This past week two very familiar foes faced off. It was their third meeting this season, yet this one was set to be the last one. The playoffs are “do or die” – the loser goes home. In a Suffolk Class AAA boys’ basketball playoff, North Babylon and Commack went down to the final buzzer and the result wasn’t what most had predicted.
The first quarter ended just as close as it began, tied at 14-14.
North Babylon (17-3) leaned on its fierce offensive attack right out of the gate. Junior guard Sean Lanier led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Lanier slashed to the rim often and hit some key shots to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. Cameron Serrano added 12 points, while senior captain Jake Walsh put up 8.
Commack (12-8), who came into the game as the underdog, answered every North Babylon run with their own momentum swing. The Cougars took a small 26-24 lead into halftime after a back-and-forth second quarter. Ryan Curcio provided a major spark with 14 points, keeping Commack’s offense steady.
North Babylon went on another run late in the period to take a 42-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. This run was sparked by Lanier’s key play and Serrano’s precision shooting, with both teams not wanting their seasons to end here. The fourth quarter was full of intensity and firepower.
Commack’s Johnny Ehlers was the king of the fourth quarter though. The senior produced 19 points overall, but it was his fourth-quarter performance that really grabbed the game for Commack. Ehlers delivered exactly when the Cougars needed him most, knocking down key shots to reclaim the lead. With Commack’s defense making big plays down the stretch and a few mistakes from North Babylon under pressure, it was a recipe for the Cougars to move on to the semifinal round.
With the score tied late, Commack made just enough plays to secure the victory 54-52, ending North Babylon’s impressive season in heartbreaking fashion. This victory also “busted the brackets” of many local high school sports fans as many had the North Babylon bulldogs as a possible large school county finalist or winner.
With only 4 teams left in the Suffolk AAA bracket. Commack will visit Bay Shore this Friday evening at 5 p.m. in one semifinal game. While the William Floyd Colonials will host Walt Whitman in the other semifinal. The winners of these two games will face each other in the large school county final next weekend at Stony Brook University.
