice hard and they all work hard every day,” he said. “It’s good to get guys in. These guys are capable — they’re all capable. And when they get the time they’re going to be able to do big things with it.”

This is true for freshman Michael Behrens, who seized his opportunity off the bench in the fourth quarter and scored nine points to help put the game out of reach. Behind Giordano was Shouler with 14 points, and Gannon with 13.

Crespo, who finished with eight points, said he’s excited to see his Bulls playing team basketball.

“I have no complaints,” he said. “We moved the ball beautifully and we were knocking down shots. Gordon and Greg form the outside and Kyle and myself were finishing around the basket. We’re really, really coming together great and I have high hopes for the rest of the season if we keep this up.”

It’s the kind of mentality Agostino said he stresses to his players, about continuing to focus on executing plays and not letting the other team disrupt how they play. And the boys have bought into it, building on the win total with each season over the last few years.

“Coach always says just play your game and the rest will follow, and that’s exactly what we did,” Giordano said. “Our defense kept us in the lead until our offense was able to connect and build a big lead. I couldn’t be more excited about the way our team has progressed throughout the season, and feel like we have a chance to do something really special.”

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Mount Sinai's girls' basketball team remains undefeated with a win over now previously undefeated Shoreham-Wading River. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Victoria Johnson vindicated her team.

Mount Sinia’s Victoria Johnson scores. Photo by Bill Landon

For those that thought the Mount Sinai girls’ basketball team may not be able to top visiting Shoreham-Wading River heading into overtime, the senior showed why Mount Sinai is becoming a powerhouse across all sports, helping win the battle of undefeated teams. The Mustangs outscored the Wildcats 61-55 Jan. 17, with Johnson scoring a game-high 21 points.

Mount Sinai’s defense also stole the show. The Mustangs’ press overwhelmed the Wildcats, helping the team break out to an early 11-2 lead, and stretching the advantage to 25-16 by the halftime break. The goal, according to Mount Sinai head coach Michael Pappalardo, was to defend Shoreham-Wading River senior Mackenzie Zajac.

“Our game plan was to try to hold Zajac to 10 points or less, which is a tall order,” he said. “Brooke [Cergol] played lights out tonight — she was amazing on defense from start to finish. She held Zajac to just seven points.”

On the opposite end of the court, Shoreham-Wading River head coach Adam Lievre wasn’t pleased with how his team defended its end of the court.

“Our press in the first half didn’t work out very well, and we haven’t played a competitive game in a few weeks,” he said. “The level of competition took a major step up tonight, and we didn’t come out at tipoff ready to handle it, which put us in a hole.”

Mount Sinai’s Gabby Sartori defends against Shoreham-Wading River’s Mackenzie Zajac. Photo by Bill Landon

The Wildcats’ second half would be unlike the first though, learning from their mistakes. Senior Sam Higgins shifted the momentum of the game with a 3-pointer, followed several unanswered points, which was capped by a Maria Smith basket that made it a one-point game.

After a Shoreham-Wading River field goal, Johnson answered with a long distance three, but the Wildcats countered with a pair of Mikayla Dwyer free throws and a Higgins field goal to make it a two-point game.

Despite being held to seven points, Zajac made her points count, and on a field goal gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 41-10. But the Wildcats’ lead was short lived. Mount Sinai sophomore Holly McNair came off the bench and found the rim to retake the lead with 4:32 left in the final quarter.

“Gabby [Sartori] stepped up big to hit an amazing shot when we needed it most to put us up by two,” Pappalardo said. “[Veronica] Venezia played awesome in the post, scoring and rebounding along with Holly McNair who really helped us off the bench.”

Swapping points on both sides of the court with time running out, Dwyer stole the ball and broke to the basket to tie the game at 51-51 with 21 seconds left in regulation.

“They came out very strong in that second half — they were aggressive, they were trapping and we didn’t expect them to do that,” Venezia said of Shoreham-Wading River. “Our defense was strong today and we’re very excited. This is our best year so far.”

Mount Sinai’s Veronica Venezia battles in the paint. Photo by Bill Landon

Each team traded points to retie the game at 55-55 with 1:48 left in the first four-minute overtime session, but the Mustangs inched away. Sartori’s shot found its mark, followed by a Johnson field goal and pair of free throws by junior Olivia Williams to put the game away.

