By Tony Bellissimo
The Mules, who defeated the Wildcats twice during the regular season by a combined 39 points, were ahead by only one point early in the third quarter before senior forward Greg Lott put the game away.
Lott scored 13 straight points and finished with a game-high 17 as Malverne went on to defend its county crown with a 54-37 victory. Senior point guard Craig Wilson scored 11 of his 13 points in the second quarter, and senior center Stephen Adekunle added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"We knew they¹d come out with some fire," Wilson said. "We were able to pick up our intensity in the second half and pull away a little bit."
The Mules (18-2) will meet Wyandanch in the Long Island Class B title game on March 6 at 4 p.m. at Old Westbury. It¹s a rematch of last year¹s Island final, won by the Warriors.
"We didn¹t play Malverne basketball today," Coach Darroll Lopez said. "When your team is in great shape, eventually good things are going to happen. It was ugly, though."
Wheatley set the pace until two minutes into the second quarter. The Mules led by as many as six points in the first half, but were hardly a lock after Wheatley¹s Greg Cutajar-Wynne (10 points) cut the margin to 27-26 with 5:23 left in the third.
"I didn¹t say a word at halftime," Lopez said. "I let the kids talk among themselves. They knew what they had to do."
Lott, who was battling the flu, provided all the offense during a game-altering stretch to close the third quarter. In the fourth, Adekunle scored six points and senior Kelvin Anorue added four.
The opening round of the tournament saw Malverne roll past Cold Spring Harbor, 71-47, a game in which Lott had 23 points, Wilson 20 and sophomore Justin Williams 11.
"We know we¹ve got to play a stronger game to beat Wyandanch," said Wilson, who will draw the assignment to guard Warriors standout guard Chris Barber.
The Mules have won three of the last four Nassau Class B titles, and are looking for a return trip to Glens Falls and the state tournament. They got that far most recently in 2003-04, when they beat Southampton in the L.I. final.
"We¹re always on a mission to get upstate, regardless of the season," Lopez said. "We¹ll try to get some scrimmages under our belt over the next week to help us prepare for Wyandanch. I think everyone knows we have to bring our A game."
Comments about this story? Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
