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Mostly Cloudy Lawrence gets by Sewanhaka
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Lawrence's Tyheem Simon drives against Sewanhaka's Shella Adeniran during a Conference ABC-III game on Jan. 21. Simon scored 14 points in a 53-51 win.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Lawrence created separation between third and fourth place in the Nassau Conference ABC-III boys’ basketball standings on Jan. 21 when it escaped Sewanhaka with a 53-51 victory.
The Golden Tornadoes, who closed the first half on a 21-1 run and led by as many as 16 late in the third quarter, got three free throws from senior Tyheem Simon and one from freshman Eddie Robinson in the final 27 seconds to hold off the Indians.
Simon, Robinson and junior Samson Bialastock had 14 points apiece for Lawrence, which completed a season sweep of Sewanhaka and improved to 4-2 in conference play and 6-7 overall. The Indians, who got 19 points from senior C.J. Brown, fell to 2-4 in conference games and 6-7 overall.
The Indians went 8-for-19 from the line, but Brown went 3-for-4 in the fourth quarter and completed a three-point play with 33 seconds remaining to cut Lawrence’s lead to 49-48. Simon and Robinson each sank a free throw to make it 51-48, then Simon sealed it with two foul shots with two seconds left after rebounding a missed three-point attempt by Sewanhaka junior David Rust that would’ve tied it.
“It took us some time to develop chemistry, but we’ve jelled,” Golden Tornadoes first-year coach Pete Linderman said. “We put ourselves in good position to make the playoffs with this win.”
In a game full of spurts, the Indians enjoyed the first as junior Shella Adeniran scored five points and Rust hit a three to open an 8-2 lead. Lawrence answered with a 10-1 run, capped by a three-point play by senior David Baruch, but the hosts responded with a 10-point outburst and led 19-12 early in the second quarter before the parade of turnovers began. “Turnovers have been an issue for us,” Reece said. “We go through a stretch in every game where we get careless with the ball, and it’s usually in the second quarter.”
Seven of Sewanhaka’s 22 turnovers came in a second quarter that saw Simon (10), Robinson (six) and Bialastock combine for all 21 Lawrence points.
The Golden Tornadoes held their biggest lead at 43-27 with a minute to go in the third when junior Jordan Riddick provided the Indians a spark off the bench. Riddick hit two quick threes and added another early in the fourth as the Indians chipped away. Brown, who had one point in the first half, was instrumental in the rally with a dozen points in the final quarter.
“We’ve got a great mix of veterans and underclassmen,” Linderman said. “A lot of the kids have stepped up.”
Lawrence hits the road again Friday to take on first-place Great Neck North at 6:30 p.m.
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