VSC splits four conference games

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After yielding 28 points to Baldwin in the opening quarter of last Friday’s Nassau Conference AA-II boys’ basketball matchup, Valley Stream Central came within eight of the defending county champions in the second but couldn’t get any closer in an 83-54 defeat.

Junior Jared Rhoden filled up the scoresheet for the Bruins, who won their 37th straight conference game. Rhoden poured in a game-high 30 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. Half of his points came from behind the arc, while senior Shane Gatling chipped in 19 and senior Justin Caldwell had 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Eagles, who fell to 2-2 in conference play, were led by senior Amenrah Reid’s 11 points.

“When you play against such a great team like Baldwin, you have such a small margin for error,” VSC head coach Hayward Alfred said. “We settled down after a slow start and made a run, but we missed about four or five layups and gave them too many second and third chances.”

Baldwin led by 13 at halftime and used a 16-8 third-quarter run to pull away. Central (5-7) got eight points apiece from freshmen Omar Rowe and Justin Hendrick, as well as senior Jaison-Patric Gordon. Senior Jermaine Fraser, the team’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, was held to a season-low six.

“Baldwin’s as good as they’ve been,” Hayward said. “Rhoden is quite a ballplayer. He’s 6-6 and only a junior. He hit some difficult shots tonight with defenders in his face.

“We didn’t help ourselves with unforced turnovers,” he added. “One thing we need to improve the rest of the way is protecting the ball.”

Though it was a difficult night for Fraser, he came up huge in Central’s 56-55 victory over East Meadow on Jan. 12. He poured in 20 points and ripped down 15 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. “Jermaine has been great all season,” Hayward said of Fraser, who also had 15 points and 15 rebounds in a conference win over Plainview. “He’s an important leader and someone who creates matchup problems.”

The Eagles trailed the visiting Jets by eight points with less than two minutes remaining but rallied with a couple of treys and then won it on Gordon’s layup with 10 seconds remaining. East Meadow got off three shots in its final possession but couldn’t get any to fall. “Crazy game,” Hayward said. “We gave it away and then they gave it away.” Senior Eric Pujols was clutch off the bench with nine points, and senior Nico Serrano added eight.

“I think our conference, from top to bottom, is the toughest in the AAs,” Hayward noted. “Maybe with the exception of Baldwin, every game could come down to the wire.”

Starting two freshmen — Rowe and Hendrick — gives the Eagles a unique lineup. “Omar and Justin are coming along,” Hayward said. “They’re adapting to the speed of varsity and getting better every day. They had some early growing pains but they’ve shown they belong.”