Seventh-seeded Amityville tops No. 2 East Hampton to reach Class A semis
Amityville guard Seville Williams hits the floater for two points against East Hampton in the Suffolk Class A quarterfinals on Thursday at East Hampton. Credit: George A Faella
One of the hottest teams in the Suffolk boys basketball playoffs is still rolling.
No. 7 Amityville earned its sixth straight victory on Thursday, beating No. 2 East Hampton, 57-51, in the Class A quarterfinals at East Hampton High School.
Seville Williams led Amityville with 19 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.
“Right now, we’re on a streak,” he said. “We just kept our heads straight, stayed focused, didn’t let the crowd bother us and just kept going at it.”
Amityville (14-8) led East Hampton (15-6) by two points when
a loose ball squirted near Amityville guard Sherwin Johnson, who dived to the court, corralled the ball and slung a pass to teammate Tyler Hinton.
Hinton swished a three-pointer, then hit another on Amityville’s next possession. Williams sank a three-pointer on Amityville’s next trip down the court and opened a seven-point lead, the largest of the game, with 2:38 to play.
Amityville coach Jack Agostino called Johnson’s pass to Hinton the turning point of the game.
“Just stay calm and make a shot,” Hinton said about his mindset when he caught the pass. “As a team, we came to play.”
“I knew we had it in us to make it this far, and I still think we can make it farther,” Johnson added. “As long as we keep playing together and playing like a family, then we’re going to win.”
Hinton finished with 13 points and Johnson added seven.
Amityville held the late lead despite trailing early. East Hampton scored 18 points in the first quarter behind a combined four three-pointers from Liam Fowkes and Luke Reese. Amityville switched between zone and man-to-man defenses, then settled on a man-to-man scheme in the second half.
“Our defensive intensity really picked up in the second half,” Agostino said. “They were outhustling us in the first half. Gotta give East Hampton a lot of credit.”
Amityville traveled 67 miles for Thursday night’s game. Agostino credited his school district and athletic department, which sent the team in a coach bus.
Amityville won three straight games to earn a playoff spot, then beat top-seeded Kings Park in the final game of the regular season before downing No. 10 Hampton Bays in the opening round of the playoffs.
Amityville will face No. 3 Mount Sinai at Longwood High School in the Suffolk Class A semifinals at noon on Tuesday.
