Mount Sinai boys basketball wins first LI championship

The Mount Sinai history makers were at it again.

The Mustangs followed up their feat of taking the varsity program’s first Suffolk title by winning a first Long Island championship.

It wasn’t all just a Dom Pennzello basketball show, though, against Floral Park Sunday at Farmingdale State. The senior standout scored 21, but he was seeing a lot of attention.

So with the fate of this Class A title game and Southeast Regional final hanging there for either side to claim, contributions came from all over for coach Ryan McNeely’s team. Mount Sinai survived a 36-point eruption from senior Anthony Caris and emerged with a 77-71 victory.

“It’s a family at the end of the day, and we got it done together,” Pennzello said. “Not just me.”

In the fourth, Brock Kolsch scored nine of his 17. Pennzello added six. Brian Vales scored five of his 13, which went with 14 rebounds. Alex Campanelli scored all five of his points. And Blake Kolsch, Brock’s brother, scored three of his 12, which went with 10 assists.

Now a “family” trip is coming to Binghamton for the Class A state final four.

“This is where the big boys play now,” McNeely said.

The Mustangs (22-2), who have won 10 straight, will play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena against Section I champ Byram Hills.

“My goal was always to be county champ when we were little,” Brock Kolsch said. “It’s great that we’re able to come this far.”

This team did dream in the spring that it could get this far.

“They said something like, ‘We’re going to states,’ ” McNeely said. “And I kind of like giggle. I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, guys. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to that point.’

“And in my head I was like, ‘Do these guys know how hard it is to get to states?’ ”

They worked for it and they made it even after their 10-point third-quarter lead shrank to 52-50 with 7:15 left when Caris hit a three en route to a 15-point fourth.

“It was impressive,” Floral Park coach Sean Boyle said, “but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”

Pennzello countered with a floater in the lane. An 18-9 run was in motion.

Campanelli’s layup raised the advantage to 70-59. And Brock Kolsch converted a three-point play for a 73-62 lead with 1:39 to go.

The Knights (19-5), who took their first Nassau title in 20 years, could only cut it to five with 12.8 seconds remaining.

“I’m super, super proud of the season,” Boyle said, “but disappointed that we let a golden opportunity get away.”