5. V.S. South boys basketball
A historic season for Valley Stream South’s boys basketball team reached epic proportions when the Falcons, coached by Matt Johnsen, rallied from an early 11-point deficit to secure the first county championship in the school’s history with a 66-56 victory over Hewlett in the Nassau Class A final, played before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,800 at Adelphi. The fourth-seeded Falcons, who rewrote their record book in February with the program’s first 1,000-point scorer, first conference title, and first home playoff game, added the biggest chapter of all on March 1 by outscoring the Bulldogs, 24-14, in the final quarter to provide the difference. Dana King scored 18 points, while William Knight added 14.

6. Baldwin girls basketball
There was no sigh of relief until Lames ElGammal and Tiara Place teamed up to pull down one more rebound after a final missed three-point shot by Sachem East’s Katie Doherty. Only then could Baldwin, coached by Tom Catapano, finally exhale and celebrate its second Long Island Class AA girls’ basketball championship in four years, a 50-47 win over the Lady Flaming Arrows at Farmingdale College on March 8. Place put the Lady Bruins ahead for good in the final minute, driving to the hoop for a layup with 59 seconds left. Following a block by Tyra Harrison on a wild shot by Doherty on the next Sachem East possession, Mariah Butler calmly sank a pair of free throws for the final margin of victory.