Lynbrook boys basketball wins inaugural Mike Cingiser Tournament at West Hempstead High School
Lynbrooks Jake Prince goes up for a layup against West Hempstead during the championship game of the Mike Cingiser Memorial Tournament at West Hempstead High School on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. Credit: Derrick Dingle
It’s only fitting that the two teams meeting in the championship of the inaugural Mike Cingiser Tournament would be West Hempstead and Lynbrook.
After all, Cingiser graduated as West Hempstead boys basketball’s all-time leading scorer with 1,185 points and was named as a member of Newsday’s 1950s All-Decade Team. But Cingiser, who passed away in December 2024 at the age of 84, also coached Lynbrook for 12 years and won six league titles in that span.
Cingiser’s son, David, didn’t think his father would be picking sides in a game like this.
“I think my dad, the way he coached and played, would hope for a competitive game and be happy for whoever won,” David Cingiser said.
Lynbrook came out on top Tuesday night, 62-42, at West Hempstead High School in a non-league game that meant more than the result on the scoreboard.
“It’s a great honor and very humbling to know he meant that much to so many people, the district, the players, to name a tournament after him,” David Cingiser said.
Cingiser won all-Ivy League honors with Brown in all three of his collegiate seasons.
“He was one of the best players to ever come through here,” West Hempstead basketball coach Eric Rubin said. “He passed away about a year ago, so we thought it would be cool to honor him with a tournament and show how much he meant to our community.”
“The fact that we were able to work with West Hempstead to recognize a legend between the two communities is definitely special,” Lynbrook coach Brian Donaldson said.
Lynbrook’s Jake Prince had a game-high 14 points to go with nine rebounds and two blocks. Just 13 seconds into the second half, Prince grabbed a rebound and launched a pass to Aaron Malinka, whose righthanded dunk got both seniors roaring after Malinka earned a foul on the slam.
“When I saw Aaron running up there with that hand up high, that 6-8 center, I knew he was going down with the dunk,” Prince said. “ I saw that smile on his face.”
Five of Malinka’s 10 rebounds came off the offensive glass, in addition to 10 points and three steals.
Senior Devin Byrne had 13 points and senior Jaime Pereira added nine points with smothering defense all night as Lynbrook allowed just 27 points over the final three quarters. Junior Alex Davis impressed at the rim for West Hempstead (3-1) with his 13 points.
But it’s Lynbrook that leaves with its fourth win, a fact not lost on Prince as he walked out of the gymnasium with the team’s “player of the game” belt under his arm.
“I’ve been on this program for three years on varsity, and I don’t think we’ve been 4-1,” Prince said. “We’re on a streak right now, I’m super blessed and I’m very grateful for my team.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
