Thursday, October 1, 2026
A dream playoff matchup between two of the most successful Long Island boys’ basketball programs over the past 20 years was a tale of two halves Wednesday evening.
Baldwin’s drive for a fifth straight county championship was in serious jeopardy as it trailed South Side by a dozen late in the first half of a Nassau Class AA quarterfinal.
“We felt like we came out flat and needed to play at a faster pace,” Bruins junior center Gabriel Phillips said. “Nobody panicked.”
Sophomore Michael Saint Jean rattled in a 3 to open the third quarter and the comeback was on. Baldwin outscored the fourth-seeded Cyclones by nine in the third and 10 in the fourth for a 55-45 victory in front of an electric standing-room-only crowd.
Phillips had a game-high 21 points and senior Chase Timberlake scored all but one of his 10 points after halftime as the fifth-seeded Bruins (15-7) advanced to the semifinals for a stunning 19th consecutive season. They’ll face No. 1 undefeated Great Neck South March 4 at 6 p.m. at Farmingdale State College looking to avenge a pair of narrow regular-season defeats.
“We’ve got 10 first-year varsity guys, but they’ve bought in and want to write their own script,” Baldwin head coach Darius Burton said. “This was an uphill battle on the road against a very good and well-coached team. What we were able to do in the second half, play fast, defend and force turnovers, is what we do best.”
Junior Ryan Schmitt had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead South Side (18-4), which trailed for the first time with 6:28 remaining when Timberlake sank a trey for a 39-36 Baldwin lead.
“The second half was nothing like the first,” Cyclones head coach Jerry D’Angelo said. “We didn’t handle pressure well. We committed some uncharacteristic turnovers and they took advantage.”
Senior Charles Munro added 8 points, and senior Sean Arnott and junior Connor Erickson chipped in 6 apiece for South Side, which held the game’s largest lead at 27-15 late in the first half before Baldwin senior Jacen Bacon’s three-pointer cut the margin to nine at intermission.
It was tied at 34 after the Bruins enjoyed a 16-6 third quarter with Phillips, Timberlake and senior Vaughdrea Johnson combining for 13 points.
After taking its first lead on Timberlake’s shot from behind the arc, Baldwin put an exclamation point on the victory with a 6-2 spurt capped by a dramatic running slam by junior Isaiah Lett. Junior point guard Ethan Sainsbury had a key layup and set up Lett for another in crunch time.
“That dunk was huge and took the guys and our crowd to another level,” Burton said.
