Baldwin teams earn No. 1 seeds

The roads to the Nassau County Class AA boys’ and girls’ basketball championships will both go through Baldwin.

Seeded No. 1 on the boys’ side, the Bruins are trying to get back to the finals after failing to do so last season for the first time in eight years. They’ll take a record of 16-1 into tonight’s quarterfinal round game at home at 7 p.m. against either MacArthur or Port Washington.

“We’ve discussed how last season ended in the semifinals and we’re using it at motivation,” head coach Darius Burton said. “We played great in our last regular-season game. We’re healthy and ready to go.”

Baldwin capped a perfect 12-0 finish in Conference AA-II with a 67-38 win at Plainview on Feb. 10. All five starters contributed at least eight points, led by senior center Paul Nosworthy’s 13. Senior Paul Colson added 12, seniors Daraja Rodwell and Marvin Chartelain chipped in nine apiece, and junior Shane Gatling had eight. 

Rodwell emerged as the team’s biggest surprise. He’s averaging 17.2 points per game and leads all of Long Island in successful three-point field goals with 62. “He’s shooting 50 percent from out there,” Burton said.

Gatling is averaging 13 points, Chartelain a shade below 10, and Nosworthy’s at 8.7 points and just as many rebounds. Off the bench is where the Bruins usually hold a large advantage on the competition. Sophomore Jared Rhoden is the sixth man, senior Juwaan Brown is heating up after missing a chunk of the season with an injury, and senior Otha Ward is productive in the paint.

Burton said all the teams ranked in the top five pose a threat. Elmont is No. 2, Uniondale No. 3, Freeport No. 4, and Westbury No. 5. Defending county champion Farmingdale failed to qualify for the playoffs. “I’ve scouted all the teams in the top five,” Burton noted. “I think it’s going to be interesting.”

The top-seeded Lady Bruins are seeking a fifth county title in six seasons as well as a repeat of the Long Island crown. They steamrolled through the Conference AA-II schedule, winning all 12 games handily, and defeated St. Mary’s and Archbishop Williams (Mass.) in non-league challenges.

“The girls have been down the road before and know what it takes,” head coach Tom Catapano said. “We’ve got three really competitive scrimmages lined up to help us stay on our toes.

“Massapequa has great size, and Elmont’s having a tremendous year,” he added. “We feel we’re going to be right there, but we have to execute.”

Seniors Jade Aponte, Taylor Howell and Tiara Place, junior Lames ElGammal, and freshmen Aziah Hudson and Jenna Annecchiarico all played key roles on last year’s team that beat Massapequa for the county crown and Sachem East for the L.I. title.

Hudson is pacing the offense, averaging 14.8 points per game. Aponte averages 12.7, ElGammal 10.0, and Place 9.2. Howell and Annecchiarico spearhead the defensive pressure.

Baldwin is expected to face either No. 4 Mepham or fifth-seeded Freeport in the semifinals this Saturday at LIU-Post at 6:15 p.m.