“Olivia was all over the place,” Pappalardo said, “rebounding and diving for loose balls showing outstanding hustle.”

Venezia followed Johnson in scoring with 14 points and Sartori tacked on 12. Dwyer lead the Wildcats with 12 points and Higgins banked 11.

With the win, the Mustangs are 11-0 overall and atop the League VI leaderboard at 7-0.

Sartori said both the undefeated matchup and her team’s success so far this season puts the Mustangs in uncharted territory.

“It was our first overtime — we had to talk to each other, and we were ready for this one,” she said. “We knew how much we wanted this, and getting this win, we’re very optimistic for the rest of the season.”

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Rafael Lievano went 3-1 in the tournament at Comsewogue, losing to Northport in the finals. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Ward Melville’s wrestling team had two Patriots, seniors Kenny Cracchiola and Sean Fitzsimmons, pull away undefeated during a multi-team dual meet Jan. 14 at Comsewogue High School. Ward Melville faced off against St. John the Baptist, Riverhead, Bay Shore and Northport.

“This is my fourth year on varsity and honestly this is the best overall team we’ve had,” Cracchiola said. “I think with this year’s team we can knock off [some] of the top teams in the county.”

A four-year varsity starter, Cracchiola won his first three matches against Bay Shore, St. John the Baptist and Riverhead, by technical falls — defeating each opponent by scoring 15 more points than his challenger had on him.

Nick Little faces off against his opponent. Photo by Bill Landon

He faced a Northport opponent in the 120-pound finals, and earned his 111th career win, going 4-0.

At 126 pounds, Fitzsimons defeated Bay Shore’s Carlos Espinal, an All-League player who Ward Melville head coach Garrett Schnettler said is a county-ranked wrestler. Fitzsimons pinned him in the first period.

“I’m 3-0 right now,” Fitzsimons said following the win. “I feel that we all have something to prove this year — I think some of the other teams are brushing us off and we’ll be looking to knock off a few big names this season.”

Fitzsimons defeated both his Riverhead and St. John the Baptist opponents by technical falls, and also went 4-0.

Junior Rafael Lievano, a returning All-League and All-County standout from last season, was also undefeated heading into the final match of the afternoon.

Preparing for the tournament, the 132-pounder said he worked hard on eating right and going to bed early, knowing he was going to be facing some tough opponents. After winning his first three matches by technical falls, his final match proved to be his biggest challenge.

Tyler Lynde went 3-0 in the tournament. Photo by Bill Landon

He and his opponent know each other well.

“I’m going to face a tough kid from Northport — Chris Esposito,” Lievano said. “It’ll be a tough match. We’re good friends.”

Lievano said he beat Esposito 4-3 last year, and the match proved to be another tough one, with the Ward Melville grappler coming out on the losing end this time around.

Despite battling injuries this season, losing key wrestlers and having to forfeit matches in some weight classes, according to Schnettler, his team ended up going 2-2 in the tournament, topping St. John the Baptist and Riverhead.

Ward Melville finished 3-2 in League I this season, and travels to Port Jefferson High School Jan. 21 for the final tournament of the season, the Bob Armstrong Tournament, which will begin at 8 a.m.

The Patriots will continue to rely on key grapplers to get the job done.

“We’ve had some big matches by Kenny Cracchiola, Rafael Lievano and Sean Fitzsimons,” Schnettler said. “Our three core guys that we expect big things from once again come in and get the wins that we need.”

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Senior scores 30 points against Stony Brook

Courtney Lewis drives to the basket. Photo by Desirée Keegan

As Courtney Lewis goes, so goes the Port Jefferson girls’ basketball team.

The senior led the Royals to a 71-22 win over Stony Brook Jan. 14, scoring a game-high 30 points.

“She’s unbelievable,” Port Jefferson head coach Ed Duddy said. “She’s really matured and she has a lot of talent. That makes the other girls better and opens them up for more shots, too.”

Lewis is in her sixth season on the varsity squad, and has served as a model of success for younger Royals, like freshman Sam Ayotte.

