BROOKHAVEN, NY- In a critical Suffolk Conference AA4 matchup between two of our top NYCHoops.net Long Island ranked teams, #3 Bellport hosted #4 Deer Park on Thursday in a matchup that would give the winner an unquestionable advantage going down the stretch of the regular season.

It would give the winner an advantage not just in the standings, but in terms of momentum and belief the rest of the way as well. Bellport looked to be in trouble as they would fall behind 41-30 late in the 3rd quarter as the game started to get away from them, but that's when the Clippers rose to the challenge in a major way.

Led by star junior Jarell White '19, Bellport began to control the glass and get numerous second and third chances inside, and when the forward putback a Teandre Rountree '18 miss at the buzzer, the Clippers had come all the way back to send the game into OT tied at 56.

The extra session was all about Bellport as they carried the momentum from the game tying shot into OT and dominated to the tune of a 17-2 advantage to pull away and take a 73-58 victory.

This season is all about finishing a mission as since the start of the summer each and every Clipper player felt as if this was the season they could make serious noise. They knew they had the talent, and while others in Suffolk may have doubted them, they were ready to prove the doubters wrong.

They have already downed Half Hollow Hills West, but Deer Park was something special, and a game that White admitted he has had circled for a while.

"I've been waiting for this game for a while to show and prove that we could compete with these types of teams like Deer Park," White stated.

He felt they were capable of going out and playing with the Falcons, and while it's nice to believe it, he understood going out and backing up his belief was more important if the Clippers truly wanted to be put on the same level as the other Suffolk AA powers.

From the start in this one it went extremely well for Bellport as Kyleim Robinson '18 hit on his first attempt from long range, and with the Clippers defense doing a great job on the perimeter, they created Deer Park mistakes which would lead to a Rountree drive to the rim just before the end of the 1st to give Bellport a 21-11 lead.

As good as the start was for Bellport, the 2nd quarter saw all the good feelings disappear as the Falcons would start the stanza on a 15-1 run led by Josh Pismeny '18 who relentlessly attacked driving lanes, while also showing off good range in scoring 10 points in the quarter that saw Deer Park take the lead.

Recovering from a rough quarter, the Clippers closed the 2nd strong and would go into halftime tied at 28, though after their disappointing start to the game you had to believe Deer Park was happy with going into the locker room even.

That feeling was confirmed as Malik Edmead '20 began to find his range early in the 3rd pulling up off the dribble and connecting from the elbows with ease, and when Keshaun Jones '18 finished back to back buckets inside, the Falcons lead was up to 41-30 with 2:54 to play in the quarter.

It wasn't anything like the Bellport play in the 1st quarter, but because they had the lead and lost it, White said he was confident in the Clippers abilities to fight back.

"I told my teammates at that point to keep their heads up and we are still in it," White said about trailing by 11 late in the 3rd. "We fell behind because we let up but we knew that we could get back in it."

They just had to stick to what got them there. Don't settle for shots and take care of the ball. After that all they needed to do was let White take care of the rest.

That's because the biggest difference maker on the floor was White. He may only be just over 6'3" but he was determined, physical, and tough inside, grabbing every rebound that came his way, while making sure he finished every opportunity around the rim regardless of the size of the opposition.

With White on their side Bellport began to chip away at the deficit. Any shot that went up it seemed that White would get the offensive rebound and put it back in regardless of how many defenders were on him. It just didn't matter as the big man began to take over.

It was still a 56-54 lead for Deer Park in the closing seconds though with a chance to seal the deal. Anthony Pascal '18 went to the line for a 1 and 1 with 8 seconds remaining, and if he made both it would be a two-possession game to essentially end the game, but he would miss the front end. Bellport grabbed the rebound and called timeout to set up a final play.

Rountree would bring the ball up and he attacked the basket and put up a runner that was no good, but there was White on the weak side cleaning up the rebound and putting back the miss just before the final buzzer sounded to tie the game at 56 and sent the game in OT.

At that point White admitted that he was confident the Clippers would pull the game out with the momentum having completely shifted back Bellport's way, and of course it was White again inside to score the opening bucket inside to start the overtime. The big bucket came after a Deer Park miss, Robinson went around a White screen at the FT line and drove down the lane for the basket while getting fouled.

He finished off the three-point play and put Bellport up 6. Deer Park would go stone cold in the extra session from the floor, missing all 8 shots they attempted, only getting 2 Edmead FT's. The Clippers on the other hand would dominate as Jaylen Trent '20 would end things with a three from the corner that got the crowd on their feet in celebration as it was all Bellport in OT, outscoring Deer Park 17-2 to roll at home to the 73-58 victory.

Adding to his phenomenal play this season, White had 30 points and 19 rebounds in the win, with Robinson and Rountree adding 14 and 12 points respectively in the win that keeps Bellport unbeaten on the season.

Deer Park falls for just the second time on the year, though they got solid efforts from Edmead who had 18 points, while Pismeny added 14 points, all of which came in the opening half of play.

It was a statement making win for Bellport who now are clearly among the very best in Long Island, with White saying that the Clippers hopes, and goals are still alive to do something incredibly special this season.

"We thought this was a year that we had a special group, and now hopefully we can make that special run."