Dylan Banner headlines Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK's AA semifinal win
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK celebrates its 54-50 win against Syosset in a Nassau Class AA boys basketball semifinal at Hofstra on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Syosset showed up at Hofstra Tuesday for its Nassau AA semifinal as a No. 2 seed with a perfect past — 20 games, 20 wins.
Yet Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK is the one bound for the title round.
The third-seeded Hawks got 24 points from their star, Dylan Banner, including seven in the final 2:33, and 14 from Jacob Goldfarb. And they survived a tight finish, taking down Syosset, 54-50.
"Listen, it’s been the talk all year," Hawks coach Mike Harris said. "It’s been Syosset. It’s been Baldwin. And we’ve kind of been under the radar. . . . We worked our tails off today. They hit some big shots. We kept on coming back. This group just keeps going."
This group is 17-4. Next up: Top-seeded, 20-1 Baldwin at 7:30 p.m. on March 5 at Hofstra.
"One more, right?" Harris said. "One more."
Syosset won’t get to dream of one more win. Its perfect run this season is over.
"We knew it was going to end sometime . . . " coach Greg Cardona said. "These kids battled. A special group. The best team doesn’t always win. It’s high school basketball."
Banner hit two free throws to tie it at 44 with 2:33 left. Brody Girsky followed by nailing his first and only shot, a three from the left corner for the lead. Banner then canned a free throw for a four-point edge.
Andrew Zhou, who scored 17, had hit a jumper to cut it 48-46. But Banner put in his own miss. After Matt Lindenman made a free throw for Syosset, Mason Garvey made two for the Hawks. It was 52-47 with 35.7 seconds remaining.
Zhou cut it to two with a three, but missed another after a turnover. Then Banner went 1-for-2 at the 15.1 mark. The ball went out off his miss. It was Hawks ball.
Banner again went 1-for-2 at 13.5 — 54-50.
"I live for those kind of moments," said the 6-4 senior forward, who’s committed to Albany to play baseball. "Crowd chanting ‘MVP.’ The other side booing me."
Syosset went off on an 11-0 run to start the second quarter, good for a 21-11 lead. But Lindenman sat for a bit with three fouls, and the lead was just 26-24 at halftime.
"I just think we didn’t play the smartest game," Cardona said. "They played better, in my opinion."
