Mules Power Through Rocks to Advance to the Ship

Malverne's varsity boys basketball squad blew past East Rockaway, 55-34, Saturday night in the Conference B semifinal game.

The Rocks took an early 8-4 lead on the Mules at Long Island University's C.W Post campus in the first round of the playoffs.

That lead didn't last long though, as Mules guards Cory Alexander and Ronald Spencer began to assert themselves.

They used their speed and athleticism to get past the East Rockaway defenders and get inside for easy layups.

Both players were also hot from the outside with each hitting a 3-point shot in the half.

Spencer scored 9 of his 10 points in the first half, giving the Mules a 3 point advantage, 28-25 at the break.

The second half belonged to Malverne.

The Mules pulled away early as Alexander took over and sophomore forward Andre Berry was a force inside, scoring 11 points for the game.

The Rocks could only manage 2 points in the third quarter and the small halftime lead turned into a 41-27 third quarter rout.

The Mules added 14 more points in the fourth, beating East Rockaway by a final score of 55-34.

"They got us into a little bit of foul trouble early in the game but we steadied our nerves and went back to the way we usually play," said Assistant Coach, Walt Aksinoff. "We were able to reverse the ball and get it into their zone and that is our bread and butter."

Malverne will play Wheatley in the championship game at C.W. Post at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.