Jackson O'Brien, Jake Bock help Friends seal victory over Valley Stream South
Junior Jackson O’Brien (22 points) gets rebound in Conference A-V game against Valley Stream South on Friday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
A Friends Academy minibus pulled into the Valley Stream South lot at about 4 Friday afternoon. The bus driver/Quakers varsity boys basketball coach had about half the team along for the ride.
But two of Matt Johnsen's passengers were going to be spectators. Malachi Polson wore a boot on his broken right foot and had a pair of crutches, and Logan Mott had a cast on his broken right wrist.
Mott got hurt Dec. 16. Polson followed on Jan. 7. Both guards are Newsday top 100 players. Both were important figures last season when Friends Academy went to the state Class B final.
But the Quakers, who are now in Class A, have been coping well. They broke open this latest game in the fourth quarter and took a 66-50 victory.
Jackson O’Brien scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth and Jake Bock scored eight of his 17 in that final period. So this team is up to 11-2 overall and 6-0 in Nassau A-V.
“I’ve lost a lot of sleep, but it’s just part of the game,” Johnsen said about the injuries. “The guys have stepped up big time.”
Johnsen expects Polson, the point guard, and Mott to return for the postseason. O’Brien thinks Friends Academy can return to Glens Falls as a final four team after becoming whole again.
“We have everything that we need,” O’Brien said. “It’s really just about what we do that day and how much energy we bring that day.”
Andy Dorant, who topped the Falcons with 18 points and four assists, nailed a three to cut the Quakers’ lead to four with 2:45 left in the third. But Kyle Kramer responded with a three to make it a 43-36 game heading for the fourth.
Then O’Brien opened with a 6-0 run — layup, dunk off a lob, layup — and the margin was up to 13.
“It gave me a lot of energy,” the 6-6 junior forward said of his dunk. “It gave the team a lot of energy.”
Valley Stream South (4-9, 1-5) couldn’t slice it below nine.
Coach Mike O’Brien is still much happier with his team as compared to last season’s 2-17 edition.
“The effort that these guys put in is way more consistent than compared to last year’s team,” he said. “There’s a sense of playing for each other and unselfish basketball that is seen every day.”
