Floyd boys prevail in OT against Bay Shore in Suffolk Class AAA semifinal
Jermaine King said Floyd dedicated the season to its late assistant coach Darrell Sumpter, whom he called the team’s “building block” on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Tuesday’s Suffolk Class AAA boys basketball semifinal game had some new faces and some old, but it was still Bay Shore against Floyd.
It had been 367 days since the two programs met as unbeatens in the 2024 Suffolk Class AAA final — the first Suffolk championship game between two undefeated teams since 1978 — inside the same Longwood gym.
Last year, Bay Shore survived Floyd’s comeback and beat the Colonials by six. The Marauders remained unbeaten before losing to Green Tech in the state final.
This time around, Floyd prevailed in another epic.
Jermaine King scored 31 points and Jawuan Smith had 17 to lead No. 3 Floyd to a 67-61 overtime win over No. 2 Bay Shore.
The rematch provided Floyd (19-3) plenty of motivation, but the greatest external motivator has been the dedication of its season to assistant coach Darrell Sumpter, who was killed in a car accident in December.
“If you talked to Coach D before this season . . . the one part that he always talked about was getting back to this place at Longwood and facing Bay Shore again, and starting the game where we left off versus them last year,” Floyd coach Will Slinkosky said. “We always talked about how we didn't lose last year, we just ran out of time. And our guys proved that it was enough time on that clock that we were going to overcome, and we were going to win.”
Said King: “Coach D, he was always Floyd strong. He’s like the building block for us, so we got to do everything for him.”
Floyd will face No. 1 Half Hollow Hills East, which beat No. 4 Smithtown East, 66-38, in the Suffolk AAA final at 6 p.m. on Sunday at Farmingdale State.
King’s two gave Floyd a 63-61 lead with 1:38 left in overtime. Floyd center Dahmarion Moses had a huge block with 17 seconds left in overtime to preserve it, and King made 4 of 4 free throws in the final 12.3 seconds. Floyd outscored Bay Shore 8-2 in the extra session.
Smith’s jumper gave Floyd a 59-53 lead with 1:35 left in the fourth quarter, but Bay Shore (20-2) scored six straight points to end regulation.
Kingsley Rogers (22 points) hit a three with 4.5 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 59. King missed a three at the regulation buzzer.
Carter Wilson scored 17 points and Corey Faines had 13 for Bay Shore.
“It's a pretty good matchup, and they’re a very great team,” Smith said. “We just wanted to get that rematch and get back at them because they (sent) us home last year, so we had to do it today. Sorry for them, but it was a pretty good game.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
