Michael DeRosa's hot hand gives Smithtown East edge over North Babylon
Smithtown East guard Michael DeRosa gets fouled on the layup against North Babylon in a Suffolk League III game on Wednesday at Smithtown East. Credit: George A Faella
Despite not having the start he wanted to his senior season, Michael DeRosa worked tirelessly to get back on track. The Smithtown East guard has put in extra work after practice with coach Al Chandler, and it showed up in a huge way Wednesday afternoon.
DeRosa hit five three-pointers in the final 8:01 against North Babylon, four in the fourth quarter and one before the third-quarter buzzer. DeRosa’s last three with 1:04 left broke a tie to give the Bulls a lead they never relinquished.
Smithtown East survived a last-second three-point attempt by North Babylon guard Cameron Serrano and secured a 75-73 home win in a Suffolk League III boys basketball thriller that featured 11 lead changes.
“It felt like a weight off my shoulders,” said DeRosa, who scored 15 points. “I’ve been working all season for this, and it feels good to help the boys get a dub.”
DeRosa made only four shots this season before breaking through Wednesday.
“He’s worked so hard,” Chandler said. “He’s been struggling for quite some time. He stayed after the other night. We practiced until like 7. We had the shooting machine out. He does everything right. He plays hard on defense and talks. He just hasn’t seen it go in . . .
“I’m proud of him because he’s battled so hard, and it just hasn’t gone in for him.”
Junior guard Craig O’Neill had 17 points, senior forward Brandon Devitt had 16 and senior guard Bobby Eck had 14 for Smithtown East (10-2, 3-1).
“I was just letting [DeRosa] go to work,” O’Neill said. “I didn’t want the ball, he was hitting every shot.”
North Babylon (6-5, 2-3) led 66-61 with 3:24 left after Serrano’s three-point play. DeRosa hit consecutive threes to give the Bulls a 67-66 lead with 2:18 left.
Bulldogs guard Aidan Walsh tied it at 69 on a corner three with 1:21 left before DeRosa’s fifth three. North Babylon opted for quick twos to extend the game, and O’Neill went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line in the final 19.5 seconds.
“Man, what a high school game, right?” Chandler said. “Everyone was making shots. Everyone played good basketball. It was just, they missed the last shot. That’s what it came down to. I thought it was in.”
Jake Walsh scored 20 points, Serrano scored 19 and Kameron Quinn scored 17 for North Babylon.
“Basketball’s a game of runs, that’s what that was today,” North Babylon coach Rakeem Vanterpool said. “We went on a run. They went on a run. If there was five more minutes, two more minutes, it could have went the other way.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
