Lawrence halfway to hoops title

Survive and advance.

As cliché as it is at playoff basketball time, the phrase accurately describes No. 6 Lawrence’s 67-58 victory over visiting West Hempstead in the opening round of the Nassau Class A playoffs Feb. 17.

Senior Samson Bialostok scored six of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Golden Tornadoes rallied from a nine-point deficit to knock off the No. 11 Rams. Sophomore guard Eddie Robinson scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Lawrence, which secured a spot in the semifinals on Friday by knocking off No. 3 Seaford, 64-41, in the quarterfinals. West Hempstead, which finished 9-9, was led by Mike Mangino’s 14 points.

Lawrence head coach Pete Linderman knew no playoff win would come easy. “I knew West Hempstead would give us a fight,” Linderman said. “They had a good season in a great conference. I knew they were bigger than us. Playing against a big team is one of our weaknesses. I think our pressure defense mentally and physically wore them down in the fourth quarter. I’m proud of the way we battled back.”

From the opening tap it was obvious that this one would be a barnburner. Robinson scored five points in the first quarter as the Golden Tornadoes took a 15-13 lead. 

The lead went back and forth, but Lawrence, which improved to 15-3, appeared to be in serious trouble when Robinson picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter. West Hempstead’s Jan Carlos Brito and Lawrence’s Ahmad Shamseldin each scored six points in the quarter. Lawrence held a 33-31 lead at the break.

The third quarter was all West Hempstead. With Mangino dominating in the paint and senior Thomas Valerio heating up from the perimeter, the Rams ran out to a commanding 50-41 lead with just 50 seconds left in the quarter. 

After a West Hempstead miss, the Golden Tornadoes got back-to-back baskets from Bialostok and Ibraheem Shamseldin (22 points, seven rebounds, five assists in Monday’s win at Seaford) to close the gap to 50-45 as the quarter came to an end.

With its season in danger of slipping away, Lawrence came out and showed why many think it can win the county title. Robinson and Bialostok both scored to cut the lead to one, and then Ahmad Shamseldin, who scored a game-high 17 points, hit a long three-pointer to give the Golden Tornadoes a 52-50 lead.

Each time it looked like Lawrence had put the Rams away, back came Mangino and company. The senior forward’s put back got West Hempstead within a basket at 60-58 with 2:13 to play, but the Golden Tornadoes put the game away from the free throw line.

Linderman was pleased with Bialostok’s play. “Samson has really come on strong late in the season,” Linderman said. “He’s a tough match up for opponents. He can shoot from the perimeter, take it to the basket, and he’s long enough to do things inside. Bigger guys have trouble with his speed, smaller guys have trouble with his length.”

The Golden Tornadoes face No. 15 Great Neck North on Friday at 8 p.m. at SUNY-Old Westbury.