Dom Pennzello has career night, leads Mt. Sinai to Suffolk Class A final
Senior forward Dom Pennzello, who also had 10 rebounds, scored 27 of his points in the second half on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Bayport-Blue Point was right there with Mount Sinai, trailing the Mustangs by a point at the intermission in the Suffolk Class A boys basketball semifinals. Then Dom Pennzello just went off, and the Phantoms weren’t alongside anymore.
“I’ve been saying it all year: I’m a second-half player,” Pennzello said. “I love when the pressure is on. I love the big moments.”
This was a rather big moment Wednesday with a ticket to the championship game at stake. And this 6-2 senior forward delivered for Mount Sinai, scoring 27 points in the second half and lighting up Longwood’s gym for a career-high 43 overall.
So the second-seeded Mustangs survived a 34-point eruption by senior guard Dylan Craig and are going to the final in search of the program’s first county title after an 85-65 victory over No. 4 Bayport-Blue Point.
Is this the year of the Mustangs?
“Let’s hope,” coach Ryan McNeely said. “ . . . You’re only going to see good teams at this point. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
Mount Sinai, now 20-2 after eight straight wins, will play at 4:30 on Tuesday at Farmingdale State against No. 1 Southampton (21-1), which beat fourth-seeded Miller Place, 73-43, in the other semifinal.
“We’re going to play the same way we’ve played all year,” Pennzello said. “I believe we can (win it.)”
Mount Sinai got 16 points from Pennzello and outscored BBP 25-6 in the third quarter to open a 62-42 cushion.
Pennzello, who also grabbed 10 rebounds, added 11 points in the fourth when he nailed three of his five threes and the lead swelled to as many as 30.
“This has been four years of him,” McNeely said. “We’re going to miss him when the season is over. I know we’ve got him at least one more (game). Hopefully, more than that. But he’s incredible. He just fills it up. He’s one of those guys who makes really difficult shots. He’s done that his whole career.”
The Mustangs led 31-18 in the second quarter. But 6-5 junior forward Brian Vales, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds, was in foul trouble. Craig and 6-7 freshman forward Brayden Waldbauer helped power a BBP comeback. The lead shrunk to 37-36 by halftime.
“It was a great season,” Phantoms coach Charlie Peck said after they finished at 17-5. “From the very beginning, I thought only us, Mount Sinai and Southampton could win it.”
