Knox boys basketball's Jayden Jeudy of Centereach, Jacob Sanon of Canada help hold off Kellenberg
Jacob Sanon of Knox during a boys basketball game against Kellenberg on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in St. James. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
The Knox School roster features 13 players, 12 of them newcomers, including one from Canada, one from Turkey and one who’s a promising eighth grader from Centereach. So there have been basketball lessons to learn, and chemistry lessons that can only come with time.
The Falcons of the PSAA are still a work in progress, but these boys are a winning work in progress. They beat Kellenberg of the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA, 50-43, Tuesday in St. James to move to 9-3.
“We have a young team,” coach Gordon Thomas said. “… They just started playing together in September. They’re starting to jell because they’re buying into what we’re selling.”
Jayden Jeudy, an eighth-grade guard/forward who stands at 6-3, paced them with 15 points.
“That kid has got a high future, a high upside to him,” Thomas said.
Jacob Sanon is the Canadian import, a player who averages more than 20 points, including a 51-point eruption against West Babylon. He had 12 against Kellenberg, capped by a clinching floater.
The 6-2 senior combo guard, from the Montreal suburb of Blainville, had an injury-plagued junior season at a Toronto-area prep school.
“This year is really my time that I can prove to people that I can play basketball,” Sanon said, “because I didn’t really have a good chance before to prove myself or play in front of people or [have] exposure. That’s why I came to Knox.
“I feel like there’s a good support system with the coaching staff. They help me grow my game and they’re going to help me get to that next level.”
Knox led 46-32 on two Sanon free throws with 6:09 left. It was 48-36 with 3:35 left after Jeudy made a nice bounce pass to Luke Baumbach for a layup.
The Firebirds (5-10), who were topped by Mike Tagios’ 11 points, cut it to six on Marcus Lambright’s jumper with 1:39 remaining. But Sanon hit his floater in the lane — 50-42, 40.8 on the clock.
“He’s one of the top guards on Long Island,” Thomas said.
The Falcons were up 27-23 at halftime, then began to take charge, extending it to 42-30 after three quarters.
“The goal is to be really good when playoffs come around,” Kellenberg coach Chris Lyons said. “But this is the first time where I’m going to have to address effort and being ready to play. So that’s different. But we’ll get it taken care of.”
