Southampton Defeats Malverne To Claim Long Island Championship

It’s a saying that can be heard multiple times this time of year — and was certainly said last week: It’s win or go home.

The Southampton boys basketball team played to see another day, defeating Nassau County Champion Malverne, 63-49, for the Class B Long Island Championship at Hofstra University on March 8. It’s the Mariners first Long Island title since 2017 when they were a Class A team. They had won the LIC three years straight (2014-2016) as a ‘B’ school prior to the move up.

Southampton advanced to the Class B Reginal Final against Valhalla at Eastport-South Manor High School on Friday evening, which it won to advance to the New York State Final Four (see separate story).

“Last year, we lost, and I’ve been saying all year long it hurt. So yeah, we couldn’t repeat it again,” said Southampton senior Derek Reed, referring to last year’s LIC loss to Friends Academy. “It’s my last year, you only get one chance now, it’s win or go home.”

Alex Franklin, along with Reed, helped spark what was once again a strong second half overall for the Mariners, who trailed Malverne, 26-24, at halftime. Franklin’s tenacity at attacking the rim was a big reason the Mules were in foul trouble for much of the second half, and he also was a pain in the Mule’s side on defense as well. The freshman scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, and said after the win that after a subpar game for him personally in the Section XI Championship loss to Brentwood on March 4, he needed to play better.

“I felt that I let my team down, my coaching staff, and so I knew I had to have a bounce-back game,” he said. “My team, we just weren’t physical on Saturday and that was the difference this game.”

He added that attacking the basket in the second half just came naturally to him. “It was win or go home,” he said. “Being in the gym all summer, it all pays off. I can’t describe the feeling of winning.”

Southampton head coach Herm Lamison said he and the coaching staff have a certain saying when it comes to Franklin.

“‘Let that dog come out of him,’ and the dog came out today,” he said. “He wasn’t on the porch. He came out of the house and he did what he was supposed to do.

“Alex moved into the starting lineup the third game of the season, and right then and there we knew he was going to be something special,” Lamison added. “He’s only a freshman. He’s a point guard and our leading rebounder. He’s only going to get better. He’s getting more confident. Had a couple of bad games the last few games, but I think the nerves just got to him with the pressure and everything. But when you got Derek and Naevon taking that pressure off it makes things a little easier.”

It was clear from the onset of the game that when both teams had all of their weapons, they were evenly matched. But the Mariners lost arguably their top weapon not even a minute into the second quarter when Reed committed his third foul and had to sit out the rest of the first half.

After sophomore Tyson Reddick hit his second three of the game that tied it at 21-21 for Southampton, Malverne went on a quick spurt to take a five-point lead, and if it were not for sophomore Naevon Williams, the Mules may have taken over the game altogether in the second quarter with Reed out. But Williams took on the yeoman’s work of the offense. With just seconds remaining in the half, Williams took the ball the length of the court, scored on a layup and made his ensuing free throw to make it just a two-point game at the half. Williams scored 10 of his 16 total points in the first half, six of which came in the second quarter.

“I wasn’t going to sit there and get down on myself,” Reed said of being in early foul trouble. “I just needed a solution because I knew I was going back in, and that solution for the third quarter was just keep attacking, get them in foul trouble.”

And that’s exactly what Reed, Franklin and the rest of the Mariners did, to the point where two of Malverne’s starters fouled out. Senior Josh Croom fouled out with just under four minutes remaining in the game, then senior Farvens Ulysse fouled out about a minute or so later.

Reed and sophomore Nikai Pierson — who also stepped up, scoring all six of his points in the fourth quarter — teamed up for a steal at halfcourt, which led to Reed picking up the loose ball and taking it all the way for the layup. Malverne was called for an intentional foul on the play and Reed made both free throws to make it a double-digit game for the first time all night with 1:59 remaining, which basically sealed the victory.

After breaking his arm just before the start of the season, Pierson hadn’t played all that much — the Long Island Championship was just his fourth game of the season — but he’s proven to be a key addition to the Mariners’ rotation. Lamison called him a “defensive juggernaut.”

“I’m just doing my job. That’s all I can do,” he said. “I put the work in, I did what I had to do. My teammates encouraged me. Just had all the support I needed.

“Getting this chip is so big for us,” he added.

Lamison was proud of the way his team came through with the victory.

“As far as I know, there’s only a handful of select teams playing right now so we feel good to be one of those teams.”

His players made it clear amid their celebration that they’re still not ready to go home for good just yet.

“It’s a blessing,” Franklin said of being able to move on. “We have to keep working. It’s not over yet. Back to work tomorrow.

“Got to stay humble,” Reed added. “Win and move on.”