Hempstead boys basketball's Oladipupo Karimu, Jonathan Davis help Tigers snap three-game skid

Jonathan Davis #5 of Hempstead, left, gets pressured by Oniel Suero Reyes #14 of Freeport during the third quarter of a Nassau County Conference AAA-I boys basketball game at Freeport High School on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. Credit: James Escher
There were three straight losses behind Hempstead, and now Freeport was right behind the Tigers, threatening to make it four.
Their 12-point advantage late in the third had shrunk to three with 5:45 left, but they found their way again Monday on Freeport’s court, pulling free down the stretch. Hempstead eventually went up by as many as 16 and claimed a 57-44 victory in Nassau League AAA-I.
So how badly did this basketball team need that victory?
“Man, I needed it maybe more than my kids,” coach Jared Weir said with a laugh. “We needed this win just for morale, just for the work that we’ve been putting in.”
Oladipupo Karimu scored 16 points and Jonathan Davis had 15 for the Tigers (8-7, 7-2).
Hempstead, which played in the Nassau semifinals the last two years, first in Class AA and then in Class AAA, qualified for the AAA playoffs again this season. It’s a different team with just two starters back, but there’s potential for another run.
“We lost a lot [from] last year,” Weir said. “We’re young and small, but I believe if we bring our best and we prepare, we can be in any game.”
Freeport (10-7, 4-5) has won 18 games since coach Daryl Johnson took over prior to the start of last season, after winning three games combined over the previous two seasons. The Red Devils need to win two of their last three to reach the postseason.
“I think it’s doable,” Johnson said.
The Tigers led 30-24 at halftime. Davis scored six in the third, and they went into the fourth up by 11.
In the final quarter, Shawn Broyles hit a three-pointer during Freeport's 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 42-39.
“We started playing defense, what we were trying to get the guys to do from the start of the game,” Johnson said.
Davis blamed the dwindling margin on Hempstead’s approach.
“Being too nonchalant with the ball,” the junior guard said, “because we got a lead, thinking that we’re comfortable and we’re not.”
But Amare Collins nailed a three-pointer, launching a 15-2 run that made it 57-41 with 10.2 seconds remaining.
“We finally slowed down,” Weir said. “And when we slow down and run our stuff, we get good shots.”
In the final two minutes, Karimu had five points and Davis had three.
“The kids really are putting in the work,” Weir said, “It just doesn’t always show on the court.”
This time, it showed when it mattered the most.