Parks, Hempstead beat Valley Stream Central, 70-66
Hempstead's Jordan Parks drives to the basket in the second half of a Nassau Class AA playoff quarterfinal against Valley Stream Central. (Feb. 18, 2010) Credit: James A. Escher
For the first minute of the game, Hempstead's bench players stood quietly along the edge of the court until Skylar Moore scored the team's first points. Then they all sat down.
"We have to be more of a family to get wins," the Tigers' Jordan Parks said of the sideline show of unity the team began toward the end of the regular season.
In the final minutes Thursday, the players on the bench rose to their feet again. But it was for a different reason; this time they yelled with joy.
Fifth-seeded Hempstead couldn't contain its excitement as it finished a 70-66 comeback victory over No. 4 Valley Stream Central in a Nassau Class AA boys basketball quarterfinal.
Hempstead will face top-seeded Uniondale in the semifinals at noon Feb. 27 at SUNY-Old Westbury.
Trailing for most of the second quarter and all of the third, and behind by seven entering the fourth, the visiting Tigers (11-8) - who lost to Valley Stream Central twice during the regular season - rallied behind key plays by a variety of players in a roller-coaster final two minutes.
Parks, a 6-3 junior forward playing his first game in more than a month because of a left ankle injury, hit a free throw with 13 seconds remaining for a 68-66 lead and added two free throws with 1.2 seconds left for the final margin. He finished with 14 points and three blocks. But just about every Tigers starter came through with a big play down the stretch.
Valley Stream Central led 63-60 with two minutes left before Ismael Pierre (19 points) scored inside off a feed from Tywan Watson to pull the Tigers within one. Marquis Posey (10 points) then hit a jumper from the wing to give Hempstead a 64-63 lead with just over a minute to go.
That prompted Hempstead's bench players to rise to their feet, and they erupted soon after. With 35.6 seconds left, Parks made a behind-the-back pass to Moore (15 points), whose layup put the Tigers up 67-63, and they hung on to close it out.
Valley Stream Central's Jeremiah Mordi (26 points) nailed a three-pointer over a defender's hand to cut Hempstead's lead to 67-66 with 25.5 seconds left, but he missed a contested three-pointer with 10 seconds to go and Hempstead up 68-66.
Even then, though, it wasn't over. With Hempstead leading by two with 4.9 seconds left, Parks missed two free throws. But he grabbed the rebound of the second one, was fouled and made two free throws to seal it.
Reggie Dennis had 20 points for Valley Stream Central (8-10), but the Tigers had just enough to hold on.
"It was a team effort, which is always good," Hempstead coach Ted Adams said. "It lets everyone know how important they are. From the first guy to the last guy on the bench."
And Parks is a key guy for the Tigers. "We had chemistry, but we were just missing a piece, and he's right here," said Pierre, standing next to Parks, who had been out with injured ligaments and a high ankle sprain. "We have to keep working hard and play like a family."
