The best boys basketball player in the gym was easy to spot — home white No. 1 jersey, pink sneakers, athletic build and a smooth shooting touch from inside and outside.
Sincere McDougal sank a trio of three-pointers and had 24 points and seven assists to lead second-seeded Babylon to the Suffolk Class B championship game.
The Panthers held off third-seeded Mattituck, 55-47, in their semifinal Monday night at Babylon High School.
Babylon (7-12) will play No. 1 Pierson (14-6) on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Southampton High School. Pierson won both matchups in the regular season, by 11 and then by 20 when McDougal was out with an injury.
“I think we have a good chance,” the 6-3 senior combo guard said. “If we play our best game and they play their best game, I think we win.”
This will be the Panthers’ third straight trip to the final.
“First of all, it’s an honor to be going back three years in a row,” coach Bill Singleton said. “We’ve come up short the last two years. We’re going to be facing a very good Pierson team. So we’re honored to be there, but we’re not going just to be there.”
A 7-14 season, meanwhile, came to an end for the Tuckers.
“It’s a tough when you lose a playoff game,” coach Paul Ellwood said. “… It was a good season. We competed. The kids are great.”
Babylon opened the second quarter with an 11-1 run to take a 22-8 advantage. Luciano Buondonno made two three-pointers and McDougal also knocked down one from behind the arc in the burst.
McDougal went off for 12 points in the quarter and helped give the Panthers a 33-20 lead at the half.
“He’s tremendous,” Singleton said.
The lead swelled to 17 in the third before the Tuckers made a run in the fourth. Mattituck’s Tommy McGunnigle (12 points) nailed a three-pointer to cut it to 50-43 with 2:59 left.
But Ben Stricoff made a steal and fed McDougal for a layup. McDougal then hit a free throw to get the margin to 10.
Ellwood praised McDougal for all his big…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply