McLeod clutch as Harborfields takes title
Harborfields Matt McLeod cuts through the Amityville defense during the Boys Basketball Suffolk Class A Final between Harborfields and Amityville. (March 2, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
On a night when the easy shots didn't fall for Matt McLeod, the Harborfields senior made a hard one count.
On a night when he committed a turnover in the final minute that could have been costly, his fearless fling from the perimeter was money.
McLeod drained a pressure-filled three-pointer from the right wing with 54 seconds left to break a tie, and Lucas Woodhouse sank three free throws in the final six seconds as the No. 1 Tornadoes defeated No. 2 Amityville, 67-62, last night to win the Suffolk Class A championship.
Harborfields (17-3) will face Port Jefferson for the Suffolk small-school championship tomorrow night at 7:30 at Stony Brook University. Amityville finished 16-3.
A rollicking crowd of about 1,500 at Farmingdale State watched Amityville score 10 straight points to erase a 61-51 fourth-quarter deficit, capping the rally when Willie White stole the ball from McLeod and sank a layup with 1:07 left.
"Some days you have it, some days you don't,'' said McLeod, who was a little of both. He scored 16 points, had five assists and five steals, but committed seven turnovers. "But coach said to keep shooting. I knew my guy was backing up, so I took the shot.''
It didn't appear that Harborfields would need any late-game theatrics in the showdown of coaching brothers - Jack (Amityville) and Chris (Harborfields) Agostino. With center Nick Fessenden (20 points, 14 rebounds) dominating inside and point guard Woodhouse (15 points, 10 assists) controlling the game against constant Warrior pressure, the Tornadoes twice led by 10 points in the second half.
But DeJuhan Gray (20 points) led a third-quarter comeback and Darien Croft (16 points) sparked the fourth-quarter surge that set up the tense and thrilling ending.
"I knew I had to close out the game,'' Woodhouse said of his late pressure free throws. He scored 11 of his points in the second half and made two beautiful no-look passes to Fessenden for layups.
"We had a huge height advantage down low,'' the 6-6 Fessenden said of facing no Warrior taller than 6-3. "I've been playing with Lucas in my backyard or his backyard since the fifth grade. We know what to do. We've got the chemistry with each other.''
But Amityville had some key elements, too. "That's an incredible team and an incredible program,'' Chris Agostino said. "I knew it wouldn't be easy.''
Especially after McLeod's turnover, which he quickly rectified with his only trey of the game. "He kept going to the basket and I kept telling him to take the outside shot,'' Agostino said. "It was a big-time shot from a big-time player.''
Of tying things up with his brother - each has beaten the other twice - Chris Agostino said, "I didn't beat my brother. I beat Amityville.''
