Saturday, November 8, 2025
Wantagh and Malverne went back and forth and down to the wire to see who would advance to the semifinals of the Nassau Class A boys’ basketball tournament. In the end, the Warriors were just one shot better.
Senior Cole Spinelli capped off an epic fourth quarter by hitting the game-winning shot with 23 seconds left as fifth-seeded Wantagh (12-8) advanced to the semis for the second time in three seasons with a thrilling 63-62 win at No. 4 Malverne (13-7) on Feb. 20.
The Warriors will face top-seeded Floral Park at Farmingdale State College on March 5 at 6 p.m.
“The moment wasn’t big for them,” Warriors head coach Matt Simeone said. “They showed up and were ready to play and we were just banging back and forth. I’ll take my athletes any day of the week.”
Wantagh carried a five-point lead into the fourth quarter and pushed it to six at 52-46 a minute in, but sophomore Shane Lee’s 3-pointer and two free throws highlighted a 7-0 run that gave Malverne a one-point advantage with 3:58 left. Kevin Gutfleisch’s free throw on Wantagh’s next possession re-tied the game.
After exchanging baskets on the next three possessions, Oliver Iacobazzi’s two free throws and Gutfleisch’s put-back gave the Warriors a 59-57 lead with 1:58 remaining. Tristan Inswood tied it again for Malverne with his jumper 15 seconds later, but Joseph Nicholson’s off-balance shot from the low left post while being fouled put Wantagh back up with 56.4 seconds left.
Lee then drilled another 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. But the euphoria would be short-lived.
On the game-winning play, junior guard Devin Paccione caught the inbounds pass and initially had trouble getting around the Mules’ press defender before finally escaping into the offensive zone. He advanced to the top of the key before delivering a bounce pass to Spinelli at the low right post.
“Devin did a helluva job all game handling the press,” Simeone said.
Spinelli initially dribbled back up the post with four Mules in the vicinity before pump-faking twice and turning to take a shot that would float through the hoop.
“It was kind of a broken play because of what [Malverne was] doing, high ball pressure and collapsing on everything,” Spinelli recalled. “I got the ball and I was trying to look to find a shooter and it just wasn’t there, so I had to take a shot because time was running low.”
Malverne missed two shots in the final nine seconds, including one from the 3-point line that hit the rim at the buzzer.
“It was a game down to the last shot,” Malverne associate coach Walter Aksionoff lamented. “Back and forth, back and forth. We just couldn’t make the last shot. We didn’t shoot well.”
Spinelli had 13 points, just behind Gutfleisch (15) and Iacobazzi (14). Smith scored 17 points and Lee chipped in 13 for the Mules, which lost in the ‘A’ quarterfinals for the second straight year after capturing the ‘B’ title in 2023.
Floral Park beat Seaford 78-48 earlier in the day and defeated Wantagh twice during their current 14-game winning streak.
“With some adjustments defensively, I think we can give them a game,” Simeone said. “They’re very good, but I think they’re beatable.”