“I look up to her,” Ayotte said of the senior. “She always makes these great moves, she teaches me everything I need to know about the game and she’s a role model in the sport.”

Jackie Brown carries the ball across the court. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Lewis scored 10 points in the first quarter, and added six more by halftime. Ayotte scored eight points in the first half, on two three-pointers and a field goal.

“I’ve been working on making threes, and they all fell in today,” Ayotte said.

Duddy was happy to see the freshman, along with his bench players, scoring in the game.

“Sam hadn’t done that all year, but she was on fire today,” he said. “We’ve been working on her shooting and it opened up for her today. All she had to do was hit that first one and get her confidence going and she couldn’t stop shooting. It’s always a good team win when everyone gets involved in the game and everyone scores.”

At halftime, Port Jefferson led 33-15, but Duddy told his Royals he thought they had it in them to run the opposing team off the court, and that’s what they did.

“We had more energy and we focused more on passing the ball, not taking the first shot and looking for the open shots,” Lewis said. “I think in the second half we definitely upped the intensity and got more rebounds and assists.”

Lewis scored 11 points in the third quarter on two three-pointers, a put-back and a three-point play, and senior Corinne Scannell, chipped in 10 points of her total 12 in the third to help Port Jeff pull away.

Scannell said her team improved on executing its plays in the second half, and the team’s press led to multiple turnovers, which the Royals converted for easy points.

Sam Ayotte fights to maintain possession of the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We were focused on shooting on our first opportunity, but in the second half we started to take a breath and unweave the defense instead of shooting from the outside right away,” she said. “Everyone is always super supportive of each other, and Gillian Kenah, she was looking for me cutting through. But it’s not always the person who assists that helps out, it’s the person setting the pick, or the girls on the other side, the whole team makes it happen.”

Lewis scored her 1,500th point of her career this season, and is hoping to reach the 2,000 mark. Currently, she’s at 1,735.

“Courtney is amazing,” Scannell said. “I’ve been playing with her a long time — since we were in fourth grade CYO — and when she sees the lane to the basket she knows how to take advantage of those opportunities and create opportunities to score.”

Senior Jackie Brown added 10 points, senior Gillian Kenah finished with four and sophomores Jocelyn Lebron and Sarah Hull rounded out the scoring with two points each.

“We have five seniors that have been playing together since seventh grade, so it’s cool seeing how we’ve developed and looking up to the girls before us,” Scannell said. “We’re enjoying our last year.”

But if the team wants to make a statement, defense is going to have to continue to be key for the Royals.

“It’s our time I told them,” Duddy said. “They’re a tight group, they’re good friends on and off the court and hopefully it happens this year. Right now I like where we’re at and hopefully we finish strong, but when we get into the playoffs and we play Pierson and Southold, possibly, it’s going to come down to defense. We’ve always been a good shooting team, but we have to emphasize defense if we’re going to win a ‘C’ championship.”

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Kevin Cryer-Hassett is fouled heading to the basket. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

The Northport boys’ basketball team stayed within striking distance, but couldn’t disrupt Lindenhurst’s rhythm in the last two minutes, falling 60-52 Jan. 15.

“I was proud of their effort,” Northport head coach Andrew D’Eloia said of his team. “We didn’t lose because of a lack of effort, we got beat by a team who hit some shots down the stretch.”

Vin DeCeglia scores on a jumper. Photo by Bill Landon

After a slow start, Northport found its first lead of the game when junior Justin Carrano muscled his way to the rim to bring the score to 12-11 with two minutes left in the opening quarter.

Northport’s Kevin Cryer-Hassett and teammate Vin DeCeglia both scored from three-point land. The senior guards helped close out the quarter with the Tigers out front, 18-13.

With 4:49 left in the half, the Bull Dogs drained a pair of their own from long distance, as Shane Webster and Tyler Manger trimmed the deficit to 24-21.

Ryan Magnuson let his three-pointer fly to put Northport ahead 27-21. Sophomore Ian Melamerson’s shot found the rim next, and Cryer-Hassett tacked on two free-throw points for a 31-28 lead at halftime.

Lindenhurst made it a new game a minute into the second half when Manger hit his second three-pointer of the game to make it even at 31-31. Both teams traded points and Northport was able to hold the lead for most of the quarter.

