Baldwin 'D' smothers Farmingdale

Farmingdale had all of the advanced warnings and forecasts on what to expect when it faced No. 2 Baldwin in the semifinals of the Nassau Class AA boys' basketball tournament at SUNY-Old Westbury last Saturday.

But that still couldn't prevent the No. 3 Dalers from being blanketed by yet another dominating defensive effort by the Bruins (17-2), who advanced to their fourth consecutive county championship game with a 47-31 win and swept all three games against Farmingdale this season.

"That's what's unique about this team," Baldwin coach Darius Burton said following his team's 15th-straight victory. "We knew [entering the year] that we'd be deep and that on any given night, anyone could step up."

Sending wave after wave of defensive and scoring punch at Farmingdale, Baldwin rode an eight point outburst by senior Ashanti DePass in the second quarter, a barrage of three three-pointers in the final 1:22 of the third quarter and a mini-scoring run by senior point guard Donte Howell--he scored six of the Bruins eight midway through the fourth--into a finals matchup with top-seeded Uniondale on Saturday at Hofstra at 6 p.m.

For much of the second quarter, DePass played key roles on both ends of the floor, helping extend a one point lead to eight at intermission, 18-10. He drained consecutive threes early in the second, then turned a physical box out under his own net into an over-the-back call that ended when Howell set DePass up for a jumper at the opposite end of the floor. On the next Farmingdale possession, DePass forced a steal that ultimately resulted in a pair of free throws by senior Jordan Menzies-Taylor.

While the offense did generate 47 points, it was the well-rounded play of a team that is far greater as a sum than its individual parts that led to the 16-point decision. Senior Dominique Aberdeen (two) and DePass (one) netted three-pointers at the end of the third quarter all compliments of kickouts from the low post to the perimeter by junior T'Ziah Wood-Smith, who also pulled down eight rebounds. Burton displayed his confidence in his roster from the opening quarter, as Wood-Smith was called for a pair of quick fouls. His replacement on the floor, Menzies-Taylor, grabbed Baldwin's next two rebounds and finished with seven.

When the Bruins battle for their second Nassau County title in three years, it will come against a familiar foe in Uniondale. The last three meetings between the teams have been decided by a total of six points, including last year's championship game, won by the Knights on a three-pointer at the buzzer. "Last year we lost a heartbreaker," Burton said. "And not a day goes by that we don't think about [that shot]."