Mount Sinai boys basketball's Brian Vales uses defense to clinch playoff berth for Mustangs
Mount Sinai’s Brian Vales contests a shot by Kings Park’s Kyle Edmundson during a boys basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at Mount Sinai High School. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
When it became time to stop the unstoppable force of Kings Park junior forward Kyle Edmundson, Mount Sinai senior forward Brian Vales became an immovable object.
Two of Suffolk League IV’s best players went head-to-head, with Vales ultimately gaining the upper hand, as he saved host Mt. Sinai with some clutch defense in a 53-51 win on Saturday morning. The win clinched a sixth consecutive playoff berth for Mt. Sinai (11-2, 7-0).
The Mustangs were clinging onto a 52-51 lead with 27 seconds remaining and possession belonging to Kings Park (8-4, 5-2). During a timeout, Mt. Sinai coach Ryan McNeely knew the Kingsmen would put the ball in Edmundson’s hands, as he entered play averaging 20.5 points per game and already had 20 to that point. He gave the toughest assignment to his best defender — Vales — who gladly took it on.
“I loved that assignment because I always want to get a big stop,” Vales said. “Whether it’s one of the best players in the world or not, I’m always going to give it my all.”
Coming off the inbound, Kings Park fed it to Edmundson in the high post, who made a move and drove towards the right of the basket. Edmundson tried to pivot back towards his left, but Vales read his hip-turn perfectly and halted him, forcing him to take a heavily-contested shot. Edmundson threw it up, but Vales swatted it away and Mt. Sinai senior forward Hunter Seale grabbed the rebound with 20 seconds left to get the stop.
“My first focus was to not jump in case he puts up a shot fake, because I didn’t want to risk a foul call,” Vales said. “I know he’s a great player, so whatever move he was going to do was going to be tough to guard. Once I read his move, I knew what he was going to do, so I was right there in his face to contest it.”
After several intentional fouls, Vales made one free throw, but Kings Park still had one more chance to tie or win it. Following another timeout and advancement, the Kingsmen inbounded it to Edmundson with 2.3 seconds left, who fired up a three-pointer from the right wing, but a strong contest by Vales forced it just off to seal the win.
“The last play was a great play call; we executed it, I just missed it,” Edmundson said. “We’ll take that. That’s the No. 1 team in our league right now, and we get to play them again at home … In the second half of the year, we’re always better, so going forward, we’re going to try and get better each day and be ready when we face them again.”
Vales led all scorers with 22 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked two shots. Edmundson totaled 20 points (including 12 in the second half), 10 rebounds, two assists and a block.
“He’s a great player,” Edmundson said of Vales. “We couldn’t keep him out of the paint.”
Seale finished his day with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He hit the go-ahead, catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the left corner with 35.2 seconds remaining that gave Mt. Sinai the 52-51 lead.
“When I came out in the second half, I was ready to fire away,” Seale said. “I knew I was hitting that shot. It was insane; it felt great.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
