Baldwin Pressed Plainview & Took Nassau AA Chip
HEMPSTEAD, NY - Nassau’s AA Final featured the top seed Baldwin Bruins against the #3 seed Plainview Hawks at Hofstra University. The Bruins were victorious in both matchups during the regular and were able to cap off the season sweep. They lead by 6 after one, stretched it to 12 by half time and cruised through the third quarter. Plainview started the 4th on a 7-0 run to cut it to 8 but Baldwin was able to respond and win 55-44. Here’s the full recap.
Baldwin started the game with full court pressure and brought it the whole game. Each team started with empty possessions until 6’5” SF Dylan Banner ‘22 got the scoring started for Plainview. Baldwin got a steal and finish from 6’3” SG Joshua Petion ‘23 plus knocked down a pair of free throws. The Hawks hit a three, Bruins answered with a three plus a layup from Petion. Baldwin’s 6’4” CG Jacob Oka ‘22 grabbed a rebound for a putback then hit a nice pull up jumper to give them a 13-5 lead with 1:23 left.
Banner knocked down a jumper to end the quarter with his Hawks down 6. 6” PG Jamir Stewart ‘22 got the scoring started in the second followed by back-to-back finishes by Oka. Plainview called a timeout at the 5:06 mark, Banner hit a pair of free throws then both teams traded layups. Baldwin hit a big three in late in the second to five them a 26-14 lead going into halftime.
Banner was able to score for Plainview but few of the other Hawks were finding any success. Stewart was able to get by his defender for a layup, Petion knocked down a pull up and the pressure kept coming. What makes the Bruins so tough this season is they don’t have a star or go to player they take you down by a thousand cuts. They overwhelm you as a team and get contributions from the whole roster.
The Hawks found themselves trailing by 15 after third as it looked as though the game was over. Banner and company came out firing in the fourth scoring the first seven points cutting the lead down to 8. This looked like it was Plainview’s chance if they could just get one stop and a run.
Oka stopped the bleeding with a beautiful putback, Petion finished off a fast break with a layup and a pair of Stewart free throws. In a blink the single digit deficit was back to 16 and the Hawks were quickly running out of time. Plainview had its best offensive quarter, but the Bruins were just too much.
Baldwin finished off the season sweep with a 55-44 victory. Petion led Baldwin with 14, Oka had 10, Stewart added 10 and the entire rotation played great. Banner who will play baseball for Albany next year finished off his fantastic high school career with a game high 21 points.