Baldwin boys basketball completes comeback to beat South Side, advance to Nassau Class AA semifinals
Gabriel Phillips of Baldwin drives through the South Side defense during a Nassau Class AA boys basketball quarterfinal on Wednesday at South Side. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Darius Burton has said that “tradition never leaves Baldwin.” But the tradition of reaching Nassau final fours and winning championships wasn’t looking promising Tuesday night for the Bruins’ coach and his latest edition, sitting 12 points back late in the first half of a road gym.
Then fifth-seeded Baldwin, riding a streak of four straight county titles, got it down to nine at the intermission against fourth-seeded South Side and ultimately completed the comeback.
The Bruins blew on by the Cyclones and claimed a 55-45 win in their Nassau AA quarterfinal after getting 21 points from Gabe Phillips and yielding just 18 points after halftime.
“We’re in the final four for the 19th straight year,” Burton said. “This is what we do. This is what we’re used to.”
So this 15-7 basketball team will play its semifinal at 6 p.m. on March 4 at Farmingdale State against top-seeded Great Neck South (21-0), which beat Baldwin twice by a combined count of nine points during the regular season.
“I’ve got 10 first-year players, but they have bought in,” Burton said. “They believe. They’re committed. They sacrifice. And they’re hungry. I told this group every group I’ve had at Baldwin wants to make a mark. And this group wants to make their own mark.”
South Side wanted to make a mark, too. But the Cyclones finished 1-1 in the postseason and 18-4 overall. “We are very, very, very young,” coach Jerry D’Angelo said. “So I think we got better as the season went along. We started playing some really quality basketball.”
It was 34-34, and then the Bruins opened the fourth with an 11-4 burst. Chase Timberlake, who scored nine of his 10 in the second half, drilled a three to give Baldwin its first lead at 39-36. Isaiah Lett dunked off a turnover to make it 45-38.
South Side never got inside four from there. “We didn’t play with our composure in the second half,” D’Angelo said.
The Cyclones led 27-18 at the half and 31-21 early in the third after Ryan Schmitt put in an offensive rebound for two of his 17 points.
But the Bruins responded with a quarter-closing, 13-3 run. Phillips converted a three-point play to cap it. The junior center/forward said Burton had emphasized playing harder and rebounding during halftime.
“I feel like we came out slow,” Phillips said. “But then it all picked up from our coach.”
