Reed, defense lift Southampton to LI Class B boys basketball title
Southhampton's Alex Franklin and Derek Reed celebrate their victory over Malverne at the Long Island Class B boys basketball championship game at Hofstra on Wednesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Southampton and Malverne were separated by just a point with a little more than four minutes to go. The Long Island Class B boys basketball championship was there for either side to take.
That’s when Southampton took off. Derek Reed hit a short bank shot to get it going.
“I think once we got that one bucket, the energy went up,” the point guard said.
The Mariners went on to beat the Mules, 63-49, Wednesday night at Hofstra after Reed scored 10 of his 22 points and the defense ruled in an 18-5 closing run.
“Listen, as far as I know there are only a handful of select teams playing right now,” Southampton coach Herm Lamison said after Southampton’s first Long Island title since 2017. “So it feels good to be one of those teams.”
Because this was also a Southeast Regional semifinal, the Mariners (20-5) are on the doorstep of the final four in Glens Falls. They will see if they can cross over when they face Section I champ Valhalla (24-1) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the regional final at Eastport-South Manor.
“It means everything,” Reed said. “It’s my senior year. I really didn’t want to go out this way. I’d rather go upstate and win it all.”
Sophomore guard Naevon Williams added 16 points and freshman guard Alex Franklin scored 13, eight in the fourth.
“Alex moved into the starting lineup the third game of the season,” Lamison said. “Right then and there, we knew he was going to be something special.”
Sophomore guard/forward Nikai Pierson also helped in the fourth, scoring all six of his points. The last two came on a layup and made it 59-46 with 1:34 remaining. Reed then scored four in the final 1:05.
But Reed contributed just four points in the first half. He became a spectator with 51 seconds gone in the second quarter, sitting with three fouls, before returning for the third.
“Real helpless,” Reed said of the feeling.
Malverne (15-8), which was led by Chad Wesley’s 16 points, fell behind by nine in the third before making a run. The Mules were hurt by foul woes in the fourth.
“We can’t battle if I lose two of my best players, and they fouled out,” Malverne associate head coach Walter Aksionoff said of Farvens Ulysse and Josh Croom. “When they go down, our bench isn’t that deep.”
