Class A Long Island Championship preview: Harborfields vs. Elmont
Elmont's Jalen Burgess loses possession against Harborfields' Rob Pecorelli in a boys basketball game during the Nassau/Suffolk Challenge in Uniondale on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
What: Boys Basketball Class A Long Island Championship
Who: Harborfields Tornadoes (19-4) vs. Elmont Spartans (20-3)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: LIU Post
How did they get here?
Harborfields, Suffolk’s top seed, defeated Sayville, 62-48, in the county semifinals and East Hampton, 45-42, in the championship, on Alex Bloom's three-pointer with 39 seconds left.
Elmont, the No. 2 seed in Nassau, beat Valley Stream North, 77-54, and survived a double-overtime thriller against South Side, 55-51.
What’s at stake for Harborfields?
The Tornadoes are seeking their first Long Island title since going back-to-back in 2011 and 2012. They earned their first state championship in 2012.
What’s at stake for Elmont?
After five years -- and five conference championships -- in Class AA, the reclassified Spartans are pursuing their first Long Island title.
What happened last time?
Harborfields and Elmont met on Jan. 16 at Uniondale’s Nassau-Suffolk Challenge, and the Tornadoes squeaked out a 61-60 win. Alex Bloom buried the go-ahead layup -- his only basket of the game -- with 20 seconds left.
How do they match up?
Harborfields has a handful of shooters that pose a threat to Elmont’s 2-3 zone, a fact that was on display on Jan. 16. The Tornadoes buried nine of their 13 three-point attempts in the first half to take a 41-30 lead into the break.
Rob Pecorelli (14.3 ppg), Malcolm Wynter (14 ppg), Danny Morgan (10.7 ppg) and Bloom (10.5 ppg) all can catch fire from deep, and the Tornadoes’ offensive discipline leads to plenty of open shots.
Elmont is more athletic and physical up front, with K.C. Ndefo and Jalen Burgess cementing the back of the zone and cleaning up the glass. They played key roles in stalling Harborfields’ offense and igniting the Spartans’ transition game — orchestrated by savvy point guard Travis Robinson-Morgan (17.7 ppg) — as Elmont gained control of the first meeting with an 18-1 run out of halftime.
