Thursday, October 1, 2026
With 6-foot-6 junior center Zach Bromfeld dominating inside and sophomore guards Elijah Hill and Luca Preziosi knocking down big shots from the perimeter, No. 13 Hewlett had all the bells and whistles going in its 73-61 Nassau Class A boys’ basketball quarterfinal playoff victory at No. 12 Seaford on Feb. 18.
The Vikings had plenty of whistles too, committing 26 fouls that led to 25 successful free throws for the visitors and forced head coach Ralph Rossetti to replace leading scorers Andrew Pich and Keith McHugh after their fifth personals with 6:59 and 1:34 remaining, respectively,
“The number of fouls was tough, but we played a good game,” Rossetti said. “It was a great season, getting to the quarterfinals and we lost to a good team. Most of the kids played with foul trouble and gave everything they had.”
Bromfeld was a force all night and finished with 24 points and 23 rebounds, including one board off his own missed free throw he turned into a buzzer-beating bank shot to give Hewlett a 48-43 lead after three quarters. Hill poured in 20 points, while Preziosi scored 13 of his 16 in the second half.
“A big part of our strategy was to get Bromfeld the ball because they had nobody to match his size,” Bulldogs head coach Bill Dubin said. “We figured they were going to play zone, and I give Seaford a lot of credit I thought they had a solid game plan as well.
“We did a nice job reversing the ball and hitting from the outside when there was nothing available inside,” he added.
McHugh, a senior, led four Vikings in double figures with 17 points. Pich, a junior, had 14, junior Andrew Cain added 12, and senior Pat Quigley had 11. Seaford (14-7) led 18-10 on Quigley’s basket to open the second quarter, and 43-41 late in the third after a Quigley trey before the Bulldogs ripped off 11 straight points to take command.
“We’re young, but we have an inside-outside game that many teams don’t have,” Dubin said.
Hewlett (12-9) advanced to meet No. 1 South Side in the semifinals on Wednesday night, after press time, with a spot in this Saturday’s county championship game at LIU-Post at 7 p.m. going to the winner. The Cyclones took both regular-season meetings on the way to capturing Conference A-II.
“South Side beat us by 20 the first time and by 4 the second time,” Dubin said. “We think we can give them a good game. It should be a lot of fun.”
The fun for the Bulldogs in front of a jam-packed crowd at Seaford started with a Preziosi trey that put them ahead for good, 44-43, with less than a minute to go in the third. The Vikings had a chance to hold for the final possession of the quarter, but instead took an ill-advised shot that helped Hewlett build its lead and momentum. Bromfeld scored four points in less than four seconds, and though eight minutes still remained, the celebration was on.
