Bay Shore tops Baldwin for LIC

Baldwin couldn’t have responded any better to Bay Shore’s opening statement in Saturday’s Long Island Class AAA boys’ basketball championship game, overcoming an early 14-point deficit to lead by one late in the second quarter.

But when the Marauders came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half, there was no stopping them.

Senior Christian Smiley scored the first seven points of the third quarter to send undefeated Bay Shore on its way to a 24th consecutive victory, 66-45, before a standing-room-only crowd of 5,000-plus at Farmingdale State College.

“We hit one of our little lows where we couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Baldwin head coach Darius Burton said of a third quarter that saw the Bruins outscored by a 20-3 margin. “They came out like they wanted to go upstate,” he added. “We had a great season. I definitely think we exceeded expectations. But right now it really hurts.”

Junior Chase Timberlake scored 12 points and senior Shane Mauldin added 10 for the Bruins (17-7), who a week earlier on the same court captured its fourth straight Nassau County title by beating top-seeded Port Washington.

“We only had two guys that really played a lot last season,” Burton said. “I’m very proud of this group. We’ll be back next year. We’ll have eight returning players.”

Senior Khamari Broomfield scored 18 points and senior Tashawn Bumpers added 16 for the Marauders, who captured their first L.I. title in 43 years and advance to face Niagara Falls in the state semifinals this Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls. Smiley had a double-double with 15-points and 10 rebounds, while junior Carter Wilson filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

“I’m very happy for the kids and the Bay Shore community, it’s been a long, long time,” Bay Shore head coach Ken Parham said. “I thought we played a strong game even though we lost focus for a while. Baldwin is a great team and well-coached. We knew we had to come out strong in the third quarter like we did to start the game.”

A Wilson basket just before the halftime buzzer gave Bay Shore a 32-31 lead and answered Baldwin freshman Peyton Howell’s three-point play that capped a 24-9 run for the Bruins that included key contributions from seniors Myles Austin and Brian Simms-Biggs.

In the second half, however, Baldwin went scoreless for the first 4:25 and quickly trailed by 10. The margin swelled to 18 heading into the fourth and Bay Shore never led by fewer than 16.

“We’re not going to be able to win a game like that scoring just three points coming out of halftime,” Burton said.

Bay Shore is now two wins away from its first-ever state championship.

“That’s the goal,” Parham said.