"Lock-Up De-fense!!!"

The Longwood contingent that traveled to Lindenhurst HS to support their team in this Saturday afternoon barn burner could likely be heard screaming the said phrase for 14 straight minutes from nearby Sunrise Highway.

The message in the cheer was well-received by their NYC Hoops #10 ranked Longwood Lions, as they gutted out a tough 56-55 win against their division rival, the #6 ranked Lindenhurst Bulldogs and evened their series 1-1.

Longwood would hold early momentum with a 6-2 lead, but Lindenhurst senior guard Andrew Morales would find his hot hand early with a pair of treys to bring the Bulldogs within one, 9-8. Lindenhurst's leading scorer, junior forward Kamil Parzych, was cold from the field early, misfiring on shots from both close and afar. However, when he found his first points by breaking down the Lions' defense for a difficult lay-up, the Bulldogs claimed their first lead of the game, 12-11. The one point Lindenhurst lead would remain until deep into the second quarter, as the game became an affair of trading baskets. When Longwood's Darien Davis went 1 of 2 from the stripe with 3:25 left in the half, the score was tied for the first time, 20-20. The game would remain close, but a pair of free throws from Parzych would cap a 4-0 Lindenhurst run and send them into the locker room up four, 28-24.

Lindenhurst would expand on their lead early in the third quarter, as Andrew Matos and Joe Vespier helped open up an 8 point lead at 34-26, the largest either team would hold for the entire game. Parzych had yet to heat up from the field, but the Lions were not about to sit around and wait for the inevitable.

"Parzych is a great player, but there's only one of him", said Longwood Head Coach Dennis Terry. "We knew we had to always keep a fresh guy on him, so we had three or four guys rotating. We're one of the deepest teams out there." Point guard Tajric Boggs held that assignment for the majority of the time, and he took it seriously, as his suffocating defense muted Parzych for the entire quarter. "Tajric is one of our best defensive players on the perimeter, but we had Kris Kelly and Kyle Weeks rotating on him too and it eventually wore (Parzych) down."

As the Longwood cheering section's pleas for defense echoed through the gym (and the Lindenhurst home crowd now offering raucous rebuttal), the Lions tightened the screws defensively on the Bulldogs and began to make a run on the opposite end of the floor. After Davis nailed a three ball and Jim Knudsen acknowledged the bank was open on Saturdays with a deuce off the glass, Longwood was back within three, 34-31. When the Lions defensive pressure prevented Lindenhurst from getting the ball in bounds, the tone was set in their favor despite still being down 39-36 with a minute left in the quarter. Boggs would put back a missed shot at the end of the third, and all of a sudden the game was back to the one point Lindenhurst advantage, 39-38.

When 6-foot-7 senior forward Marcus Hunter scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, he gave the Lions their first lead since the second quarter, 40-39. Longwood would continue to roll on a 4-0 run, but when Parzych finally canned a trey and Ryan Derham followed with a bucket, the game was tied at 44. Morales would go down with a leg injury as Boggs converted on a fast break, but he would remain in the game and contribute a bucket on the very next play to tie the game at 50. A pair of Boggs free throws would give the Lions a two point cushion, but Parzych would go coast to coast and complete the three point play, putting the Bulldogs up 53-52. However, the home crowd was silenced when Weeks hit a crucial three pointer to give the Lions a two point advantage.

"Kyle (Weeks') three was huge", said Coach Terry. "We have 15 kids with varsity experience and just about all of them have started before, so no matter whose playing, they can get the job done. We don't have any superstars, but we have guys that hit big shots."

Lindenhurst would then be stifled by Longwood's swarming perimeter defense for 22 seconds and be forced to call a time out. The Bulldogs failed to convert on the possession and the Lions would milk the shot clock and get to the foul line, but a few missed freebies left the Bulldogs opportunity to strike. Parzych would again cash in on a coast to coast lay-up to bring Lindenhurst within one, 56-55. They would then be forced to foul Boggs, but when he missed the free throw, Lindenhurst utilized their final seconds of life support on a Vespier desperation three that was only two inches too far right to snatch the game.

"Lindenhurst is a tough club", said Coach Terry. "We've played them two games this year by a total of three points, and the same thing happened two years ago. If you're in Lindenhurst, then you know it's going to be a battle."

Tajric Boggs led Longwood with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Marcus Hunter contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds and Kyle Weeks chipped in with 10 points. Lindenhurst was lead by Kamil Parzych and Andrew Morales with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

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