Mical Saint Jean, Ethan Sainsbury help Baldwin win Long Island Class AA championship
Baldwin teammates celebrate after their 75-56 win over Amityville in the Long Island Class AA boys basketball championship at Farmingdale State College on Tuesday. Credit: James Escher
Championships are the standard for the Baldwin boys basketball program.
The Bruins, winners of five straight Nassau titles, were searching for their fifth Long Island championship in program history and their first since 2022 after falling in the title game each of the previous two seasons.
Baldwin, which had 10 first-year players on this season’s roster, never trailed in a 75-56 victory over Amityville in the Long Island Class AA championship game Tuesday night at Farmingdale State. Baldwin led by as many as 21 with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
Sophomore forward Mical Saint Jean scored 19 points, junior guard Ethan Sainsbury scored 17 and senior guard Chase Timberlake scored 12 for Baldwin (18-7).
“This group was very important because they wanted to make their own identity,” coach Darius Burton said. “Each year, each team wants to make their own identity. They didn’t win a conference championship, but they got a county and they got a Long Island [championship].
“I’m so proud of this group because a lot of people sold this group out short with 10 first-year players, two main starters leaving the program. But these guys just step up, starting by the leader, Chase Timberlake.”
Timberlake, a third-year varsity player and 2024 Newsday All-Long Island second-teamer, has been a cornerstone for Burton. He won his first Long Island title.
“After losing twice in a row, it feels great,” Timberlake said. “I like this moment a lot. I didn’t get to feel it the last two years, so feeling it now feels great.”
Said Saint Jean: “I always knew we could do it since the jump of the season.”
Baldwin will face Section I champion Tappan Zee (22-2) in the Southeast Regional final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Yorktown High School. The winner will travel to Binghamton for the state semifinals on March 20.
The teams were tied twice in the first half but Baldwin was in control the entire second half. The Bruins held Amityville (16-8) to two made field goals in the third quarter and carried a 57-41 advantage into the fourth.
“We prepare for these moments,” Timberlake said. “[Burton’s] a big film guy. [He] goes over everything, gives us the answers to the test. So we just went out there. He gave us all the answers.”
Both Amityville and Baldwin were respective No. 5 seeds in their county playoffs. It is the second straight year the Long Island Class AA champ entered the postseason as a fifth seed; Elmont was a No. 5 seed in 2024 before winning the state AA title.
Tuesday marked the first Long Island championship between Amityville coach Jack Agostino and Burton, who had combined for 950 wins and 13 LI titles entering the matchup.
Said Burton: “As a player growing up, watching his great teams with AJ Price, etc., I just wanted to emulate him and be like him.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
