Improving Baldwin seeks consistency

Working with as many new faces as ever, Baldwin boys’ basketball head coach Darius Burton saw the Bruins make tremendous strides in the opening month as they raced to a 3-0 start in Conference AA-II while getting a look at some of the top teams on Long Island.

“We still have to become more consistent, but we’ve come a long way in a month,” Burton said after last Sunday’s 50-38 loss to Uniondale at Adelphi University in the last of six games in the Gary Charles Hoop Classic. “When you bring back only a few kids from last season, there’s a lot of teaching and developing to do,” he added. “We’ve been up and down, but getting better. We’ve played very well at times and we’ve also struggled at times.”

Baldwin (4-4 overall) trailed the Knights by only four at halftime but the wheels came off during the third quarter and the deficit swelled to 16. Senior Nasim Cylin was its lone double-digit scorer with 11. “It’s a first time these kids played on a college court,” Burton said. “We’re dealing with a lot of firsts this season. We had a bunch of turnovers and missed layups in the third quarter when the game got away from us.”

It wasn’t the first time, however, the Bruins played on consecutive days. The split games in their host tournament on Dec. 27-28, defeating Bay Shore while falling to two-time defending Nassau Class A champion Elmont in the final. Last Saturday, they had four double-digit scorers in a 67-49 road victory against conference rival Hicksville. 

One of the unproven newcomers, junior center Tre Riggins, had a coming-out party against the Comets with a career-high 17 points to go along with 8 rebounds. Cylin (12), and juniors Rhyjon Blackwell (11) and Marcus Jasmin (10) also had a huge hand in a balanced attack.

“Tre was coming off the bench for the past three or four games, but we went with a bigger starting lineup against Hicksville and he made the most of the opportunity,” Burton said of the 6-foot-4 Riggins, who boosted his average to 9.4 points per game. 

Baldwin led 30-19 at halftime but saw its lead disintegrate to one in the third quarter before its defensive pressure took over. The Bruins, who went 16 of 26 from the line, outscored the Comets by a 22-10 margin in the fourth quarter. Senior Jordan Jackson, junior Peter Bateman and sophomore Jayden McKenzie chipped in five points apiece. 

“We did a nice job on the offensive boards,” said Burton, who noted the efforts of Cylin (eight rebounds) and Jasmin (seven.)

The Bruins also had a huge fourth quarter in its 51-48 conference-opening win at Port Washington. Cylim and Blackwell were saddled with foul trouble but still managed 11 and 10 points, respectively, while sophomore Kamani Jones stepped up with eight points. 

“Port is always a tough place to play and we showed a lot of character,” Burton said. “We’ve been going 10-12 deep in every game and I’ve just been riding the hot hands.”