By STEVE SINISKI
The top-seeded Bruins (17-1 overall, 11-0 Conference I play), moved on to the second round to take on ninth-seeded and conference rival Hempstead on Feb. 19 at Clarke High School. With a win, the Bruins would earn a ticket to SUNY Old Westbury Feb. 24 to face the winner of the Farmingdale/Port Washington matchup and extend its winning streak to 15 games.
The accolades were many for Baldwin during the regular season, as the team boasts not only the Conference I Coach of the Year (Darius Burton), but also the Player of the Year (Lennox Matthews). Yet in keeping with the team concept, it was another Bruin, center Brandon Harris who stepped up and guided Baldwin to the victory over Carey.
An All-Conference selection, Harris missed All-County by just one vote, and he took out that frustration on Carey, scoring 26 points, pulling down 10 rebounds, swatting four shots and adding four steals. "He was a monster on the boards," Burton said of Harris. "He's establishing the low post. When we work in the halfcourt, we want to look down low first and work from the inside-out."
With Harris controlling the paint, Greg Woythaler was able to find open spots on the perimeter, and the team's No. 1 three-point threat canned three from behind the arc in the first quarter, helping Baldwin race out to an 18-8 lead.
"We were a little tight at the start but as the game wore on we opened it up," Burton said before noting one of the benefits of playing in front of the Baldwin fans. "The crowd and the community have done a great job supporting this team and that goes unnoticed. What player wouldn't want to play with that type of crowd? And when we hit those [threes] the crowd really got into it."
Matthews added 10 points, draining two from downtown.
As Baldwin shifts its focus to division rival Hempstead, whom it defeated 71-40 on January 15, the goal is clear: shut down Roman Pettaway and Devine Jackson. The two scored 25 of Hempstead's 40 in the earlier loss, as Baldwin dominated in the fourth quarter with a 27-5 run to pull away for the win. Matthews shined with 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, while Woythaler scored 11 and Brian Spencer added 10.
"We're going to look to go down low and try to get them into foul trouble," Burton said. "And we're going to put on the pressure to make two guys work. There are no secrets now. They [Hempstead] were there [in the stands of Baldwin's first round win]. They know what we're going to do."
Hempstead entered riding a three-game winning streak, including a 61-56 win over eighth-seeded MacArthur in the first round of the playoffs. Pettaway scored 25 in the win, converting three three-point plays in the fourth quarter as Hempstead outscored MacArthur 20-13.
