60.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Malverne stunned by Mattituck
Mules lose L.I. title game on buzzer-beater
Senior guard Steve Ascher capped off a frantic fourth-quarter comeback by beating the buzzer with a tap-in to give Mattituck a 68-67 victory over Malverne in the Long Island Class B boys’ basketball championship game at SUNY-Old Westbury on Wednesday night.
Ascher scored 22 points to lead all scorers. The Mules got 15 points from senior Cory Alexander.
The Tuckers trailed 64-52 with just over five minutes to play, but Malverne (18-2) couldn’t put them away. Mattituck run off nine consecutive points the cut the lead to three with 2:15 on the clock. Junior Alton Kelly (14 points) scored to give the Mules a five-point advantage, but back-to-back buckets by Steve and Tom Ascher cut Malverne’s lead to 66-65 with 13.2 seconds to play.
After Xavier Bernard hit one of two free throws to give the Mules a 67-65 edge, Steve Ascher was fouled as he dribbled down the left sideline. He made the first free throw, but his second hit the back of the rim and was rebounded by Cody Huntley. After a miss by Hundley, Steve Ascher tapped the ball off the glass and through the rim to stun the Mules.
