Uniondale freshman Mori Toney lifts Knights into Nassau Class AAA boys basketball semifinals

Mori Toney was hanging with the starting crowd and excelling for the Uniondale varsity boys basketball team as a mere eighth grader last season and was doing it again to start this freshman season. But then his coach made a switch after some injuries.

“We needed some production off the bench,” Jaaz Styles said. “We felt like he was the most versatile to do it. And as you can see, he’s killing it.”

The Knights have won 13 of 15 since the role change for the 6-3 combo guard and are on an 11-game winning streak. And the latest victory, coming Friday in their gym, brought a big reward.

Toney scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to help power the third-seeded Knights into the Nassau Class AAA semifinals with a 52-42 triumph over No. 6 Westbury.

Uniondale will face No. 2 East Meadow on March 2 at Farmingdale State at 7 p.m. The Knights fell 58-57 in double overtime to the Jets on Dec. 8.

“I feel amazing,” Toney said. “Last year, we [lost] in the first round, so it just feels good to go to Farmingdale this year as a freshman. We’re a very young team.”

Besides having Toney as a reserve, Uniondale’s starting lineup for this game included two other freshmen and a sophomore. But here are the Knights at 15-5 and ahead of their time.

“I think [it’s] the depth at each spot,” Styles said. “We’ve got multiple playmakers, multiple forwards, multiple rim protectors. And they’re young, so they’re learning as we go.

“I think we’re good enough to win [a championship].”

Both teams struggled offensively in a first half that ended tied at 15.

In the third quarter, sophomore guard Dylan Hickman scored eight of his 14 points, Toney had seven points, and the defense did its part. Uniondale outscored Westbury 21-10 in the period to take a 36-25 lead, before the margin expanded to 16 in the fourth.

Westbury, which was led by Zion Mitchell’s 10 points, finished at 11-9. But this was its second straight playoff appearance after a winless run.

“After… a season like that two years ago, 0-19, I vowed to turn the program around the way it used to be,” coach Keith Moody said. “As an alumni of the district and a former basketball player of the district, I decided to let these players know that we had to play with pride.”