Chad Wesley's free throws help Malverne beat Locust Valley in Nassau Class B semifinal
Junior Chad Wesley (15 points) made four foul shots down stretch to lead Mules to Class B final on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2013. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The gravity of the moment was unmistakable, the import of the free throws undeniable.
A Malverne lead that stood at 17 points early in the fourth quarter was nearly gone as a result of missing eight straight free throws as Locust Valley orchestrated a comeback in the teams’ Nassau Class B semifinal. The margin was down to two with 36.2 seconds left.
Chad Wesley stepped off the foul line, took four steps toward center court and took a deep breath, raising and lowering his extended hands as he took it in and let it out. Then he returned to the line and drained both shots. The junior guard made two more free throws 14 seconds later, allowing Malverne to overcome a total of 16 missed free throws and emerge with a 57-51 victory on Wednesday at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex.
“I had to calm down,” Wesley said. “It’s a big game and those were some big shots.”
The end of February is coming on and, as usual, so is Malverne. The No. 2 Mules (14-7) will take a seven-game win streak into next Wednesday’s title game against No. 4 Carle Place back at the Mack. Malverne will be seeking its 23rd county championship.
With an eye toward this postseason, the Mules challenged themselves with non-conference games against traditional Class AA contenders like Half Hollow Hills East and Port Washington and defending state champions Manhasset and Friends Academy. “Those games showed us a lot of things that came through today,” Farvens Ulysse said.
Wesley finished with 15 points, Ulysse with 14 points and 12 rebounds and Kevin Estime 14 points and nine rebounds for Malverne. Michael Hancock scored 16 points for the third-seeded Falcons (10-12).
The Mules wouldn’t have been able to prevail without Wesley and Ulysse finishing the third quarter strong. Locust Valley was within 31-28 when Samuel Tini made a layup with 1:53 left in the third. Ulysse had seven points and Wesley four as Malverne closed the frame with 11 unanswered points for a 14-point lead.
“We knew we had a run coming,” Ulysse said. “We could feel there was going to be one where we took it from them.”
What they didn’t expect was to nearly give it back. The Falcons went to a late fouling strategy and the Mules opened the door with their problems at the free-throw line. Charles Ehni finished a fast break to get within 52-46 with 1:04 to play and then made a pair of free throws with 37.7 seconds left to get within 53-51.
Wesley finally halted the comeback.
“It’s win-or-go-home,” Wesley said. “We weren’t going home.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
