Pierre, Hempstead shine in comeback victory
Hempstead's Ismael Pierre looks to shoot over a leaping Roderick Epps. (Jan. 14, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
The scoreboard and game clock at Hempstead High School stopped several times Friday. So did the 35-second clock. Some of the ceiling lights flickered on and off during the game, too. Those malfunctions pretty much mirrored the plight of the host Tigers as well.
Hempstead's offense sputtered until late in the third quarter and then, combined with some altered defensive sets, things went like . . . well, clockwork the rest of the way. The Tigers overcame a 13-point third-quarter deficit to stun Uniondale, 57-54, in overtime in a spirited Nassau Conference I boys basketball contest before an enthusiastic near-capacity crowd.
"If a young team ever needed a motivational game, it can't get better than this," said Hempstead's Ted Adams, Nassau's all-time winningest coach with 492 career victories about his team that starts three sophomores. "Uniondale is one of the best teams on Long Island."
And while the Knights' offense also was ragged at times, they did build a 35-22 lead with about three minutes left in the third quarter. That was when one of Hempstead's seniors, Ismael Pierre, delivered a message during a timeout. "I told the young players that they had to play defense if they wanted to win," Pierre said.
So Adams switched back and forth from a man-to-man to a 1-3-1 zone with startling results. "We tried to camouflage our defense and change the tempo of the game," Adams said.
Uniondale (6-4, 4-2) began turning the ball over and Hempstead (5-5, 3-2) began cashing in. The Tigers went on a 17-2 run that produced their first lead since early in the second quarter (at 39-37) on Pierre's acrobatic baseline reverse with 5:58 left in the fourth.
From then on, it was a mad scramble to the finish line. There were five ties and four lead changes down the stretch. Sophomore Mical Boyd scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter including 6-for-6 on free throws, and Shaq Mosley scored eight of his 13 for Uniondale.
Boyd's three-pointer put Hempstead ahead 52-49, but Rodney Epps (16 points) answered with a three of his own to force overtime. The 6-3 Pierre wound up matched against the much quicker 5-7 Mosley as the regulation clock wound down. "It just happened. It was a challenge, but I was ready," said Pierre, who blocked Mosley's layup at the buzzer.
Pierre was also ready when an opportunity presented itself in overtime. He found himself open on the right wing and calmly nailed a trey for a 56-52 lead. "I just told myself to relax and not overdo it," Pierre said. "Just let it go."
Mosley let it go from deep at the buzzer, but his shot missed, so a second overtime was avoided and the clocks could, at last, be turned off . . . intentionally.
