Baldwin responds after tough loss

Perhaps still dealing with some of the aftershock from a 13-point defeat three days earlier, Baldwin allowed an uncharacteristic 16 opening-quarter points to visiting Plainview last Saturday before regaining its form of the first two months as it aims for a fourth straight Nassau County boys’ basketball title.
The Bruins exploded for 23 points in the second quarter and never trailed thereafter on the way to a 58-41 victory. Sophomore forward Gabe Phillips was dominant in the paint and finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds, while junior guard Chase Timberlake filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Ryan Hosein led all scorers with 22 points for the Hawks, who were held to four points in the final quarter.
“We didn’t come out with our usual defensive intensity, but then we picked it up,” said Baldwin head coach Darius Burton, who inched closer to the 400-win milestone with No. 395 as his team improved to 4-1 in Conference AAA and 11-3 overall. “We went to a full-court trap in the second quarter and forced some turnovers and also shot a lot better,” he added.
Timberlake scored 10 points in the second quarter, including a pair of shots from three-point land, and Phillips added 6. Senior Shane Mauldin had 8 points on the afternoon and senior Brian Simms-Biggs came off the bench to add 8 points and 8 rebounds.
“Brian gave us a big life,” Burton said of Simms-Biggs. “He’s been working really hard in practice and got rewarded with some playing time and stepped up. He’s probably worked his way into the rotation.”

Phillips, in his first season in the program, has been a force most games. “He’s doing a great job in the post and I’m very happy with his progress,” Burton said.
Getting back in the win column was important, Burton said.
In a rematch of last year’s Nassau Class AA final, Baldwin fell Jan. 17 at Port Washington, 59-46. The Vikings, tabbed by Burton as one of his team’s biggest obstacles prior to the season, led 32-18 at halftime and went toe-to-toe with the Bruins in a fast-paced third quarter that saw the teams combine for 37 points. The margin only shrunk by one.
“Port Washington is a very good team and it was a hostile environment at their place,” Burton said. “We’re going to get everyone’s A-plus game. Kudos to them, they wanted it more.
“Championships aren’t won in January and no team I’ve coached has been undefeated,” he added. “We’re human. We got back to work in practice the next day and we’ll continue to work to get better.”
Baldwin held Port Washington’s leading scorer Trevor Amalfitano (23 ppg) to 18 points, but Jake Vanderputten stepped up with 16 — double his average — for the Vikings and three others (Jake Siciliano, John Spinoso and Cole Reyes) chipped in 7 points to keep the offense coming from all angles.
Next up for the Bruins is a trip to Farmingdale this Friday for a 5 p.m. tipoff. Baldwin won the first meeting Jan. 5 by a 23-point margin.