Scoring twice from the paint, DeCeglia was fouled on his second basket, sending him to the charity stripe for a bonus point. He swished his opportunity for the three-point play, Carrano added three more and senior Connor Widmaier found the rim for a three-point lead.

Justin Carrano reaches for the rim through traffic. Photo by Bill Landon

Lindenhurst answered with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to make it a new game, tied 41-41, heading into the final eight minutes of play.

With 2:49 left in regulation, DeCeglia drove the lane and scored to retake the lead for his team, 49-48, but Lindenhurst answered right back scoring two and went to the free-throw line, converting a three-point play.

“Their best player, [Arthur] Brzozkas, scored 27 points and he made plays down the stretch and that was [the game changer],” D’Eloia said. “The ball went in for them and it didn’t for us, and that was really the difference.”

Northport ran into some foul trouble, and Lindenhurst spent quality time at the charity stripe, banking five of six free throws to edge ahead 56-49 with 29 seconds left in regulation.

Cryer-Hassett drained a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to make it a four-point game, but the Tigers didn’t come any closer.

DeCeglia led his team in scoring with 13 points, Cryer-Hassett followed with 11, and Carrano and Magnuson added 10 points each. With the loss Northport drops to 3-3 in League II and 5-6 overall, and will travel to face Walt Whitman on Jan. 17 at 4:30 p.m.

“Our guys left their heart out on the court,” D’Eloia said, “and that’s all you can ask for.”

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Kids play with Nerf guns and dodgeballs with the local officers as part of Police Unity Night. Photo by Kevin Redding

Officers within the Suffolk County Police Department replaced their handguns and black shoes with Nerf blasters and orange “sky socks” Jan. 4 for a night of bouncy Nerf battles with local kids at Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Mount Sinai.

When the officers and kids weren’t crouched behind inflatable bunkers dodging foam darts, together they dodged balls in “dodge-a-cop” matches, shot basketballs and leaped into a giant pit full of foam cubes.

Suffolk County 6th Precinct Crime Section Officer Anthony Napolitano prepares to hurl a dodgeball. Photo by Kevin Redding

SCPD’s young friends were even invited to sit in the front and back seats of the patrol cars, were shown how to turn on the sirens and lights and were allowed to use the car’s PA speaker.

Donned Police Unity Night, the event will take place the first Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. It started as a one-night dodgeball event over the summer by Sky Zone Director of Events Nicole Tumilowicz, as a way of showing support for SCPD and helping bridge the relationship between law enforcement and the people it serves.

It was such a big hit among the community, she said, she and her organization decided to host the event in collaboration with community liaison officers from the 3rd and 6th Precincts on a monthly basis in Mount Sinai. Events are also hosted with local police departments at the Sky Zone in Deer Park. Officers and their own children always jump for free, and each month the event will feature food donations from a different local business.

For $20, families poured into the popular indoor park for two hours of fun, community camaraderie and food — Brooklyn Bagels & Cafe of Rocky Point served sandwiches, bagels and cookies.

“This is our way of giving back and really getting involved,” Tumilowicz said. “We want to get the community together, have fun, increase police relations and give our guests a chance to interact with [the SCPD] on a different level and see them in a different light. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

Sixth Precinct Community Liaison Officer Casey Hines, a former social worker who frequently speaks on public safety at local school districts, and has partnered with Sky Zone in training its staff on what to do in dangerous situations, said it’s important to her that the public isn’t intimidated and guarded when it comes to interacting with the police.

She wants people to know their names and see them as people they can go to for help.

“When these kids have a problem or they have somebody bullying them or they just need somebody to talk to, I want them to feel they can say ‘you know, I’m gonna call Casey about this and see what she says,’” Hines said. “It’s wonderful to be able to have a rapport with the community in a positive environment.”

Children goof around with cops outside Sky Zone in Mount Sinai. Photo by Kevin Redding

She’s also having fun.

“We’re jumping, and defenses are down [here],” she said. “The kids and parents know that we’re here to help them.”

Officer Todd Bradshaw, of the 6th Precinct’s Community Oriented Police Enforcement unit, echoed Hines’s feelings when reminiscing about the dodgeball event over the summer.

