Falcons Basketball Celebrates Senior Night

The Locust Valley High School boys and girls basketball teams celebrated their hardworking seniors last week and capped off their respective games with wins by each Falcons team.

On Feb. 8 the girls team thanked Payton Tini for her incredible efforts over the past four years, which helped lift the team to a Long Island record 54-straight wins from 2019 to 2021, two Nassau County titles and a Long Island championship win. Payton Tini, who recently scored her 1,000th point, got to savor the moment during a pregame presentation with her family, teammates and coaches.

On Feb. 11, the boys team honored its six seniors before a win over West Hempstead. Charles Ehni, Michael Rice, Preston Rothkrug, Matthew Sarubbe, Phil Strauss and Samuel Tini met family members at center court with flowers, thanking them for their support over the past four years. Each senior played a part in the team’s success this year.

Both Locust Valley teams will compete in the conference playoffs with the boys taking on West Hempstead at home on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. and the first-seeded girls playing in the semifinals at Hofstra University on Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.