Zatai Townsend, Brentwood continue dominance in league play
Brentwood's Zatai Townsend looks to get around Floyd's Mikey Smith in the third quarter during a Suffolk boys basketball game between Brentwood and Floyd on Friday at Brentwood. Credit: Bob Sorensen
It’s fair to say that Brentwood isn’t exactly looking over its shoulder this season.
There have been seven traditionally played county championship tournaments in the past eight years – the pandemic altered last season’s – and Brentwood has won four of them. And there’s little reason to believe it can’t do it again this time.
With a frenetic trapping press and athletes who can leap up and snare a long pass, host Brentwood looked like a team simply sharpening its tools for the postseason on Friday night as it easily dispatched second-place Floyd, 65-36, on its Stan Kellner Court.
Brentwood (16-2, 13-0), which has already clinched the Suffolk League I title, has now defeated division opponents by an average of 28.8 points. Its smallest margin of victory in league play is 13 points. Brentwood forced the Colonials into 21 turnovers and its only deficit was 2-0.
"This is a good game to prepare us for what’s ahead and we had a chance to show who we are," Brentwood coach Anthony Jimenez said. "You can see the chemistry is there and the energy is there. They play hard and they play for each other."
"Brentwood basketball is straight up hard work," said senior Zatai Townsend, who had 17 points and a spectacular four-point play in the middle of a 22-point third quarter that broke the game open. "Brentwood has all this tradition and we have to keep it up."
Townsend also had an impressive dunk to start the fourth quarter.
"We’re talking about a special player with some special talent," Jimenez said.
Sophomore Marquise Dennis and senior John Phelps each had 10 points and senior Jaden Michael had five assists for Brentwood.
Floyd (10-7, 8-5) is a bit ahead of schedule with five underclassmen among its first six players but the inexperience showed early as seven first-quarter turnovers put it in a 16-6 hole after just 6:24. The Colonials – who got a 20-point performance from sophomore Joey McLaurin – looked fatigued from fighting the press in the third quarter when they allowed Brentwood to pull away.
"The press does multiple things to an opponent," Jimenez said. "It’s the deflections but it’s also forcing them to make decisions under pressure and use their energy up."
Floyd was forced into six turnovers.
"We have length and we’re going to get on you," Dennis said of the press.
"Our press takes the other team’s heart," Townsend added. "We’re going to just wear you out."
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
