Upsets galore in Nassau boys basketball playoffs

It was a night of upsets in the Nassau County Class A boys basketball quarterfinals as the top three seeds –Lawrence, South Side, West Hempstead– were all upset.

Six-seeded Hewlett got 34 points and 14 rebounds from Avery Feldman in its 71-69 upset of No. 3 West Hempstead. Messiah Ajayi-Clark added six of his eight points in the fourth, including four free throws in final three minutes as Hewlett overcame a 52-46 third-quarter deficit.  Dimitri Baptiste added 13 points for Hewlett (13-4), which plays No. 7 Floral Park in a semifinal on Monday at 5 p.m. at SUNY-Old Westbury.   

Jordan Butler had 24 points and Kevin Cluess added 22 points as No. 7 Floral Park (15-4) topped second-seeded South Side, 74-62. Walker Taize added 14 points as Floral Park took control early, bolting to a 32-20 halftime lead.

Adrian Denner scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds, and Kieran Murchie scored 16 points as ninth-seeded Carey (13-6) knocked off No. 1 Lawrence, 64-63, in overtime. Dylan DeMeo had 15 points, including two free throws with 8.1 left in the extra session to give Carey the win. Tommy Gallant added eight points and 12 rebounds for Carey, which plays No. 4 Valley Stream South in a semifinal on Monday at 7 p.m. at SUNY-Old Westbury.