Monday, Jan. 9, 2017: Long Beach defends Union-Endicott Duals title

   Leading off today: Long Beach won the Union-Endicott Duals title for the second straight year with a 36-30 victory over Rocky Point on Sunday in the championship of the two-day wrestling tournament.

   Long Beach trailed 30-24 before Elisah Rodriguez pinned Christian Stremich in 2:41 at 182 pounds. Mark Rivera of Long Beach decisioned Matt Capell in the 220 match for a 33-30 lead, then heavyweight Mark Rivera closed out the win with a double-overtime decision over Rocky Point's Leo Burke.

   In the semifinals, Brandon Devivio (170), Joe Giorlando (182) and Tyreek Bromley (195) closed on the match with decisions to carry Long Beach past Wantagh 32-29. In the other semi, Rocky Point downed Mattituck 36-27 as Evan Matias (106), Anthony Sciotto (113), Dylan Zabarra (160) and Anthony Lucia (170) posted pins.

   Wantagh defeated Mattituck 40-31 in the third-place match.

   Molloy wins handily: Juniors Moses Brown and Khalid Moore scored 20 and 17 points, respectively, as Archbishop Molloy highlighted a day of CHSAA domination with a 92-60 rout of Queens High School of Teaching in the Apparel Challenge held at Christ the King.

   Queens High School of Teaching, which carried a 14-0 record into the game, is ranked third and Molloy fifth in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   Cole Anthony added 15 points and John Herring had 14 for the Stanners, who were coming off Anthony's 20-point effort Friday as Molloy beat No. 11 Christ the King 78-67. The brutal stretch of games continues Tuesday when Molloy takes on No. 8 Bishop Loughlin in Brooklyn.

   Loughlin tuned up with a 94-77 win over Thomas Jefferson as junior Markquis Nowell made four 3-pointers and scored 24 points.

   More Apparel Challenge and more: Jaylen Davis and Jose Alvarado each scored 17 points to help Christ the King overcome an early deficit and go on to a 61-53 victory over No. 9 Wings Academy to cap the day's action in Queens.

   Brian Mitchell's jumper in the lane gave Wings a 21-11 lead before Davis made three consecutive 3-point baskets that gave the Royals their first lead in the closing moments of the first half.

    • Top-ranked Long Island Lutheran dominated No. 21 Cardozo 80-53 as 16 points from Donatas Kupsas led a balanced attack.

   The Judges have now lost five of their last six games.

    • Holy Trinity took the lead late in the first quarter and fought off No. 6 Baldwin 57-52 in the Gary Charles Hoop Classic at Adelphi University. Thornton Scott scored 16 points.

    • Archbishop Walsh scored a 73-68 win over Lancaster St. Mary's, ranked 16th in Class B, by overcoming a seven-point deficit in the final 92 seconds. Tavien Kemp and Serbian exchange student Slobodan Stojanovic scored five points apiece in the final 1:11.

   Kemp, a senior guard, turned in his third straight game of 40 or more points, finishing with 46 points.

   "We kept making plays," Kemp said. "We calmed down a little bit. It got a little out of control, the fans were getting into it, but we just stayed calm and played our game.'

   Girls basketball: Long Island Lutheran, the state's top-ranked Class AA team, lost 71-67 in a double-OT epic against Manasquan, New Jersey's No. 1 program.

   Manasquan junior guard Dara Mabrey scored 33 points to help offset LuHi's Celeste Taylor, who scored 18 of her 22 points after halftime, and junior Amani Free, who scored 17.

   Free's layup with 6.1 seconds remaining sent the game into the first overtime.

   "The feeling during the game, I don't think you actually some of the positions you're in because it's play after play," Mabrey said. "Every single play is exciting, whether you know it or not."

    • Third-ranked Christ the King edged No. 2 South Shore 51-43 in the opener of the Apparel Challenge. Junior Brandy Thomas paced the Lady Royals with 16 points.

   South Shore led 20-10 in the second quarter and carried a 35-32 advantage into the fourth quarter.

   "I think we proved ourselves today," Thomas said. "We are young, and maybe we don't have that much experience with only have one senior, but we pulled it through today. People keep doubting us and hopefully we will keep winning."

    • Christ the King coach Bob Mackey was honored before the game to recognize career victory No. 400, recorded late last month in Phoenix.

   Coming up: The New York State Sportswriters Association will announce the all-state football team for Classes AA and A on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

   Calling all helpers: We've recently lost the folks who've been assisting us each week with rankings advice out of Section 9 in the worlds of boys and girls basketball. If you're a coach, league official or reporter willing to help with class-by-class records updates on top teams each Sunday, send me an email at jmoriello@yahoo.com.