Blue Waves boys hoops squad preps for Friday home playoff game
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, records wash away and a single elimination playoff tournament determines the top team in Suffolk County.
For the first time since 2019, Riverhead’s boys basketball team has clinched a spot in the playoffs with an 8-4 record in Suffolk County’s League I. After deliberation on Tuesday, the seeding committee selected the Blue Waves for the No. 7 seed in the bracket, earning Riverhead a first-round home game against No. 10 Commack Friday at 5 p.m.
In coach Pat Fabian’s first year in charge of the basketball program, the team went from 2-13 in the league last year to become a serious threat in the playoffs this year.
“We’re keeping the same mentality that we’ve had all year going into the playoffs,” Fabian said. “Practice how we would play in the game. Staying laser-focused and active. It’s a huge game and we’re all excited for it but we’re not changing what we do. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.”
Riverhead will unfortunately be without their leading scorer and rebounder, Deshawn Watkins, who is still nursing a shoulder injury. Watkins is averaging close to 18 points a game this season and his contributions will be greatly missed against Commack.
“We just need the other guys to step up in his place,” Fabian said. “Anytime you miss your best scorer it’s not going to be easy but we’re ready for it. I expect Landon Zaleski to step into his role and have a productive game.”
Riverhead will rely on several other players to find the bottom of the net in order to have success. Peter Lagnena will need to put together a solid shooting effort Friday night. He’s averaged 11.5 points this year but has scored as many as 19 in a game.
“We’re definitely excited coming into this playoff game,” Lagnena said. “We know what to expect and we know that we’re going to have to play hard all 32 minutes to get the result we want.”
Senior captain Liam Lennon will be a crucial piece on offense and defense. He’s affected the game on both ends of the court all season, averaging 8.7 points per game and routinely notching multiple blocked shots every time out.
“The vibes are high around the school,” Lennon said. “This is my first playoff game in my basketball career here and I’m going to leave it all on the line. We have to play together. We have to play unselfish.”
Anaiis Mitchell will undoubtedly be the X-factor coming into the playoff game. The sophomore point guard who usually holds a pass-first mentality will need to score more in Watkins’ absence. He’s averaged 9.6 points per game this season and posted a career-high 21 points against Walt Whitman.
“Missing Deshawn, all of us have to do a little more,” Mitchell said. “It’s not all on me. It’s on all of us. That’s a lot of points that just came off the court. But we’re all confident in our abilities.”
As soon as Commack (7-5 League II) was announced as the Blue Waves’ first round opponent, Fabian went into scouting mode. He’s trying to piece together a game plan and had scheduled scrimmages against Westhampton and Southampton this week to try to implement everything leading up to the big game.
“We’re expecting Commack to come out playing very hard,” Fabian said. “They’re fundamentally sound. They play tough defense. They have a couple good guards that can get into the paint and have some bigs that can shoot. I think overall we match up well against them.”
Getting to the postseason is something new for this group of Blue Waves. Nobody on the roster has ever been in a playoff game, but the opportunity doesn’t scare them.
“I think all the things we’ve gone through all season has prepared us for this moment,” Lennon said. “Whether we’ve been here before or not it doesn’t matter. We’re ready. Our crowd will be rocking. We want to go out and prove we belong.”
