Shane Gatling’s big first half gives Baldwin Nassau Class AA title
Shane Gatling is defended by Brandon Ottley during Nassau Class AA final at LIU Post on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Credit: James Escher
Baldwin rolled out its Gatling gun in the first half Saturday night, and those shots were right on target.
Shane Gatling scored all 25 of his points in the first half, riddling Westbury with five three-pointers, as No. 1 Baldwin rolled to a 65-49 victory in the Nassau Class AA championship game before a crowd of more than 3,000 at LIU Post.
Baldwin won its second straight Nassau Class AA title and fourth in the last five years.
“I felt good in warm-ups and I told my teammates I wanted the ball,” Gatling said. He scored 14 of the Bruins’ 16 points in the second quarter, putting a punctuation mark on his performance with a brilliant play in the final seconds.
The 6-2 senior grabbed an offensive rebound, dribbled out behind the arc and swished a three-point shot at the buzzer for a 35-18 advantage.
Unfortunately, Gatling said he celebrated a little too hard in the locker room at halftime, got bumped, put out his right hand and cut it on some glass. Gatling got blood on his jersey No. 11 and had to wear jersey No. 40 in the second half. He also had his right wrist bandaged and was scoreless in the final two periods.
However, teammates Jared Rhoden (14 points) and Zion Stephens (10 points, including a highlight-reel lefthanded slam off a teammate’s missed shot) made sure the Bruins (21-1) would advance to the Long Island Class AA championship / state regional final against Half Hollow Hills West at 3:30 p.m. March 6 at LIU Post.
Jonathan Dean scored 12 points for No. 2 Westbury (18-4) and Darius Young added 10. They were no match for Gatling.
“I like playing in big games in front of big crowds,” Gatling said. “I was just feeling it. When you’re hot, you just keep shooting.”
Baldwin coach Darius Burton called Gatling’s first-half shooting spree “unbelievable. He was unconscious. I wasn’t totally surprised. I’ve seen him do it in practice.”
Burton said Gatling’s wrist is fine and that his scoreless second half was a product of getting everyone else involved in a game in which the Bruins were not threatened.
Said Burton, “Shane lives for these moments.”
