Garden City tallied the first 16 points in the Section VIII–Class A boys championship final, only to have top-seeded Manhasset outscore the third-ranked Trojans 50-30 over the last three periods to complete a 56-48 win. The game was played on March 5 in the David Mack Sports & Exhibition Center at Hofstra University.
Aside from Manhasset’s only loss, to Malverne, no team played the Indians tougher than Garden City (17-4) this year. The Trojans lost a regular season game 65-62 back in January and thoroughly dominated the early going in the championship tilt. They had seemingly found the key to stifling Manhasset’s high-scoring offense and they played inspired ball, finding their way to the hoop for easy buckets and connecting from long distances.
Then Garden City cooled off while the Indians methodically fought their way back, finally gaining the lead with 4:47 left and never relinquishing it.
Kyle Wood led Garden City with 19 points and Leonidas Vlogianitis added 13.
The Trojans began the Class A playoffs with a 59-35 win over New Hyde Park on Feb. 18. Vlogianitis (16), Wood (10) and Michael Fargione (10) led the scoring. They followed with a smashing 70-32 win over No. 11 Hewlett on Feb. 23, holding the county’s leading scorer, Ryan Weiss (27.5 ppg), to a season-low 12 points. Vlogianitis led the scoring parade with 24 points, followed by Jackson Perisa (13) and Tarell Joseph (10).
In the semis, on March 1, Garden City pulled away from Valley Stream North 67-55. Vlogianitis (18), Perisa (14), Fargione (12) and Joseph (11) paced the Trojans.
“It’s a young team,” Garden City coach Jim Hegmann said of his squad, adding that he expects good things in the future.
