Isaiah Blunt's 23 points, Evan Wilson's 17 lead first-place West Hempstead past Carle Place
Isaiah Blunt of West Hempstead shoots over Mario Dalessandro of Carle Place during a Nassau Conference AB-VIII boys basketball game in West Hempstead on Saturday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
West Hempstead owned a two-point edge with a minute left in the first quarter. Then it started to pull away in a big way from Carle Place and take another significant step in the direction of at least a share of the Nassau AB-VIII boys basketball title.
The first-place Rams’ 69-51 home win Saturday moved them to 11-6 overall and 9-1 in AB-VIII with two games remaining on the regular-season itinerary.
Cold Spring Harbor, which lost to West Hempstead on Jan. 6, is second at 7-2. Carle Place fell to 7-3. Next up for the Rams? A game at Cold Spring Harbor.
“It was big,” coach Eric Rubin said of this victory. “We have destiny in our hand . . . We know if we win [Tuesday], we clinch the title. That would mean a lot.”
It would also mean a lot if they could go beyond where they finished last season. West Hempstead, now in Class A, exited in the Class B Southeast Regional final.
“We have a lot of ability,” Rubin said. “We just have to play defense, play together and play smart and we can go far. We have enough talent to go far.
“Up until this point, we haven’t put everything together yet. This is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Isaiah Blunt, a 6-4 senior forward, topped them with 23 points. Evan Wilson, a 6-foot senior guard, contributed 17 more.
“It’s a pack a punch,” Blunt said of the tandem. “We’ve been playing with each other for so long. We just have that chemistry on the court that leads to wins like this.”
Wilson nailed a three, giving him nine points in the first quarter and giving the Rams an 18-11 lead after eight minutes. A 9-0 run was in motion.
Blunt capped it with a jumper and scored eight in the second quarter. When Wilson banked in a three from up top, the advantage was 39-24 heading for halftime.
“We just weren’t patient on our offense,” Carle Place coach John Cantwell said.
Ryan Leary, in the midst of a 28-point game, spun for a layup, slashing the lead to 40-32 in the third. But the Rams took off again. Blunt’s layup following a turnover made it 50-35.
So the Class B Frogs fell to 11-7 overall.
“We have an opportunity to go all the way with this team,” Cantwell said. “But a lot of things have got to come together.”
