By TONY BELLISSIMO
With seniors David Fogel and Andrew Cohen leading the way, Hewlett overcame a mediocre first half on Tuesday to knock off three-time defending Nassau Class A champion Jericho in a quarterfinal playoff game at Bellmore-JFK, 52-46.
Fogel scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a 6-for-6 performance from the foul line over the final 1:35, while Cohen had seven of his season-high 10 points in the second half as the Bulldogs avenged a playoff loss to the Jayhawks a year ago and advanced to meet top-seeded South Side in a semifinal on Saturday at SUNY-Old Westbury at 5:30 p.m.
"We hit shots when it mattered most," Fogel said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. If we're going to win it all, we'll need two more big-time team efforts like we got today."
Juniors Michael Eckerle and Scott Bergman added 10 points apiece for No. 4 Hewlett, which matched its lowest-scoring first half of the season with 19 points but trailed by only one at intermission. Fifth-seeded Jericho, which beat Hewlett 76-60 in the quarterfinal round last season, was led by senior Kyle Shneider's 17 points.
"It's been a long grind and we're excited to be headed to the semifinals," Hewlett coach Bill Dubin said. "The kids always work hard. I believe all the battles we had during the regular season helped us come away with a win today."
The Bulldogs trailed most of the first half as Shneider scored the game's first seven points but never fell behind again after Cohen drained a three-pointer on the opening possession of the third quarter. Cohen also closed the third with a trey, giving Hewlett its biggest lead at the time at 37-32. "I probably had my two best varsity games on this court," said Cohen, who had 12 points in last season's playoff loss to Jericho.
The fourth quarter was back and forth. The Bulldogs held the game's biggest lead at seven after Fogel converted a pass from senior Cory Kanner, but the Jayhawks had plenty of fight left and got to within 45-44 with 1:48 remaining. Then Fogel, who went 9-for-10 from the foul line, kept Jericho at an arm's length by cooly sinking both ends of a one-and-one on each of Hewlett's next three possessions.
"It doesn't matter how we get it done," Fogel said. "As long as we get the W, that's what matters."
In the opening round on Feb. 12, Hewlett pulled away for a 70-49 victory over visiting Division, the No. 12 seed. Fogel hit for 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Eckerle had 16 points and 10 boards.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
