By ANDREW McCLURE
The Malverne Mules shook off a lackluster first half to beat Oyster Bay 71-58 to capture the Nassau County Class B boys' basketball championship at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of SUNY-Old Westbury last Saturday.
Guard Justin Williams scored 21 points, 11 of which came during a 23-12 third quarter, to lead the Mules. The victory gave the Mules their 16th county championship, including three in a row. Junior guard Bryan Van Cott scored 20 points to lead the Baymen.
Malverne coach Darrol Lopez knew that Van Cott and Oyster Bay would present a challenge, but was more concerned with his own team. "We knew that he could score, we knew that they had some talent, but I was more interested in what we were going to do," Lopez said. "We wanted to control the tempo and force them to do things that they didn't want to do."
As usual, the Mules came out in a full-court press, but the Baymen had little trouble moving the ball up the floor in the first half against Malverne's pressure defense. The Mules scored 10 consecutive points to take a 10-2 lead midway through the opening quarter, but Oyster Bay fought back and only trailed 16-11 as the quarter came to an end. Senior guard Dashiem Cherry led Malverne with seven first quarter points.
Malverne went on a 6-0 run to begin the second quarter, but Oyster Bay wouldn't go away. Consecutive threes by Van Cott, who came into the game averaging 21 points per contest, trimmed the Mules lead to 22-18 with 4:25 remaining in the half. Only erratic free throw shooting by the Baymen, and Van Cott being forced to sit with three fouls, enabled Malverne to hold a 32-25 lead at the half.
The third quarter was all Williams and the Mules. The 6-foot-2 junior, who wasn't much of a factor in the first half, took over the game. Malverne's leading scorer scored the first seven points of the second half as the Mules went on a 12-2 run to take a commanding 44-27 lead. Williams also hauled in 15 rebounds for Malverne.
Outstanding defense by junior point guard D.J. Williams, who had seven steals and wreaked havoc on the Oyster Bay guards, set the tone for Malverne's dominant quarter. The Mules forced Oyster Bay to turn the ball over 10 times in the quarter.
Oyster Bay, 9-10, made the final score respectable, but the outcome was determined before the teams took the floor for the final eight minutes.
Malverne, 10-10, will be after its ninth Long Island championship when it takes on Center Moriches on Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Bay Shore High School. The Red Devils, 17-4, won the Suffolk title with an upset victory over Southampton.
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