Baldwin continues to sizzle

Hicksville may have jumped out of the gates by scoring seven of the first nine points in a Conference AA-II battle with Baldwin on Jan. 23, but that fast start was long forgotten when the Bruins (10-1 overall, 8-0 in Conference AA-II) went on a huge run over the final 17 minutes of the half on the way to a 72-36 victory.

Sophomore Shane Gatling, just one in a long line of stars of the game, drained seven three-pointers in the win — six coming in the first half — as part of his game-high 23 points. The biggest push during the game-deciding run came in the second quarter, with Baldwin outscoring the Comets, 27-4.

“We got a lot of deflections, rebounded the ball well, ran the floor and got some easy baskets,” Bruins head coach Darius Burton said.

The bulk of the rebounding was provided by junior Paul Nosworthy, who had a game-high 12, and Nick Dievul (10 rebounds), a junior taking advantage of extra minutes on the floor. Nosworthy currently ranks No. 2 in Nassau County in rebounding and has already racked up seven double-doubles in 11 games, finishing the win over Hicksville with five points. “He’s come a long way to become a factor down the stretch,” Burton said of Dievul, a first-year varsity player with a long 6-foot-4 frame. “He rebounds, can block shots and does the dirty work.”

Junior Marvin Chartelain had nine points and junior Juwaan Brown had seven as part of the Bruins’ balanced effort, while senior point guard Miking Richardson provided another in a line of well-rounded efforts with four points, five rebounds and seven assists. “He’s been the point guard the last four or five games,” Burton said. “And he’s a stat stuffer. He’s getting points, rebounds, assists and steals. He’s playing defense and getting people easy baskets [on offense].”

In knocking off Hicksville, the Bruins bounced back quickly after their first loss, a 73-64 decision to Amityville, the top team in Suffolk County, on Jan. 19. In that loss, senior DeMarco Barnes paced the team with 13 points, including three three-pointers, while Richardson (12) and Nosworthy (11) also topped double figures in points. “We try and play against the best [in nonconference games],” Burton said. “We probably outplayed them as a team, but when you go against a great team like Amityville you have to play for 32 minutes. [If you don’t] they’ll take advantage [of opportunities].”

The Bruins entered the week with just four Conference AA-II battles remaining, including back-to-back battles at Valley Stream Central this Friday (4:30 p.m. tipoff) and home against East Meadow on Saturday (4 p.m.). Victories in three of the four would cement Baldwin as Conference AA-II champions for the fourth consecutive seasons, and winning all four would likely give the team the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Nassau County Class AA playoffs. It closes out the regular season at home against Port Washington on Tuesday (7 p.m.) and then on the road at MacArthur on Feb. 10 (6:15 p.m.).