West Hempstead topples Malverne

After a tough start to the season, West Hempstead’s boys’ basketball team got off on the right foot in the Hank Williams Holiday Memorial Tournament by defeating host Malverne, 57-47, on Dec. 28. Junior guard Christian Martinez registered 30 points and four assists to lead the Rams to victory. 

“We got some good ball movement tonight, and were able to get plenty of free throws,” Martinez said. “And in the second half we definitely stepped up defensively.”

West Hempstead managed to force the Mules into offensive mistakes all game long. This allowed the team to maintain a lead for most of the contest.

“We played strong on the defensive end,” Rams head coach Ed Cosgrove said. “I thought we did a good job of controlling the defensive boards. That kind of forced them to make some bad choices.”

Cosgrove’s team also had a large advantage in free throws attempted, shooting 16 more times from the charity stripe then Malverne. “We can’t keep on fouling, and let a team shoot 26 free throws and expect to win a ballgame,” Mules assistant coach Walter Aksionoff said.

Both teams looked as if they were shaking off some post-holiday rust early on, as just a combined three shots were made in the game’s opening four minutes. Late in the first, Martinez began to catch fire, finishing with eight points in the quarter.

Early on in the second quarter, West Hempstead opened up a 20-10 lead, and appeared to be on the verge of pulling away. But, baskets from Malverne junior forward Brandon Bannister and junior guard Joshua Rivers helped the Mules trim their deficit to just three points by halftime. 

With 5:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Rams found themselves behind, 26-22. West Hempstead did not trail for long, and retook the lead thanks to strong shooting from guard Izaiah Budhoo. The senior’s seven third quarter points, allowed his team to take a six-point advantage into the final quarter.

In the fourth, Martinez continued to build on his strong night, adding another eight points to help to close out Malverne. 

After the defeat, Aksionoff admitted that the Mules are a work-in-progress. “We expect more from our guys,” he said. “Our goal is to keep on getting better. Hopefully when league play starts we’ll be ready.”

Sophomore guard Michael James still finished with 12 points for Malverne, while senior guards Justus Hemingway and Kareem Headley provided eight points apiece.

Senior forward Liam Rockensies scored seven points in the game for the Rams. Seniors Noel Beaubrun, Dayquan Crawley and Greg Schulze also each added four points. While there were many contributors for the Rams, Martinez was the game’s clear standout performer. According to his coach, this could just be the beginning of big things for the junior.

“He’s a gamer,” Cosgrove said. “He comes out and can’t get enough. You’re gonna see more of these types of nights from him.”

Two nights later, West Hempstead dropped a 51-32 decision to Port Washington in the tournament final. Malverne lost 91-70 to Farmingdale in the consolation game.