Brown leads Freeport in playoff opener

Jere Brown scored 13 points, including a free throw with 18 seconds left, as No. 8 Freeport held off ninth-seeded MacArthur, 48-46, in a Nassau Class AA first-round boys basketball playoff game Thursday.

MacArthur went a 10-0 run late in the fourth and cut a 12-point deficit to 48-46 with under a minute left.

Isaiah Barnes added 12 points and eight rebounds and Leondre Simmon had 10 points and seven assists for Freeport (13-5), which will play at No. 1 Uniondale in a quarterfinal on Tuesday at 1 p.m. William Cheshire had a game-high 19 points for MacArthur.

Great Neck South 52, Hempstead 48: Jay Lee had 10 points, including a three-pointer with 2:35 left, to give No. 7 Great Neck North (12-6) a 46-45 lead in a Class AA first-round game. Mitchell Finkel added five free throws in the final two minutes to help seal it. Josh Garfinkel led Great Neck South with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Great Neck South will play at No. 2 Baldwin in a quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Hicksville 51, Plainview JFK 47: Nick Petrucelli hit two free throws with 30 seconds remaining to give fifth-seeded Hicksville (13-3) the final margin in the first round of the Class AA playoffs. Petrucelli finished with 10 points and Pablo Segura had all 11 of his points and all seven of his steals in the second half. Hicksville will play No. 4 Farmingdale on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Herricks 56, Long Beach 41: Andrew Fellus had 17 points and four steals to lead No. 6 Herricks (14-4) in a Class AA first-round playoff game. George Malonoukos had 10 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and six assists and Kevin Villanueva added 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals in the win. Herricks will face No. 3 Elmont on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Cold Spring Harbor 53, Wheatley 52: Ben Jay had 12 points, including a layup off a feed from Luke O'Connell (9 points, 8 assists) with 50 seconds left to give Cold Spring Harbor a 53-49 lead in a Class BC play-in game. O'Connell partially blocked a Wheatley three-point attempt at the buzzer to preserve the win for Cold Spring Harbor. Kevin Porzelt had 15 points and Josh Brown chipped in 13 points for Cold Spring Harbor, which will play Malverne in a BC semifinal Saturday at LIU Post.

Our Savior New American 78, Nia Prep 56: Senior Chris Obekpa had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks to lead Our Savior New American (18-2) in non-league.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

North Shore 86, Plainedge 50: Senior Amanda Johansen scored 24 of her career-high 30 points in the first half to lead North Shore (17-1) in the first round of the Nassau Class A playoffs. Johansen added 13 rebounds, seven steals, and six assists. North Shore will host Island Trees in a quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Island Trees 44, Manhasset 38: Maggie Milonakis hit six of eight free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 points to lead eighth-seeded Island Trees (14-3) in the first round of the Class A playoffs.

Garden City 37, Mineola 25: Katie Trimmer had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Christina Mangels added 14 rebounds to lift second-seeded Garden City (16-2) in the first round of the Class A playoffs. The Trojans will host No. 7 Bethpage in a quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Bethpage 53, Great Neck North 51: Danielle Brusca hit two foul shots with 47 seconds left to put seventh-seeded Bethpage (15-3) up 53-49 in a Class A first-round playoff game. Brusca finished with 21 points and four assists for Bethpage. Jackie Zizzo added 11 points and Nicole D'Angio and Danielle Nendza chipped nine points each.

Sewanhaka 63, Valley Stream North 46: Celine Jolicoeur had 21 points, five assists and four rebounds for No. 4 Sewanhaka (15-3) in the first round of the Class A playoffs. Freshman Michelle Niles added 11 points and six rebounds for Sewanhaka, which will host fifth-seeded Floral Park in a quarterfinal on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Wantagh 40, Division 36: Christina Peden hit a layup with 2:30 left to give No. 6 Wantagh (13-5) a 36-34 lead in a Class A first-round playoff game. Demi Valenti led Wantagh with 14 points and freshman Alex Parlato added 13 points, seven blocks, and a career-high 19 rebounds. Wantagh will take on No. 3 Lynbrook in a quarterfinal on Tuesday at 1 p.m..

Lynbrook 43, South Side 39: Brooke Gerstman had 18 points, seven steals and four assists to lead third-seeded Lynbrook (14-4) in a Class A first-round game. Danielle Amaya added eight points, nine rebounds and three assists in the win.