Lynbrook edges North Shore

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Lynbrook survived a nail-biter at home in the first round of the Nassau Class A boys’ basketball playoffs on Feb. 13, defeating North Shore, 41-40, in a game that certainly had a flair for the dramatic.

North Shore, down by seven at the start of the fourth quarter, took the lead halfway through a final stanza that saw six lead changes.

John Donaldson of Lynbrook finished with a game-high 15 points in a game that saw eight different Owls register at least a point, and seven Vikings achieve the same.

Lynbrook senior Steve Hendrickson, reminiscent of last year’s first-round playoff heroics against Glen Cove, hit four momentous free throws late in the game. With 19.6 seconds left, and an Owls’ missed shot spiraling down from the rim, Hendrickson scurried in to corral the rebound and force a foul, in which he’d hit the deciding two points to edge out the visitors.

“Steven is our heartbeat. He is what makes us go,” Lynbrook head coach Jamie Adams said. “What he does for us is not measured statistically.”

Adams compared his effort to that of former Lynbrook player and teammate of Hendrickson’s, Robert Sitonio. “Usually when someone plays that way I would say they had a Sitonio-like effort. Now, I think moving forward it’s going to be a Hendrickson-type effort,” Adams said.

North Shore’s ‘x-factor’ and sharpshooter David Aufiero struggled from behind the arc and was the focus of Lynbrook’s defensive efforts. Drew Jacklin finished with 7 points.

North Shore’s Jarrett O’Day finished with 13 points, including two three-pointers, in an impressive and gritty outing. O’Day slashed through Lynbrook’s zone defense finding open shooters while also cycling through and rotating to the corner and wings to find open shots himself.

Unfortunately, early in the fourth quarter O’Day hit the ground hard on a foul call, unable to immediately return to his feet. He was helped off the court by trainers. As for the impact that devastating blow had on his team, North Shore’s head coach Kevin Carpenter said: “He’s our heart and soul. Losing him down the stretch definitely affected us… I hope he’s okay but he’s a tough kid and he’ll bounce back.”

As for the effort and heart his guys have showed all year, Carpenter was candid in his endearing words. “I love my kids. I love this program. I love all the effort the kids, coaches, and parents put in all season long,” Carpenter said. “Tonight hurts, but we’ll be back. I commend all my kids for working hard and trusting the process.”

With 3.3 seconds left, North Shore took a timeout with the ball at halfcourt. The play was drawn up, and just after returning to the court, a contested jumper was shot with the buzzer sounding. Too strong. Lynbrook and its supporters celebrated and Adams was overjoyed.

“After all that we’ve been through, this win holds a lot of weight today,” Adams said.