Southampton beats Pierson in Suffolk Tournament of Champions

Herm Lamison’s Southampton boys basketball team isn't sitting around waiting for their next game.
The Suffolk Class B champion Mariners (18-4) beat Class C champion Pierson, 69-52, in the Suffolk Tournament of Champions at East Hampton on Saturday.
Southampton will play the Suffolk Class A champion, which will be Mount Sinai or Kings Park, in the Suffolk small schools championship at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Centereach.
The Mariners beat Babylon to earn the Suffolk Class B crown and will play the Nassau champion in the Long Island championship at 6 pm. on March 8 at Hofstra.
“It helps to be able to be playing competitive basketball games,” Lamison said. “Because you only can do so much in practice, and there’s no one else out there to scrimmage at this point. So, we’d be doing a lot of sitting around, waiting for (the Long Island championship).”
Saturday’s win marked Southampton’s 10th straight victory. Naevon Williams scored 20 points for the Mariners, including 14 in the first half. The Southampton sophomore has scored 20 or more points in seven games this winter.
“He’s a special player,” Lamison said about Williams.
The Mariners opened a 28-point lead over Pierson at the end of the third quarter. Derek Reed finished with 18 points, and Tyson Reddick and Alex Franklin each scored 11 points for Southampton.
“Our defense had a lot to do with it,” Lamison said. “(We ran) multiple defenses and we were able to pick some passes off and finish at the other end.”
Pierson outscored Southampton 20-9 in the fourth quarter. Lamison emphasized the importance of staying healthy during the remaining Suffolk Tournament of Champions games before the state public schools playoffs.
“There’s still room for improvement," Lamison said. "And every practice and every day out, we got to try to improve and get ready for the next game.”