Lions-Raiders Preview

The Longwood basketball team takes on Patchogue-Medford Tuesday in the Class AA quarterfinals for a chance to advance to the semifinals against the winner of Lindenhurst/Bay Shore. The Lions have beaten the Raiders twice this season, but both games have been close. The Raiders feature a dynamic scorer in Marcus Stroman, who can take over a game with his shooting ability. He can score from anywhere on the court. Expect the Lions to mix up their looks at him defensively with Tajric Boggs and Kyle Weeks getting the early assignment. As with any good scorer, you want to force him to take tough, contested shots. If he gets easy looks early in the game, that could allow him to get hot, at which point it doesn't matter if his shots are contested.

Jordan Jackson scored 20 points in the Raiders' playoff opener so the Lions will have to keep an eye on him as well. They'll also need to get a body on the 6-8 center, Nick Sergio. He doesn't have great range, but if he's left open down low he'll control the boards and get second chance opportunities. The Lions will rely on Jimmy Knudsen and Marcus Hunter to grab the boards.

The Raiders were competitive in all six games against their top League I rivals this year but went only 1-5 in those games. Their one win came at Lindenhurst Jan. 16, 71-68. Sergio had 20 points in that win. The Lions can't let that happen Tuesday. Stroman will get his points, but they can't allow the other guys to put up a big number as well. In their five losses they lost by an average of 5.6 points.

History has been on the Lions' side as of late in the rivalry. In the last three years they've won five out of six games.

Jan. 24, '09: Longwood 68, Pat-Med 62

Dec. 16, '08: Longwood 69, Pat-Med 65

Jan. 29, '08: Pat-Med 73, Longwood 66

Jan. 5, '08: Longwood 69, Pat-Med 65

Feb. 12, '07: Longwood 73, Pat-Med 54

Jan. 19, '07: Longwood 58, Pat-Med 58

Quarterfinals Matchups Are Set

Top-seeded Longwood hung on against Sachem North Tuesday night. Click here for a full recap.

So the quarterfinals set for next Tuesday are as follows:

1. Longwood

vs.

9. Patchogue-Medford

4. Lindenhurst

vs.

5. Bay Shore

3. Bellport

vs. 

6. North Babylon

7. Walt Whitman

vs.

15. Deer Park

Obviously the big surprise is No. 15 Deer Park upsetting No. 2 Brentwood. The Indians fell in double overtime, 84-81, for the quick exit. It's not terribly surprising when you consider the skill of Josh Malone, who poured in 29 points for Deer Park in the win. I saw him this year light up Riverhead and he can really score. J.J. Moore added 28 for Brentwood, but it wasn't enough. Brentwood returns most of its team around Moore so the Indians will be back next year.

Last year in AA the higher seed won every game throughout the bracket. Not so this year. I don't really consider No. 9 Pat-Med winning as an upset, though. The Raiders are a legit team, their record was just hurt by playing in League I. Should be a good one next week at Longwood.

It's official, Longwood No. 1

The Longwood boys were seeded No. 1 in the Class AA outbracket as revealed Thursday afternoon. The Lions will host Sachem North Tuesday at 6 p.m.

To view a complete bracket, log on to sectionxi.org

Longwood boys win, could earn top seed

The Longwood boys basketball team capped off a 10-2, 16-3 regular season with a win against Sachem East, 74-39, at home Wednesday night. Now it's a waiting game to see how the seeds shake out.

Longwood finished the season as co-League I champs along with Brentwood (10-2) but finished with a better overall record. The Lions also won the only common game between the two schools. Longwood beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. That said, it would seem to make sense Longwood earns the higher seed over Brentwood.

The Lions could be the top seed, especially after Bay Shore in League II somehow lost to Central Islip Wednesday, 43-42, on a last-second 3-pointer. So instead of 13-1 and 17-2, Bay Shore ends 12-2 and 16-3. 

Here's my rough prediction as of Wednesday night: (I'm always curious to see how close I get to predicting these seedings...)

1. Longwood (10-2, 16-3)

vs. 

16. Connetquot (7-7, 9-11)

9. Pat-Med (7-5, 13-5)

vs.

8. Copiague (9-3, 13-6)

5. Walt Whitman (12-2, 14-5)

vs.

12. Riverhead (7-5, 12-7)

4. Bellport (12-0, 16-3)

vs.

13. Deer Park (6-6, 9-10)

3. Brentwood (10-2, 14-5)

vs.

14. Sachem North (7-7, 9-10)

11. West Islip (9-5, 10-9)

vs.

6. Lindenhurst (9-3, 15-4)

10. Hills East (9-3, 11-7)

vs.

