Ted Adams became the winningest boys basketball coach in Nassau County history when Hempstead defeated Samuel Gompers 71-57 on the strength of tournament MVP Ismael Pierre's 16 points, eight steals and eight rebounds in the Junius Kellogg Classic at Manhattan Center.

   The victory was No. 480 for Adams in his 27th season and he moved past Russ Bastin, who won 479 at Uniondale from 1954-1992. Adams is 37th on the all-time state list. He's also 15th among active coaches, with Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy (914 at the start of the season) and Ed Petrie of East Hampton (746) well ahead of the rest of the field.

   If Adams snared the Nassau career achievement award, then DeShawn Moorer at least got his name into the conversation for performance of the year by pouring in 56 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for Malverne in a 92-89 victory against West Hempstead in four OTs.

   Moorer connected on 18 field goals, including three 3-pointers, and 17 free throws in the epic performance. His two free throws with 33 seconds left in the fourth overtime broke a tie, and he followed eight second later with a bucket to make the score 92-88.

   The Long Island scoring record is believed to be 76 by Mike Milligan of Long Island Lutheran in the 1977-78 season. It's unclear whether Moorer set a Section 8 record, but the NYSSWA has not uncovered any performances of 60 or more points in a game by NYSPHSAA players in the section.

   Corey Alexander chipped in with 22 points and had 10 assists for Malverne, which held a 46-38 lead after three quarters before West Hempstead went on a 21-13 run in the fourth quarter. The scored was 68-69 after the first OT, 76-76 after the second OT and 83-83 after three OTs.

   Jamel Flash topped West Hempstead with 26 points, followed by Daniel Minto with 23.

   North Rockland impresses: North Rockland may be for real in Section 1 Class AA boys basketball. The Red Raiders went on a 22-2 run late in the Slam Dunk final and beat White Plains 59-43 to take home the trophy.

   On Saturday, North Rockland turned heads with a 60-56 victory over Long Island Lutheran, ranked third in Class A by the NYSSWA, after putting up just 19 points in the first half at the Westchester County Center. North Rockland

   Against White Plains, John Perez scored 15 second-half points and 19 overall, and Jorge Cruz added 16 for North Rockland, which was on the verge of a trip to the sectional final last March before fading down the stretch vs. Poughkeepsie.

   "The kids didn't panic," coach Chris Roff told The Journal News. "As a coach, it's great to look out on the floor and know you have kids who are yelling out directions to each other and playing as a team."

   A rugged road: Hey, Albany Academy, what's the matter? Were the Cavs and Lakers already booked?

   As noted this morning by The Times Union, a relatively young Albany Academy team has a very challenging boys basketball schedule this season -- its second as an independent in the sport. The Cadets, ranked 22nd last week in Class AA by the NYSSWA have already lost to No. 6 New Rochelle and No. 12 Shenendehowa and Class A No. 13 Cornwall this month and have home games this week against Schenectady (4-1) and Bishop Maginn (4-1).

   Albany Academy has defeated No. 13 Poughkeepsie and highly regarded Manhasset St. Mary's. The remaining schedule includes Class A No. 2 Buffalo Nichols, Class B No. 1 Collegiate, Albany, Long Island Lutheran and a rematch with Shen. On top of that, Class A No. 1 Jamesville-DeWitt, No. 7 Bishop Kearney and No. 16 Utica Notre Dame are part of an upcoming tournament field.

   The cut from 20 to 18 regular-season games limited AD Paul Gallucci's options for scheduling games.

   "I think what happened that really made it difficult is losing the freshman and the JV schedule in the Colonial (Council)," coach Brian Fruscio said. "That put things at another level. Instead of trying to find 18 games -- 20 in normal years -- you are trying to find 54 games. The Colonial has been great and we still have a number of freshman contests, but JV and varsity travel together. In the state, the only teams that have games available are teams no one wants to play because they are really good."

   Without a league to call home, Albany Academy will likely be playing comparable schedules for at least a few more seasons. The situation will improve slightly if the state restores 20-game schedules.

   "You are challenged every night," Fruscio said. "This schedule allows kids to build tremendous memories, and that is exactly what we want for our student-athletes. This is initiation by storm."