Thursday, October 1, 2026
When the Nassau Class A boys’ basketball playoff bracket was released, the matchup between No. 6 Garden City and No. 11 Lawrence was one of the most intriguing on paper. The Trojans are one of the top perimeter shooting teams in the county, while the Golden Tornadoes likes to beat teams up and down the floor.
It was a game of two halves for the teams with vastly different styles. Garden City owned the first half, while Lawrence controlled the second. But, it in the end, a player who didn’t figure in the scoring for nearly 32 minutes was the difference.
Andrew DeSantis’s off-balance driving layup with just 8.2 seconds to play gave the host Trojans a dramatic 47-46 victory in the opening round of the Class A playoffs last Saturday afternoon. It was the sophomore guard’s only basket of the game. He came in averaging over 17 points per contest.
Lawrence, which finished with an overall record of 15-5, got 13 points each from Sammy Robinson, Marquan Williams, and A’Dante Oliver. Garden City’s Joe Leighton led all scorers with 17 points and John Wotczak added 16. The Trojans advanced to the quarterfinal round where they will meet No. 3 Valley Stream North.
The Golden Tornadoes took their first lead of the game when Robinson set up on the high post, took the ball hard to the rack, and kissed it off the glass with 1:36 to play. Neither team scored on their next possession, setting the stage for DeSantis.
After Robinson swatted away Garden City’s first attempt at the lead, DeSantis took a pass on the run and drove down the lane to the right of the basket. Lawrence collapsed on him, but he was able to bank the ball in to give the Trojans the lead. The Golden Tornadoes, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the opening half, couldn’t get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.
Head coach Lou Robinson wasn’t surprised by his team’s comeback. “I told them at the half that we were fine,” Robinson said. “We won 15 games, and only two of them were one-sided. We were behind many times in the first half during the season, and made plenty of comebacks. We went to man-to-man and locked down. We held them to 15 points in the second half. Our defense usually leads to offense.”
Leighton hitting five shots from behind the arc, and senior forward Brian Leggett scoring nine of his 10 points in the opening half, the Trojans ran out to a commanding 32-19 lead, and looked to have complete control of the game.
The Golden Tornadoes picked up their defense in the second half, forcing Garden City to commit numerous turnovers and to take low-percentage shots. With Lawrence able to get its transition game going, it was able to control the game’s tempo.
Sammy Robinson, who averaged 24 points per game during the regular season, earned All-County and Conference A-III Player of the Year honors. Williams and Oliver were named All-Conference recipients.