7. North Babylon (10-2, 14-5)

15. Hills West (6-6, 7-12)

vs.

2. Bay Shore (12-2, 16-3)

Again, this is just my guess. If it turned out like this, obviously if you're Longwood you don't want to see Marcus Stroman in round 2. That's rough. But on the plus side, Brentwood and Lindenhurst would be on the opposite side of the bracket, so the Lions would only have to face one of them and that would be in the county finals. I valued North Bab as a league champ pretty low, so I don't necessarily know if that'll hold up. But I think Lindy as a third-place finisher still deserves a higher seed than just about every other team in the county. Probably even Bellport, too.

We'll find out for sure Friday morning... And then we'll break it down fo' real.

SWR boys hoops in playoffs

No big surprise here. The Shoreham-Wading River boys clinched a playoff spot with a win Monday night against Mount Sinai. The Wildcats and Longwood are the only boys teams to earn playoff spots this season.

On the girls side, only Shoreham and Mount Sinai are in. The two teams met Monday as well and Shoreham won to improve to 11-3 in League VI while the Mustangs fell to 8-6.

For an updated look at potential playoff seeding, let's start with the boys.

In Class AA, with Bay Shore's win Monday night against Walt Whitman, I'll guess the Marauders take the top seed in the playoffs. They're currently 12-1 in League II and 16-2 overall, the best record in AA. I think Longwood should get the No. 2 seed, assuming a win Tuesday against Sachem East. The Lions would finish at 10-2 and 16-3. From there you'd have Whitman (11-2, 13-5), Lindenhurst (8-3, 14-4), Bellport (11-0, 15-3) Copiague (9-2, 13-5) and North Babylon (9-2, 13-5) all vying for the next five seeds. All of those teams should host a first-round game. Don't be shocked if Pat-Med, a fourth-place League I team, sneaks in as a seven or eight seed.

A lot is still riding on the last game of the season for all these teams.

In Class A, the Wildcats finished 7-7 in league and will be a bottom seed, likely to face an outbracket game and then have to go on the road to East Hampton or Harborfields. Expect their playoff run to be short.

As for the girls, the first question is who gets the top seed in Class A, Harborfields (13-0, 16-2 League V) or John Glenn (13-0, 16-2 League VI). This is a big question for Shoreham. As a four seed, if the Wildcats win, they'll have to go on the road to the No. 1 seed. I think they'd like their chances against the Knights, a team they've played so many times before. Remember, the Wildcats, after losing twice by big margins in the regular season, nearly beat them last year on the road. Maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to pull of the upset this time in a similar, low-scoring game. Having to face a team like Harborfields that you're completely unfamiliar with doesn't sound good to me. I'd rather face the team that you know exactly what it can do. And hope you're due to win one.

First, though, the Wildcats will likely have to face a team like Amityville. The Wildcats beat the Warriors twice in the regular season, but they're a dangerous team. Sayville or Comsewogue could be in the mix as well for a five seed, although both teams have worse records than Amityville. But sometimes the seeding committee likes to have first-round matchups of League V vs. League VI teams. You never know....

Another Boys Hoops Roundup...

We're down to the final stretch in high school basketball before the playoffs begin. So let's take a look at where boys team's stand and how the playoffs might shake up.

Only one local team has clinched a playoff spot and that's Longwood in League I. The Lions face first-place Brentwood at home tonight for a chance to earn a share of the league title. If the Lions can win out these next two games, including a home game against Sachem East, the real interesting question will be which team gets the higher seed? Brentwood or Longwood? The Lions would have the better overall record, but Brentwood played the tougher schedule. Longwood did beat St. John the Baptist, a team Brentwood lost to. An Indians win tonight makes it a moot point. Brentwood has won three straight against Longwood, all at Brentwood. Longwood won its last home meeting against the Indians last year.

Here are the current standings:

Brentwood 9-1

Longwood 8-2

Lindenhurst 6-3

Pat-Med 5-4

Floyd 3-6

Sachem East 2-7

Ward Melville 0-10

The only other local team with a chance to clinch a playoff berth is Shoreham-Wading River in League VI. The Wildcats are 6-7 and should get their seventh win when they play Mount Sinai Monday at home. Miller Place and Mt. Sinai are eliminated from contention.

Here are the standings:

East Hampton 12-1

John Glenn 10-3

Amityville 9-4

Bayport 9-4

SWR 6-7

Miller Place 4-9

Mt. Sinai 1-12

Westhampton 1-12

In League V Rocky Point is eliminated from contention with a 4-9 record.

