Jackson, Allen fuel Bay Shore's upset of Brentwood
Bay Shore's Malik Jackson (10) with the three pointer over Brentwood's Jean Chery (23) in the first half. (February 23, 2010) Credit: Newsday/Joseph D. Sullivan
It happened in a flash. It included a couple of flashy plays. And when Bay Shore was done scoring seven consecutive points in about one minute early in the fourth quarter to open an insurmountable lead, the Marauders had a news flash for the Section XI seeding committee: They are much better than their No. 13 seed.
Malik Jackson scored 23 points and Jordan Allen had 13 of his 15 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds as Bay Shore defeated No. 4 Brentwood, 76-66, last night in a Suffolk Class AA quarterfinal before a packed house at Brentwood High School.
"At first, we were disappointed at our seed," said Allen, who also had three blocks. "I feel we're better than a 13 seed and tonight we played like one of the top seeds."
The Marauders, who had a strong contingent of fans, had knocked off No. 5 East Islip last week. Their reward for two consecutive upsets? They face No. 1 seed Half Hollow Hills West in a Class AA semifinal.
"That will be fun," said Allen, a junior. "I played with Tobias and Tyler [Harris] in the seventh grade on the Unique All-Star travel teams. We used to mess around in the hotels on the road trips."
Allen and Karl Hall, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, messed up Brentwood's plans. "We just came out more aggressive," Hall said.
Allen and Jackson totaled all seven points during that key spurt that turned a 59-53 lead into a 66-53 bulge and the Indians, who got 22 points from Jean Chery, got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
First, Jackson nailed a jumper. Ten seconds later, Hall stole the ball from Chery and hit a streaking Allen with a perfect outlet pass that led to a dunk. Before the Bay Shore fans could finish celebrating that jam, freshman guard Bryson Lassiter stole the inbounds pass and set up Jackson all alone in the right corner for his fifth three-pointer.
"They were trying to make a run," Jackson said. "Bryce made the steal and found me in the corner. I knew we needed a big shot."
The Marauders appeared to get a shot of adrenaline at halftime. "I got in their faces a little and they responded," said Bay Shore coach Gary Williams, a 2,000-point career scorer who is in his first year coaching at his alma mater. "Karl is our defensive catalyst and you saw that in the second half. Jordan wasn't attacking in the first half; then he started crashing [the boards]. Malik can hit those shots, especially when he's in rhythm."
Williams said the low seed didn't bother him and he didn't use it as motivation.
"Seeds don't matter," Williams said. "My philosophy is, you want to peak in the playoffs. I think we've gotten better in each game. I hope we continue that. Now there's no pressure on us. Who's got the pressure? It's Hills West."
