Bryce McIntosh, Julien Dumornay lead Malverne past Wheatley in boys basketball
Bryce McIntosh of Malverne pulls up for a jumper over Wheatleys defense during a Nassau boys basketball game at Malverne High School in Malverne, N.Y., on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. Credit: Derrick Dingle
What do seniors Bryce McIntosh and Julien Dumornay want people to know about Malverne boys basketball?
“We work hard,” McIntosh said.
“And if we do what’s right, we’re unbeatable,” Dumornay added.
The duo proved it to be true in a non-league comeback win Monday as host Malverne beat Wheatley, 53-46. The Mules gained their first lead since the start of the second quarter with 3:38 remaining in the game when Dumornay grabbed his own miss and converted an and-1 layup.
Dumornay had 11 points and 12 rebounds, including nine fourth-quarter points, as Malverne outscored Wheatley, 17-5, in the fourth. He hadn’t scored from the field until the game’s final eight minutes.
“There’s many games where we’re down 15, 20 points, and we came back,” Dumornay said. “We’re conditioned; we don’t get tired. It’s nothing new to us.”
After Wheatley (10-4) led by just two at halftime, the Wildcats looked like they had taken control as they posted a 15-1 scoring run over the first 4:44 of the third quarter.
“Defense,” assistant coach Tatiana Lopez said of the message to the team during a timeout. “They connected to the shooters and forced them to put the ball on the floor instead of shooting the ball. So, defense was our No. 1 priority.”
Malverne (10-4) proceeded to allow just seven points from that point as the Mules cut the lead to five points heading into the fourth quarter. McIntosh scored six of his game-high 15 points as part of that scoring run.
“It goes to show we can come back from anything,” McIntosh said.
Tim Song led Wheatley with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Elias Habib added nine points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block for a Wheatley team that has already doubled its 2024-25 win total.
“The kids have matured, they’ve put time in in the offseason and they buy into everything,” Wheatley coach Rich Slater said. “I’ve had these kids since they were seventh-graders. I love them . . . I just think physically we got tired and they wore us down.”
McIntosh added a key block to set Malverne up with the ball, a three-point lead and 56.3 seconds left. Tristan Inswood showcased his clutch gene, shooting 4-for-4 from the free-throw line over the final minute to secure Malverne’s lead, and finished with 10 points.
Jason Miletic had 12 points and 10 rebounds, scoring nine in the first half to keep Malverne close and alive for a comeback.
“If you don’t have a shooter, you’re a very easy team to defend,” Lopez said. “He’s very important to us.”
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.
