West Hempstead rallies past Lynbrook

Junior Vinny DiLorenzo registered the first double-double of his career, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds Jan. 18 as visiting West Hempstead came from behind to beat Lynbrook, 57-50. With the win, the Rams improved to 6-5 overall, 3-3 in Conference A-III. Lynbrook junior Matt Murphy scored a game-high 22 points.  

The Owls held a five-point lead at the intermission, but a dominant third quarter by the Rams put them ahead to stay. West Hempstead, which got 16 points from junior guard Tyree Glascoe, outscored the Owls 20-5 in the quarter. Sophomore Darren Davy added nine points and 10 rebounds. Lynbrook fell to 1-5 in conference play. 

West Hempstead coach Ed Cosgrove thought DiLorenzo, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, was the difference. “We started Vinny in the second half to take a little pressure off our other big guys, and he came through big for us,” Cosgrove said. “We pressured their shooters, controlled the boards, and didn’t give Lynbrook many second shots in the second half.”

West Hempstead entered the game still smarting from a 67-57 loss to defending Nassau Class A champion Manhasset. In that game, senior Alessandro Troia had a career-high 34 points to lead Manhasset, while the Rams got 23 from Glascoe.

With Murphy filling it up, and sophomore Mike McVeigh (13 points) hitting from the perimeter, the Owls looked to have a good shot at pulling off the upset. However, the Rams are known as a deep team that will wear opponents down with their hard work and athleticism. 

Paced by DiLorenzo, senior Ray Alexander (14 points), and Glascoe, who entered the game as the conference’s leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, West Hempstead quickly took the lead in the third quarter and iced the game from the line in the final eight minutes. 

Prior to their loss to Manhasset, the Rams won two of three. In a win 54-49 over Valley Stream South, West Hempstead got 24 points, five assists and five rebounds from Glascoe, and 12 points from Alexander and held off a late Falcons rally. 

The Rams then knocked off Floral Park, 59-49, hitting 18 free throws along the way. Once again, it was Glascoe leading the way with 24 points, while Alexander tallied 16.

Cosgrove is looking forward to battling for one of the conference’s four playoff slots. “If we can put together a full four quarters against some of the top teams in the conference, we’ve got a shot at beating one of them,” Cosgrove said. “That could go a long way, and be the difference in the playoff race. The league is tough, but we love the challenge.”

West Hempstead will be looking to exact a little revenge when Great Neck North comes to town this Friday. The Blazers defeated the Rams in the first meeting Dec. 18. Tipoff for the rematch is 4:45pm.