Solid starts for basketball locals

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The basketball teams at Malverne and West Hempstead all tasted some solid victories in December and will look to make more good things happen as the calendar flips to 2018.

West Hempstead’s boys won a cliffhanger of a Conference IV opener, 62-61, at North Shore on Dec. 18. Michael Parnell scored the Rams’ final five points, including a tiebreaking trey with 1:20 remaining to give them a 60-57 lead. He added a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left before the Vikings scored the game’s final four points.

Parnell finished with 11 points, second on the team behind Chris Jean-Louis’ 24. Haj Karbo added 8, Kobe McMillan chipped in 7 points and 9 rebounds, and Tim Williams had 6 points. West Hempstead led by eight at halftime but North Shore rallied to tie it at 46 apiece after three quarters. The Vikings got a game-high 26 from Liam Kunkel. Drew Jacklin (11) and David Aufiero (10) also scored in double figures.

The win snapped a three-game skid for West Hempstead, which opened the season with a 57-49 win over a Valley Stream North squad coming off consecutive appearances in the Nassau Class A semifinals. Jean-Louis and Tim Williams scored 13 points, and John Granholm added 11.

West Hempstead’s girls’ team might be on the verge of a winning season after capturing its first four out of the gate and five of seven. Jenna Eivazi poured in 23 and 20 in victories over Roslyn and Great Neck North, respectively, and is averaging more than 14 points through seven games. In addition, Ja’nya Flash scored in double figures in all but one contest while averaging 12.4 per game.

Across town, Malverne’s boys have won four of five, including a 64-57 triumph at Seaford in the Conference A-IV opener on Dec. 19. The Mules trailed by one at the half in a back-and-forth affair and outscored the Vikings by seven in the fourth quarter for the final margin. Senior Michael James filled the bosxcore with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Makhia Effs chipped in 13 points and Michael Warren added 12.

The Mules, heading into last week’s annual Hank Williams Holiday Tournament, also had wins over Kennedy, Great Neck North and Carle Place under their belt. Malverne had 13 different scorers, led by Lavell Mason’s dozen, in a 75-11 rout of Carle Place.

The Lady Mules didn’t produce as positive a result against Carle Place, falling 73-38 on Dec. 22. The outcome evened their record at 2-2. Malverne opened with easy victories over Westbury and Roosevelt before dropping its conference opener to powerful Seaford.

All four locals are back in action later this week. West Hempstead’s girls have an interesting matchup at home versus Valley Stream South this Friday at 6:30 p.m. The boys face off at West Hempstead at the same time. The Lady Mules host Cold Spring Harbor on Saturday at noon, while the boys hit the road for a noon tipoff.