Defense helps Farmingdale boys upset Hempstead in Nassau Class AAA quarterfinals
Farmingdale's Ben Mear (10 points), right, gets defended by Hempstead's Christian Holt in Nassau Class AAA boys basketball quarterfinals on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Credit: James Escher
Farmingdale’s days of playoff preparation went awry in the final five minutes of Thursday’s practice.
Senior guard Jake Mangio, Farmingdale’s leading scorer at 20 points per game, rolled his left ankle when he stepped on a teammate’s foot. It was diagnosed as a sprain, and he wore a boot during Friday’s Nassau Class AAA boys basketball quarterfinal game at Hempstead.
“It was the air getting let out of the balloon and a big gasp, and you could hear a pin drop,” Farmingdale coach Jim Pastier said. “The only thing you heard in the gym was him screaming and yelling in pain and agony.”
Pastier ended practice after Mangio’s injury. The coaching staff quickly regrouped and brought the Dalers back Friday morning to quickly change and finalize their entire game plan.
The all-hands-on-deck effort worked to a T.
No. 5 Farmingdale put on a defensive clinic in a 43-31 win over No. 4 Hempstead. The Dalers, who allowed zero three-pointers in the entire game and only one first-half field goal, held the lead the final three quarters. “You find out what teams are about when adversity hits, and you found out what these guys were about today,” Pastier said. “They played together as a unit. Not one person’s bigger than the team. They all had to do this job together to get the W.”
Ben Mear and Erik Kubelka each had 10 points and JJ Collins and Mateo Morales each had eight for Farmingdale (13-7). The Dalers will face No. 1 Port Washington (17-4) in the semifinals at 5 p.m. on March 2 at Farmingdale State.
“Everyone was in shock,” Collins said of the reaction to the injury. “We were wondering if he was going to play or not [Friday]. And we got the news, we just knew we had to win for him today.”
Mear, a junior, made his second career start and scored seven fourth-quarter points.
“It was good, very nerve-wracking, but I knew that I can get it done,” he said. “I have a lot of teammates to help me out, and they always trust me and I know they have my back no matter what.”
Oladipupo Karimu had 17 points for Hempstead (10-11), which trailed 20-8 at halftime and 26-20 after three quarters.
Amare Collins’ layup cut Hempstead’s deficit to 33-27 with 2:55 left. JJ Collins hit a layup with 2:38 to play and Mear made one 33 seconds later to bring it to 37-27. Hempstead never came within eight in the final 2:05.
Mangio said he “messed [my ankle] up pretty good, ” but he refuses to be sidelined for long.
“This isn’t going to keep me out,” he said. “I’m playing next week.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
