Baldwin wins thriller at Westbury

With five Nassau Class AA boys’ basketball championships and three Long Island titles over the last decade, Baldwin rarely has anything to prove on the court.  

However, that was the case last Friday afternoon when the Bruins, despite no chance at the Conference AA-II crown but with their playoff seed at stake, went to Westbury and pulled out a back-and-forth thriller, 76-72, behind senior Elijah Bovell’s career-high 30 points and eight rebounds.

“This was a statement game,” said Bovell, who shot 12-for-17 from the field and hit two clutch free throws in a wild fourth quarter that featured eight lead changes. “It’s a big win in a playoff atmosphere and it’s going to boost our confidence heading into the playoffs,” he added.

Junior Nasim Cylin had 12 points, seniors Derrick Ruffin and Norman Wilson added nine apiece, and senior Matt Trepeta chipped in eight as Baldwin (15-3 overall, 10-2 in AA-II) avenged a twofold streak-breaking defeat to Westbury (18-2, 11-1.) The Green Dragons, who on Jan. 17 snapped the Bruins’ 48-game conference win streak as well as their 36-game home win streak, were led by Jonathan Dean’s 24 points.

“We had a lot on the line,” Baldwin head coach Darius Burton said. “Westbury did a great job the first time we met and snapped two long winning streaks we had going, so there was a little revenge factor. We’re a lot happier with this result than we were three weeks ago.”

Bovell, who had 12 points in the first meeting, didn’t hit the scoresheet in last Friday’s rematch until his three-pointer beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter and gave the Bruins a 16-13 lead. “I was a little nervous at the beginning,” he said. “But once that first one fell, I knew my shot was on.”

While Ruffin carried Baldwin’s offense in the early going with six points, the second quarter belonged to Bovell and Westbury’s Jalyn Dunlap. Both had 10 points in the quarter and combined for five consecutive treys, including a rare four-point play by Dunlap (20 points) that gave the hosts a 27-24 lead. It was 30-30 at halftime.

“Elijah steps up in big games,” Burton said. “He had a chip on his shoulder today. I think the whole team did.”

Bovell had 11 points in the third quarter, including an emphatic two-handed dunk, and Cylin hit a pair of treys to help Baldwin take a 53-50 lead into the fourth.

There was no shortage of intensity or momentum swings over the final eight minutes. Westbury’s Darius Young, who scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth, made three lead-changing shots in the final 5:47 and also assisted on Dean’s trey from the corner that tied it at 67. Wilson broke the deadlock with 2:00 remaining on a nifty pull-up jumper and the Bruins eventually ran off seven straight points to seal the outcome.

“The bus ride over here was quiet,” Burton said. “The guys were focused and ready to go.”