“I remember a few of the kids — one or two in particular — were really kind of nervous and taken aback by the fact that police were there playing dodgeball and bouncing with them,” he said. “But after a while, they saw us being goofy and loosening up, and then they felt comfortable smiling next to us and playing with us and then wailing dodgeballs at us. They realized we were approachable.”

Eufrasia Rodriguez, from Rocky Point, shared the Police Unity Night post on Facebook, and in doing so, wound up winning a free ticket for her son Justice, a 14-year-old boy with autism.

“I shared it because we have a charity called Justice 4 Autism and we figured this would be a great opportunity for kids to play with and meet the police,” Rodriguez said. “Justice was so excited to come and meet the police and jump. On our way here we heard police sirens and he was like ‘is that them?’”

Her son was quick to run up and take a picture with 6th Precinct Crime Section Officer Anthony Napolitano at the entrance.

“They’re all a bunch of good kids,” said Napolitano. “This means a lot to them; so hopefully it keeps them off the streets and inside.”

6th Precinct Community Liaison Officer Casey Hines talks to kids. Photo by Kevin Redding

Cameron Tyburski, a 12-year-old from Shoreham-Wading River Middle School, came to the event with some of his classmates.

“It’s great because there’s free food and I showed some of the cops how to do front flips,” Tyburski said.

“I feel protected,” Amanda Lahey, 12, said.

Kelly Riess, 12, whose dad is a cop, said this was her second time at one of the events.

“It’s really fun, and it’s great to go around and meet the cops and all the families,” she said. “I think it’s a good idea to do this.”

To end the night, in Sky Zone’s largest trampoline-covered arena, Hines and fellow officer Jennifer Mackey led their team of kids into a full-fledged Nerf war against Napolitano and his own group. Bouncing back and forth between trampolines, taking cover and loading up on foam darts in between shots, Hines’s “red team” took the victory.

“You can’t walk out of here without a huge smile on your face and feel awesome, it’s just great,” Hines said. “There’s nothing like having these little kids running up to you and being like ‘I shot you’ or ‘you got me … can you play again?’ It’s them just being real with us, and I love it.”

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Ward Melville's Dom Pryor reaches for the rim. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Ward Melville led from the opening tipoff, and despite a late push by Commack’s boys’ basketball team, which pulled within nine points late in the third quarter, the Patriots maintained the advantage and won 57-41. With the win, the Patriots remain tied atop the League I leaderboard.

The Patriots came out fast, and quickly jumped out to a 13-4 lead midway through the first quarter, prompting a Commack timeout. Ward Melville’s defense swarmed, looking as if there was an extra man on the court. The shot clock worked against the Cougars, which struggled to let the ball loose in time.

Ward Melville senior Noah Kepes had the hot hand early, scoring three three-pointers in the opening quarter, and classmate Dom Pryor pitched in two field goals and a three-pointer of his own, to help the Patriots to a 20-6 lead at the end of eight minutes.

Kepes said his team’s focus is always defense first.

Ward Melville’s Alex Sobel scores. Photo by Bill Landon

“We’re just hungry on defense,” he said. “Everyday in practice we work on these drills — whoever’s on the floor first is going to get the ball first, so it’s that kind of the mentality. When they began to make their push coach told us they were going to do that, and how you react to that push is who’s going to come out with the win.”

Commack countered with four unanswered points, but again the shot clock expired, turning the ball over to the Patriots.

With just over three minutes left in the half, Commack senior Christian Volatile fell. Injured on the play, he sat out the remainder of the game.

Commack sophomore Aiden Keenan went the free-throw line shooting two and banked both points, but the Patriots answered back and then some, when senior Matt Hudzik drained a three, as Ward Melville edged ahead 25-14 by halftime.

The Patriots’ defense remained unrelenting. The Cougars still couldn’t get the ball to the rim, and turned the ball over as the 35-second shot clock expired.

Ward Melville head coach Alex Piccirillo said he likes what he saw.

“On the defensive end we communicated well, we rotated well, we switched on screens; so we did everything we needed to do on that end,” Piccirillo said. “We struggled offensively from time to time, every team will go on a scoring run, it’s how we weather it and how we stop it that’s important.”

The fouls began to eat up the final minutes of the third quarter, and momentum shifted Commack’s way.

