By:Brian T. Dessart
A Valentine's Day basketball showdown pitting Malverne against Carle Place took place in the realm of the three-point zone -- a land visited often during the Nassau County Class B semifinal at C.W. Post's Pratt Center. Malverne's 11 three-pointers was enough to edge Carle Place's four, as the Mules went on to claim a 75-57 victory on Saturday.
Malverne's Darrell Wonge was king of the triple, nailing his third three-pointer of the night with 1:15 remaining, combined with two threes from Julian Hayes and an additional one from Dominique Williams, Malverne outscored Carle Place 24-18 in the fourth quarter.
"I thought I was going to have a 30-point game," said Wonge, who finished with 20 points. "I thought I was going to be on fire the whole game."
Even though Wonge fell short of his scoring quest, he was definitely fired up, along with the rest of the Mules' squad. The last time these two teams met on Feb. 5, Malverne led by eight points, 35-27, at the half. The Mules would later runaway to an 86-67 victory, due largely to Wonge's 22 points. This past Saturday's game was more of the same, as the Malverne clan is accustomed to picking up late game momentum.
"We stayed at our average," said Malverne coach Darrol Lopez. "That's how teams play us. They play us well in the first half, then in the third and fourth quarters we pull away. We are in good shape physically."
Malverne's defense held Carle Place scoreless in the first 2:11 of quarter play. In the second quarter, two three-pointers by Williams and an additional three by Hayes helped to push Malverne to a 36-26 halftime lead. Carle Place's Chris Conlon, who finished with a game-high 27 points, sank the final three of the quarter with 1:16 remaining. The third quarter arc was non-existent to both teams until Hayes hit the lone three of the quarter to help boost Malverne to a 51-37 lead with 1:03 remaining.
Hayes finished the night with 18 points, while Williams walked away with 13. Carle Place's Justin Schmiemann added 14.
"I knew this game was going to be a hard fight," Lopez said. "We will enjoy this win."
Malverne will face North Shore in the county finals on Feb. 27, at SUNY-Old Westbury at 5 p.m.
