Bay Shore (23-0) defeats previously unbeaten Floyd to win Suffolk Class AAA boys basketball crown

In the first matchup between two undefeated teams in a Suffolk boys basketball title game since 1978, a gargantuan effort would be needed for either Bay Shore or Floyd to remain perfect.

Top-seeded Bay Shore answered the bell early and never looked back.

The Marauders scored 24 unanswered points in an 11:01 span between the first and second quarter and stretched their lead to as much as 24 points late in the first half. No. 2 Floyd never relented – extending the game late and cutting it to four with 12 seconds left – but the result was never truly in doubt in Bay Shore’s 65-59 win in the Suffolk Class AAA boys basketball final Saturday in front of a standing room-only, boisterous crowd at Longwood High School.

“It feels good to do this with all my brothers, I love them to death,” Bay Shore forward Christian Smiley said. “It just feels amazing to do it with them.”

“Without these guys, I wouldn’t be here,” Bay Shore guard Khamari Broomfield added. “These are really my brothers, I love every single one of them.”

Smiley had 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Broomfield had 16 points and five boards. Carter Wilson added 14 points and five assists and Tashawn Bumpers scored 11 points for Bay Shore (23-0).

Bay Shore will meet Nassau Class AAA champion Baldwin in the Long Island championship at 5 p.m. next Saturday at Farmingdale State.

The Marauders won their first county title since claiming the 2004 Class AA crown and their 14th county championship in 118 seasons. Bay Shore coach Ken Parham was the head coach in 2004, and he is in his second year back with the program.

“I’m just so happy,” Parham said. “You see how it brings this community together. I’m so proud of these young men, they worked so really hard to get back to this. It has been a while, the community deserves it. The kids deserve it. The school district deserves it. And I’m just happy to be a part of it because it’s really special.”

Floyd grabbed a 6-5 lead with 4:04 left in the first quarter, and the 24-0 Bay Shore run started immediately after. Six different Marauders scored during the run – Wilson and Broomfield each had eight points – and Bay Shore led 29-7 with 1:03 until halftime.

“They did a wonderful job,” Floyd coach Will Slinkosky said. “They packed out the paint. They forced us into rough shots. They made us feel uncomfortable in that first half I would really say, mainly the first quarter. But they set the tone in that first quarter with their defensive intensity.”

Floyd (22-1) cut it to 40-27 by the end of the third quarter. The Colonials scored 32 points and guard Joey McLaurin scored 14 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Floyd was down 12 with 1:04 remaining and hit four three-pointers in the final 54 seconds.

Though Floyd fell short of its first championship since winning the 2012 Suffolk Class AA title, the Colonials had a special season that set the foundation for a bright future.

“It’s the group, it’s the family atmosphere,” Slinkosky said. “And I hope that that is something that will be bestowed onto our younger generation as they’re coming up. As we put up young guys that are juniors or sophomores, kind of hoping for that family feel to keep going.”

Bay Shore’s 20-year championship drought is now history. The Island’s lone unbeaten will look to win its first Long Island championship since 1981.

Said Smiley: “Job’s not finished yet.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.