Keenan sank four field goals and a pair of free throws, and with help from senior Ryan Donohue, who added four points, the Cougars pulled within nine, 37-28.

“Ward Melville’s a good team and they’ve got a lot of guys who can knock down the outside shot, so we tried to plan for that, but unfortunately, we left some guys open in the first half,” Commack head coach Peter Smith said. “We adjusted nicely in the second quarter. We did OK in the third, but their defense is very good.”

It would be as close a Commack would come.

Commack’s Aiden Keenan dribbles the ball up the court. Photo by Bill Landon

At 6 feet, 7 inches, the big man for the Patriots, junior Alex Sobel, battled in the paint muscling his way to the rim, scoring three times. Sobel went to the charity stripe three times too, and never missed.

“We knew they’re a good team, especially the last two years,” Sobel said of Commack. “We came out strong and held a little gap. We got a little worried when they got close in third quarter, but we picked it up and closed the game out strong.”

Hudzik hit a field goal, Pryor swished a three-pointer and sophomore Ray Grabowski banked a field goal along with a free-throw point to close out the scoring for the Patriots.

With the win, Ward Melville improves to 9-2 overall and 5-0 in league play, sharing the top spot with Brentwood.

Sobel topped the scoreboard for the Ward Melville with 20 points and Kepes tacked on 15. Keenan led the scoring for Commack with 12 points and Donohue finished with nine.

With the loss, Commack drops to 5-5 overall and 1-4 in the league.

“We’ll put this game behind us quickly,” Smith said. “We have practice tomorrow and we have to rebound. We need to get a home win against Pat-Med.”

Commack hosts Patchogue-Medford Jan. 12 at 5:45 p.m. Ward Melville will travel to William Floyd Jan. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

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Girls' basketball team already making huge strides this season

Nora Gabel dribbles the ball around a Westhampton opponent. Photo by Desirée Keegan

What a difference a year can make.

With the Comsewogue girls’ basketball’s 54-37 win over Westhampton Jan. 10, the Warriors have already improved on last season’s League V record. Junior guard Nora Gabel, who experienced the struggles of last season first-hand, is leading the way this year.

Megan Turner moves the ball up the court. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“Westhampton is always a really close game — we’re really evenly matched, and last year we lost to them in overtime at the buzzer, so we came in knowing not to take it easy,” Gabel said.

The junior scored a game-high 23 points in the win, but classmate Megan Turner was responsible for getting the ball rolling.

Turner tallied 10 points in the first quarter to help the Warriors to a 20-8 lead after eight minutes. Senior Sam Collins added five points and Gabel chipped in four in the opening quarter.

Gabel said the team was successful because of the way the Warriors not only schemed against their opponent but also their unselfish team play.

“We knew what strategies they were going to use, so we practiced plays around it and helped other girls get to the basket to score,” she said. “We set a lot of screens to help others get open. No one is a selfish player. We pass each other the ball, and it helps.”

She said that was part of the team’s problem last season, which led to a 3-9 League V record. With the win over Westhampton, Comsewogue is now 4-1.

Sam Collins shoots a three-pointer. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The Warriors slowed down in the second, scoring seven points — four from junior Georgia Alexiou — but still took a 27-16 lead into the locker room.

“We got stops when we needed it,” Comsewogue head coach Joe Caltagirone said. “I wasn’t too happy with the rebounding in the first half, but it was better in the second half. We have a few girls that can score and a few girls that play good defense, so we just play a good team game.”

The team rode the hot hand in the second half.

Gabel came out guns blazing, scoring the first nine points for her team with two field goals, a three-point play and two free throws.

“We’re able to force a lot of turnovers — we steal the ball a lot — and we’re fast too, so we can capitalize on those turnovers and get easy baskets,” Gabel said.

She had two breakaway baskets and five steals, and finished the scoring in the third with a buzzer-beating layup that put her team up 42-28.

“I was happy that she got a little more aggressive in the second half,” Caltagirone said of Gabel. “I think she was a little passive in the first half, but she totally changed the momentum of the game because they thought they had her in check, and then she got a couple of easy baskets in the third quarter and they exerted a lot of energy trying to play catch-up.”

