Thursday, October 1, 2026
When Lynbrook boys’ basketball head coach Brian Donaldson says his surging team has scores to settle, opponents may ignore it at their peril.
In the fourth of five straight non-league wins heading into Conference A6 action, the Owls avenged last season’s loss in the Nassau Class A quarterfinals, beating last winter’s county Class A runner-up West Hempstead 62-42 in the Mike Cingiser Tournament final Dec. 9 at West Hempstead.
All-Conference swing Jake Prince led all scorers with 14 points in the tourney's main event, with fellow Owls sharpshooting senior Devin Byrne draining three three-pointers to finish with 13 points, as Lynbrook had the last laugh becoming Cingiser’s inaugural champion.
“Coming back to where we struggled, beating the team that beat us, was special,” said Donaldson. “Getting back was important after last year’s playoffs.”
While payback was sweet, satisfaction was fleeting, said Donaldson, whose club, with its heartbreak defeat, 46-44, at A6 rival Wantagh, has new unfinished business. Having maintained a modest cushion throughout the Jan. 6 league matchup, the Owls – paced by Prince’s 15 points and 11 from center Orji Agwu – saw Wantagh sneak past in the game’s closing seconds with a four-point play to seal it.
“That (Wantagh) game was tough; we mostly outplayed them,” Donaldson said. “Until the very end.”
“But we play them again, at our place,” he added. “Guys’ll be very motivated.”
His club having also faded late at first-place rival Floral Park Dec. 20 – the Knights outscoring Lynbrook 17-6 in the fourth quarter to win 58-49 – Donaldson stressed his team would focus on finishing.
Monday at league foe Valley Stream North, the Owls (8-3, 3-2 A6) made good on this claim, weathering yet another rough fourth quarter but this time delivering the dagger in a 49-48 victory. Trailing late after leading 43-35 through three periods, Lynbrook scotched VSN’s takeover bid when sixth-man Max Dellacona's jumper put Lynbrook ahead with 20 seconds left, icing the Owls’ comeback win.
The victory lifted Lynbrook to a virtual tie with Wantagh (4-7, 3-1) for second place in A6.
“We’ve been preaching, in the fourth quarter, act like the score’s zero-zero, no matter what,” Donaldson said. “Hopefully we’ll apply this, to correct what’s happened a couple times. Keep getting better.”
In its ongoing efforts at improvement, height shouldn’t be an impediment for Lynbrook, whose starters, on average, stand at six-foot, three-and-a-half inches – a figure which approaches six-foot-five with 6-8 rim-protecting senior Aaron Malinka in for the 6-3 Agwu.
Prince and Byrne – each 6-4 – lead Lynbrook at 14.9 points per game (No. 5 in A6) and 9.4 points, respectively, with Prince also tops on the team averaging 10.1 rebounds, while Byrne’s 21 made three-pointers lead Lynbrook.
In his first season starting at point guard, Jaime Pereria continues cementing his status as the Owls’ third offensive linchpin, ramping up output in recent weeks to rank third on the team with 8.1 points per game. His 16 points in the league win on Jan. 9 at Mineola were a season high for the senior.
“Height and especially continuity have helped us,” said Donaldson, whose club boasts 11 returners. “We’ve been able to jell early. And we’ve seen, when we fire on all cylinders, we can play with anybody.”
