EXTRA POINT: A night to remember, even in defeat

BY Joe Werkmeister | SPORTS EDITOR

It wasn't a game as much as it was an event, a spectacle, a sight to behold.

It was theater. It was the kind of drama of which Shakespeare dreamt.

It was high school basketball at nearly the highest level played anywhere. In Suffolk County, it was the place to be.

It was two teams pouring their guts onto a hardwood floor for 32 minutes.

And it's why more than 5,000 people descended upon Farmingdale State College Wednesday night, an unheard of figure for Long Island high school sports other than championship football games. Only about 4,000 were lucky enough to get inside to watch the Class AA county championship between Longwood and Half Hollow Hills West. And only 3,500 of those could sit. The rest tried to squeeze a view past the cheerleaders, photographers and cameramen from a roped-off area on the baselines.

But in this game, who could sit?

Fans arrived long before the 5 p.m. game between Harborfields and Wyandanch ended. They waited outside, finally hustling in around 7 p.m., more than an hour before tip-off. Within 20 minutes the main bleachers on both sides were nearly filled. A huge roar awaited the Lions as they entered the gym for the first time, the crowd ready to explode 40 minutes before game time.

So often big games in sports fail to live up to the hype surrounding them. This one did not disappoint.

It would be Hills West, behind stars Tobias Harris and Tavon Sledge, that emerged victorious, 77-69.

Years from now people will reflect back on March 3, 2010 as the day of one of the greatest high school basketball games ever played on Long Island. They will tell the story of two electrifying teams that had to travel far and wide to find adequate competition all in preparation for that one night they would face each other. They will tell the story of a short-handed Longwood team that without the notoriety of its opponent, proved to be every bit as strong. They will tell the story of an inspired group of friends who nearly dethroned an undefeated team ranked 21st in the nation, a team led by a player with NBA aspirations.

It will be hard to understand for the Longwood players after a gut-wrenching loss, but they were apart of history, a game few high school players in these parts ever have the opportunity to be apart of. However painful the result, it was a moment to savor.

With the eyes of Long Island on them, they stood together to deliver an effort no one could question.

The Colts won the game.

The Lions showed more heart.

"They won't appreciate that now because they're hurting," said Longwood coach Dennis Terry. "When they look back, maybe next week, next month, six months from now, next year, they'll appreciate it."

After a run to the county championship game last year, the Lions retooled this year to become an even better team despite losing a large core of seniors.

After last season when it came out that the Harris brothers would be transferring back to Hills West, the Colts were practically anointed the county title right there. No one thought any team in this county could give them a game. Certainly not the Lions, who lost Marcus Hunter, James Knudsen, Kyle Weeks, Kevin Allen, Kris Kelly, Cameron Roundtree and Nigel Edwards. The list goes on.

What makes this Longwood team special is the way it was built. This was a team of homegrown kids who for years played together, became a family on and off the court.

It wasn't a team built on the whim of a 6-foot-8 forward deciding which school he felt like attending in a given year. This wasn't a school importing a flashy point guard from New Jersey to complete itself. Sledge is as much Dix Hills as I am Beverly Hills. Vegas is already taking bets on where Sledge plays next year before likely shooting off to a Big East school for college.

Tajric Boggs, Darien Davis, Paris Parks, Patrick Piasecki. These kids only wear two colors: green and gold.

It's no surprise that the louder cheers throughout the night came from the Longwood side. Longwood fans remain true to their team and school, always vocal, passionate supporters, year in and year out.

In this epic battle the Lions may have come up short, but they did their fans proud.

No one will forget that.

joew@northshoresun.com