The Warriors were able to control the final eight minutes, with Gabel scoring seven of the team’s 12 points.

Lauren Gray carries the ball into Westhampton’s zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“She scores in a variety of ways — she can hook the threes, she gets to the basket, she gets to the line; she’s shifty,” Caltagirone said. “She has a couple of moves in her arsenal she can use at any time. She takes pride in what she does and she works hard. There are games where she doesn’t score as much, but we win, and she’s happy with that, too.”

Gabel said she’s most excited about making a statement this season.

“Our games haven’t been that close, so I think we have a better chance of coming second in the league, or maybe even taking first if we beat Harborfields the second time we play them,” she said. “I want to make playoffs this season. Last season we were the underdogs and everyone thought we were so bad, and it’d be nice to show them who we really are.”

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Senior Dante DeBonis fights off his opponent during his sweep of Brentwood. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

The Centereach boys’ fencing team notched its first win of the season, 18-9 after hitting the road to take on Brentwood Jan. 7, before the snow began to fall.

Saberist Dante DeBonis struck first for the Cougars. The senior blanked his opponent 5-0, and sophomore Aiden Donnelly followed with a close 5-4 win over Brentwood’s Emanuel Santiago for a 2-0 lead.

Senior Ray Rahman pushes toward his Brentwood opponent as their weapons collide. Photo by Bill Landon

Although dropping the final saber match, Ray Rahman started off foil with a win, as the senior edged his challenger 5-3, and was followed by junior David Hatami, who outscored Brentwood’s Shaib Ali, 5-3.

Centereach head coach Glenn Schnabel said Rahman has quickly risen in the ranks to become Centereach’s top fencer.

“He’s our No. 1 foil guy — he went 3-0 today, but early in the season he was sort of one-dimensional, he was relying on one or two moves,” Schnabel said of Rahman. “We talked about what it takes to be an elite fencer. You’ve got to use three or four moves, you have to change it up and he used a lot of different moves today.”

Completing the sweep in foil for Round 1 was sophomore foilist Jarod Chang, who defeated his challenger 5-3.

Centereach was solid throughout the rest of the round, as two of the final three bouts, all epée, were won by large margins. Junior James Moore narrowly defeated his opponent, 4-3, before sophomores Abir Das and Jayden Garcia won their respective bouts, 5-1, to put the Cougars out front 8-1.

“I did a good job getting [my opponent] close to me,” Das said. “I took big steps forward and small steps back. I’m going to focus on making each move better, and you can only do that by doing it over and over again — making small improvements and then making them faster.”

Junior Abir Das gets a touch on his opponent. Photo by Bill Landon

Schnabel said he liked what he saw out on the strip.

“I like the fact that they’re committing to their moves, because earlier in the season, they were timid — maybe afraid — so now I see confidence in their moves,” the head coach said. “Now it’s easier, because they’re more comfortable; we can work on [technique], we can fix the moves and they can [hone] them, making them better for the next match.”

DeBonis, Rahman, Chang, Garcia and Das all won their second bouts in Round 2, to put Centereach ahead 13-5 going into Round 3.

DeBonis, a co-captain who was named first All-County and All-Long Island last season, and finished third in this year’s Brentwood holiday tournament, made short work of Brentwood’s Allen Bettencourt, winning his third bout of the day, 5-1.

“I think I did well defensively, which is what I like to do,’ he said. “I try to make them react [to me] and not react to them. The biggest thing I did wrong today is I looked at the blade a couple of times, and you don’t want to do that because then you lose the action.”

Sophomore Jarod Chang closes in on his Brentwood opponent. Photo by Bill Landon

Rahman, also a co-captain, who was named second team All-County last year, also capped his day with a third win, by a 5-2 margin.

“I thought I did well adapting to their style, but they’re great fencers,” Rahman said of his Brentwood opponents. “They figured me out in some situations, and controlling the tempo of the match is something I need to work on.”

Das also scored a win in the final round to sweep on the day, besting his foe 5-3.

“Abir has really come a long way, especially today with his strategy,” Schnabel said of the No. 2 epéeist, “He’s picking the right moves to use at the right time.”

Centereach, now 1-4, will host Walt Whitman, 6-1, on Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m.

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