By Brian Zanzonico
Top-ranked West Hempstead High School's Shahee Martin and Akeem Bennett were up to their old tricks in the Nassau boys' basketball Class A playoff opener against 16th-seeded Manhasset last Saturday.
Martin, a senior (33 points), and Bennett, a junior (27 points), led the Rams to a 77-63 win over the Indians that propelled West Hempstead into the quarterfinal game against Garden City on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at Bellmore-JFK High School. "Any time we need a big bucket or a stop or a steal, we know we can look to them," coach Ed Cosgrove said after the win.
Martin and Bennett picked up where they left off in the regular season. In leading the Rams to an 18-0 record, the tandem averaged 21.2 and 22.7 points per game, respectively. Their scoring helped West Hempstead to a 19.3-point average margin of victory. "[Even their teammates] recognize the special talent that Akeem and Shahee have," Cosgrove said.
In the early going against Manhasset, the Rams needed that special talent. Notorious late starters, the Rams were beaten inside most of the first half by an undersized but surprisingly physical Manhasset front court of junior center Marcello Barrera and junior forwards Patrick Judge and Scott Madison. The Indians led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter, and held steady until 20.7 seconds remained in the first half. With West Hempstead trailing 31-30, Bennett stole an inbound pass and was fouled as he attempted to lay the ball in. He hit two free throws to give West Hempstead a 32-31 lead. Martin extended it with a layup at the buzzer to put the Rams up 34-31 heading into the locker room.
"We weren't shooting well from the outside, and their tenacity inside prevented Kafele [Fleming] and Shahee from getting into open space," Cosgrove said.
"They played more physical than us," Martin said. "We didn't expect it."
Martin, who had 14 rebounds, scored 16 of his 33 points in the second half, including his 1,000th as a three-year player at West Hempstead High School. He played as a freshman in New Jersey. "I wasn't worried about the 1,000 points," Martin said. "I knew it would come. I was worried about winning the game."
On the strength of three straight buckets by Manhasset senior guard Jon Fountain, who displayed an explosive first step and an ability to get to the basket through traffic en route to scoring 25 points, the Indians recaptured the lead 37-36 with 4:54 left in the third quarter. That's when Bennett, Fountain's old friend from their days in CYO basketball, turned up his game. He scored five points in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, delivered a pretty no-look pass to Martin for a layup, and drew two fouls to stake the Rams to a 55-43 lead going into the fourth quarter. Bennett finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.
West Hempstead pulled away in the fourth quarter, and earned a 14-point victory. Cosgrove, however, came away impressed with Manhasset's desire. "They really came out to play," he said. "They came out with an attitude. It was a David-and-Goliath-type thing. We're the No. 1 seed and they're the No. 16. They had nothing to lose."
He also praised Manhasset's Fountain. "What's that saying? 'You can't stop him - you can only hope to contain him,'" Cosgrove said. "It's hard to contain that kid. And we had Bennett, our best defender, on him."
Cosgrove and the Rams are hoping their best basketball lies ahead. Garden City (9-4, 9th seed) upset Bethpage (9-3, 8th seed) 44-41 to set up a rematch against West Hempstead. The Rams beat Garden City 71-58 in the Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 10, with tournament MVP Bennett scoring 25 points to pace West Hempstead. The winner of West Hempstead-Garden City plays the winner of South Side-Westbury at SUNY-Old Westbury on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m.
With the Rams holding the No. 1 one seed, Bennett knows from that here on in, teams with aspirations of county and state titles will be gunning for them. "For every team, [playing West Hempstead] is like they're playing the Super Bowl," he said. "We're the team to beat."
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