Harborfields 11-1

Huntington 10-2

Kings Park 10-3

Comsewogue 7-6

Islip 6-7

Rocky Point 4-9

Hauppauge 3-10

Sayville 0-13

So let's take a look at possible playoff positioning:

In Class A the bracket is set up for seven teams, but we'll have more teams make it. As of now there are eight teams clinched with another two as possibilities. Shoreham should make it nine and an Islip win against Rocky Point would make it 10 teams. So we're looking at outbracket games to get in the dance. Shoreham will definitely be an outbracket team, playing either a Comsewogue or Islip.

My guess would be if 10 teams get in that the 9 and 10 would play an outbracket for the right to play the No. 1. Then the 7 and 8 would play for the right to play the No. 2.

Something like this:

9. Comsewogue

vs.

10. SWR

7. Amityville

vs.

8. Islip

1. East Hampton

vs.

9-10 Winner

4. John Glenn

vs. 

5. Kings Park

3. Huntington

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

2. Harborfields

vs.

7-8 winner

That'd be a tough bracket right there.

Back to Class AA:

This is where things get real tricky. A lot of good teams without a couple really dominant teams as sure 1 and 2 seeds. This won't be easy to break down and the season's final few games will go a long way toward determining these final seeds.

So far 11 teams have clinched a playoff spot. The bracket is set up for 16 teams. From League I through IV there are at least one or two teams that stand one win away from clinching. So within the next few days we'll have a better picture of what teams are in. There are simply too many important games left to accurately predict how the seedings may fall. Among them are Longwood-Brentwood tonight, Hills West-Bellport, Whitman-Bay Shore and Copiague-North Babylon. These games all have huge ramifications toward playoff seeding and potential league titles.

It should make for an exciting prelude to the playoffs.

Longwood falls in semifinals

Longwood senior Nick Esposito/photo by Garret Meade

MIDDLE ISLAND--The Connetquot Thunderbirds advanced the Division I county finals with a 12-7 comeback victory at Longwood High School Friday night, ending the Lions season at 7-3.
The Lions held a 7-6 lead until Connetquot rolled off a 13-play, 77-yard drive with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter. Joseph Zuco capped off the drive with a touchdown from a yard out. The two-point conversion was no good.
Longwood took over 1:10 left, no timeouts and 67 yards away from the end zone. With under 30 seconds left Lions quarterback Eddie Wess was intercepted on a desperate heave down field to end the game. One kneel down made it official.
Amazingly, Connetquot will face Lindenhurst in the finals after the Bulldogs upset top-ranked William Floyd.
A Colonials-Lions rematch was not meant to be.
Connetquot struck first against the Lions on the second play of the game. Ryan Anderson threw a screen right to Jon Sternbach who took the ball 45 yards down the right sideline. The extra point kick was blocked by Sherif Saad, which looked like would be a pivotal play once the Lions' 7-6 lead looked like it might hold up.
Longwood grabbed the lead late in the second quarter on a long pass by Wess to Tommy Scala down the right sideline. The pass went for 53 yards and the extra point by Jaelisa Rehal gave the Lions the one point lead.
Longwood picked up only three first downs in the second half.

Playoff Brackets Posted!

We'll start with boys soccer.

The brackets are pretty similar to how I predicted earlier. Mount Sinai did earn the No. 2 seed despite falling into a tie with Miller Place. So good news for the Mustangs, who won't have to face Comsewogue until a county championship. Miller Place meanwhile gets Sayville in the first round. Yikes! Here's the rule with Sayville in soccer: You never, ever want to play them. I don't care what their record is.

So here it goes:

1. Comsewogue

vs.

8. Bayport-Blue Point vs. 9. Harborfields

5. Sayville

vs.

4. Miller Place

3. Hauppauge

vs. 

6. SWR

7. Westhampton

vs.

2. Mt. Sinai

The outbracket game is Monday and the first round games are Thursday with the semifinals to be played Monday, Nov. 3. The county championship will be Thursday, Nov. 6 at Dowling Sports Complex.

I'd feel real good about Mt. Sinai winning its first game against Westhampton. The Hurricanes have struggled down the stretch and I think the Mustangs got their bad game out of the way Wednesday at Shoreham. 

Our other two schools, however, I think are prime for one and done. I never pick against Sayville and Shoreham has been very inconsistent the last three weeks. If they play like they did Wednesday, they can win. If not, Hauppauge can run away with that game.

Onto FIELD HOCKEY:

Three local teams made it as expected.

1. Sayville

vs.

8. Huntington

5. East Hampton

vs.

4. Rocky Point

3. SWR

vs.

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Harborfields

vs.

