Hewlett rallies for OT victory

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Trailing by eight points with less than five minutes remaining and its biggest offensive threat done for the night, Hewlett stormed back with its season in jeopardy to send last Friday’s Nassau Class A boys’ basketball first-round playoff game against Locust Valley to overtime.

In OT, the seventh-seeded Bulldogs found another gear and rode the clutch play of senior Zach Bromfeld and junior Luca Preziosi to a thrilling 56-51 victory before a spirited home crowd. Bromfeld scored six of his 15 points in the extra session and ripped down 16 rebounds, Preziosi poured in a team-high 18 points, and junior Matt Mannino added 13 points and 14 boards as Hewlett (16-4) advanced to face No. 2 Roosevelt in the quarterfinals.

No. 10 Locust Valley (16-4), which held a 44-36 lead and had the benefit of Hewlett’s leading scorer, Alyjah Hill, forced to watch from the bench after fouling out with 4:36 left in regulation, was led by Parker Appel’s 18 points.

“The key for us is sticking together,” said Preziosi, who stuck a trey from the top of the key with 1:30 to go in the fourth to send the game into an extra four-minute quarter tied at 45. “The only thing we could do after Alyjah fouled out was keep working,” he added. “We all trust each other.”

The Bulldogs scored the last seven points of regulation and the first six of overtime. Preziosi sent the crowd into a frenzy early in OT with a dazzling behind-the-back feed to Bromfeld for a layup to make it 49-45. Mannino followed with a basket, and free throws by Preziosi and Bromfeld in the final 22 seconds sealed it.

“Luca always seems to shine come playoff time,” Hewlett head coach Bill Dubin said. “It’s been that way since he was a freshman. He played great at both ends of the floor tonight.”

Preziosi was sizzling from the opening tip. Half of his points came in the first quarter, all from behind the arc, as the Bulldogs exploded to an 11-0 lead. It was 15-4 heading into the second when Locust Valley used a balanced attack to chip away at the margin.

“We knew they’d make runs,” Dubin said. “We watched four of their games on film. That’s a very good team.”

The Falcons, who had six players contribute at least five points, crept within 22-21 at halftime and took their first lead of the night on Appel’s trey to open the second half. Danny Wilson’s three-pointer with seconds remaining in the third allowed the visitors to take a 35-32 advantage into the fourth. 

Helped by Hewlett’s late struggles from the foul line (3 of 11), Locust Valley increased its lead to eight thanks to baskets by Appel, Ramell Phillips and Jay Johnson. There was even more to like about the Falcons’ chances after Hill, who averages 19 points per game, was whistled for his fifth personal foul.

“We just told the kids to do their jobs and take one possession at a time,” Dubin said. “The crowd really got behind us. We haven’t had a crowd like this in a few years and it definitely was a factor.”

Hewlett travels to Roosevelt on Thursday for a quarterfinal matchup tentatively set for a 6:30 p.m. tip.