Long Island boys and girls basketball: Hardwood Heroes

Few players embodied what it means to be a Hardwood Hero more than Deer Park senior Reggie Jean Louis, who made the game-saving block to deny Smithtown East senior Craig O’Neill in the final seconds of the No. 3 Falcons’ 58-56 win over the No. 6 Bulls Friday night.

“I’m thinking it’s either me or them,” said Jean Louis, who had 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. “So, I just went up to the glass and blocked it. I had to secure the dub for my team.”

“Reggie Jean Louis is probably the most improved defensive player in this program over the last three years,” Deer Park coach John McCaffrey said. “When he was a sophomore, to say he had a light awareness of defense would be an understatement.”

“To have him settle the game down and make that block on O’Neill at the rim was just an incredible play. It’s just what we needed, and it saved the game for us.”

O’Neill led an impressive comeback effort by Smithtown East (13-8), scoring 12 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, which included a go-ahead three-pointer inside the final minute.

Junior Nusanti Delbridge scored the go-ahead layup for Deer Park (18-4) after grabbing an offensive rebound off a block from Smithtown East senior Joe Tsoumpelis against Jean Louis. Delbridge finished with 13 points and six assists.

“I knew I had to get the rebound because if he missed the shot we would’ve been down and had to foul,” Delbridge said. “I knew I had to crash the boards, I put up a tough shot and it went in.”

Here’s who else starred across Long Island’s boys and girls basketball playoff games this week.

BOYS BASKETBALL

GABE BOWERY, Hewlett

Bowery had nine points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks, scoring the go-ahead layup inside the final two minutes for No. 7 Hewlett against No. 10 Sewanhaka.

DEVIN BYRNE, Lynbrook

Lynbrook versus Malverne had the wildest finish of the week as referees issued a technical foul to the Mules bench for entering the court with time remaining following a go-ahead layup. That sent Byrne to the line, trailing by one where he sank both free throws to lift No. 9 Lynbrook to a one-point win over top-seeded Malverne, finishing with a team-high 16 points.

CASEY DEUTSCH, Jericho

Deutsch hit the winning shot from deep to cap a 25-point performance for No. 4 Jericho against No. 13 Bethpage.

BRIAN FALK, Seaford

Falk is hitting his stride at the right time for No. 6 Seaford, posting a season-high 24 points in a win against No. 11 Valley Stream South and 23 points in an impressive upset victory over No. 3 West Hempstead.

WESLEY JONES, Sayville

How about Sayville? Jones had 17 points and 11 rebounds as the No. 7 Golden Flashes upset a 17-win team in No. 2 Shoreham-Wading River.

PETE MASTANDO, Manhasset

Mastando soared to a dominant 38-point performance for No. 5 Manhasset against No. 12 Calhoun.

JUSTIN SERIO, Bethpage

Casey Deutsch’s heroic shot for Jericho wouldn’t have been needed without the tenacity of Serio, who scored 13 of his team-high 24 points in the final 5:26 to try and bring Bethpage back from a major deficit.

JASON THOMPSON, Whitman

The Whitman star scored 32 points, lifting the fourth-seeded Wildcats past No. 5 Copiague.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

AVA DeMARCO, Northport

DeMarco posted a game-high 25 points for the top-seeded Tigers against No. 9 East Islip.

MAEVE DOWNING and KAYDEN ERAZO, New Hyde Park

Downing had 22 points and Erazo added 20 as No. 5 New Hyde Park stormed past No. 12 Glen Cove.

JACLYN ENGEL, Ward Melville

What a game Engel had for No. 3 Ward Melville, scoring 22 of her team’s 30 points and finishing with the go-ahead layup with 0.4 seconds left against No. 6 Sachem East.

MILANIA FARROW, Floyd

Farrow not only led all scorers with 24 points, but she knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to lift No. 2 Floyd past No. 7 Huntington.

JULIA FORTUNE, Hauppauge

No. 6 Hauppauge emerged victorious over No. 3 Smithtown West, with Fortune leading the Eagles with her 14 points. Hauppauge carries a five-game winning streak into its semifinal match with No. 2 Westhampton.

ANGELICA KASIMATIS, Garden City

Kasimatis scored 16 points — her third-best scoring performance of the season — as she lifted No. 7 Calhoun past No. 10 Elmont.

ALYSSA LOREFICE, Smithtown West

Lorefice left everything on the court for No. 3 Smithtown West in its loss to No. 6 Hauppauge, scoring 25 of her team’s 48 points.

ZAHARA SAINTYL, Uniondale

Saintyl had a day to remember, scoring a game-high 28 points to lift No. 7 Uniondale past No. 2 Freeport. She’s scored at least 20 points in six of her last seven games.

ANGELA TAN, Jericho

Her 12 points, eight rebounds and five steals lifted No. 8 Jericho past No. 9 Mepham.