2. Miller Place

I like all of our teams to win Tuesday and advance to the semis Thursday. The real confusing part of the bracket is how in the world Miller Place earned a higher seed than Shoreham-Wading River. Shoreham led Division III all year until at the very end, Miller Place jumped the Wildcats in power points. If anyone cared about field hockey, this would be causing a major stir right now. But it's field hockey, so I'm sure no one has noticed outside of Shoreham or Miller Place.

But Miller Place finished 12-2, 14-3. Shoreham finished 13-1, 15-2. OK, so Shoreham had a better record. But why would something like better records matter in determining standings? It comes down to power points. So MP gets the edge with 170.o10 to Shoreham's 166.43.

But look closer. Who did Miller Place lose to? Shoreham. TWICE! 

Miller Place is a very good team that can win a county championship, but the Panthers have no business finishing ahead of Shoreham and to do so makes an absolute mockery of Suffolk County field hockey. Last I checked the Wildcats were defending county champions. And the Wildcats have won six of the last seven games between the two schools, including in the playoffs last year. Now this lower seeding doesn't hurt the Wildcats that much. It just means they have to play at Miller Place as opposed to home in the second round. But it's still perplexing and shouldn't be.

You can argue the power points could work into Miller Place's favor had Shoreham played a significantly worse schedule. They did not. The Wildcats' only loss came to Rocky Point, 1-0. The Eagles are pretty good this year, right? Seeded fourth in the playoffs?

Breaking down their schedules, Miller Place played:

SWR: 13-1

Rocky Point: 11-3

Pierson: 12-2

Port Jeff: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Hampton Bays: 2-12

SWR played:

MP: 12-2

RP: 11-3

Port Jeff: 7-7

Riverhead: 7-7

East Hampton: 7-7

Comsewogue: 5-9

Southampton: 3-11

So Miller Place's opponents went: 57-41, a .582 percentage

Shoreham's opponents went: 52-46, a .531 percentage

One more note: SWR outscored opponents 54-7. MP outscored opponents 50-13.

Sorry, but that's nowhere near enough to give Miller Place a higher seed after losing TWICE to Shoreham. Unbelievable.

Onto GIRLS SOCCER:

1. Islip

vs. 

9. Mt. Sinai vs. 8. Rocky Point

5. SWR

vs.

4. John Glenn

3. Harborfields

vs. 

6. Bayport-Blue Point

7. Hauppauge

vs.

2. Sayville

Should be a quick girls soccer postseason. I like RP over Mt. Sinai for the right to lose to Islip. SWR should take care of Glenn and then the Wildcats will fall victim to Islip. 

I'd be shocked to see anything but Islip playing Sayville for the county title.

Harborfields makes it official

The Harborfields girls soccer won Thursday afternoon against Westhampton, 5-0, to clinch the League VI title, which had been held by Shoreham-Wading River the last two years. The Wildcats finished in second place with a very respectable record of 10-1-1, the same record that won them the league title last year.

Harborfields really came out of nowhere this year to go 11-0-1. In League V last year the Tornadoes went 2-9-1 to finish last. A young team this season, the Tornadoes should be tough again next year. While their poor record last year is partly attributable to playing in the ultra-competitive League V, it's still hard to imagine how they made such a dramatic turnaround so quickly. Rocky Point had a much better season a year after playing in League V, but not to the same level. Rocky Point went 2-8-2 last year and finished 8-4 this year, losing to Harborfields and Shoreham twice.

The brackets for girls soccer will be posted Friday, but as of Thursday night, here's my rough prediction of how things might look. Nine teams will get in, so the eight/nine seeds will play an outbracket Saturday for the right to play the No. 1. As for that No. 1, does it go to Islip or Sayville?? Tough call. I'll go with Islip since the Bucs beat Sayville 4-0 in their last meeting.

So here's how I would align the teams:

1. Islip (10-1-1, League V)

vs.

8. Hauppauge (6-5-1, League V) vs. 9. Mt. Sinai (7-5, League VII)

5. John Glenn (10-2, League VII)

vs.

4. SWR (10-1-1, League VI)

3. Sayville (10-1-1, League VI)

vs.

6. Rocky Point (8-4, League VI)

2. Harborfields (11-0-1, League VI)

vs.

7. Bayport-Blue Point (9-2-1, League VII)

Now, does Harborfields, since its the only unbeaten team receive the top seed, even though Islip and Sayville are the superior teams? It could happen, but I doubt it based on the fact that Islip and Sayville have clearly been the two best teams in Class A since like, 1945. But with an unbeaten record and League VI title, Harborfields does deserve the No. 2 seed.