Quarter-Finalized: Baldwin Boys Basketball Ends Kennedy's Season

The Kennedy Cougars boys basketball team had its season cut short on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Nassau County Class AA playoffs against the top-seeded Baldwin team, 92-53.

Senior Joey Karo led the eighth-seeded Cougars with 21 points in what was his final high school basketball game along with eight other senior teammates.

The No. 1 Bruins proved why they were the top seed with an incredible 92-point outburst. They were led by Aaron Greene with 22 points and Kyle Richardson with 20 points.

Kennedy did not back down early on as Mike Teich executed a three-point play on the game's first possession. Greene scored 12 points in the first quarter including three consecutive three-pointers. After a buzzer-beating jumper by Karo, Kennedy trailed at the end of the opening quarter, 20-12.

Like Greene in the first, Karo took his turn to get on a shooting streak as he knocked down two consecutive three-pointers on the first two possessions of the second quarter, bringing the Cougars to within two points.

But the Bruins fended off Kennedy's pressure to open up a 10-point lead after Brandon Williams scored five straight points during the run. In the final seconds of the quarter, Richardson put down a fast-break dunk over a defender that seemed to energize Baldwin as they went into halftime leading 45-34.

After Will Colon scored on Kennedy’s opening play of the second half, Baldwin battled back with a 7-0 run in what quickly turned into a runaway game. The Bruins continued to knock down shot after shot, as the Cougar offense seemed to stall after a strong start to the quarterfinal matchup.

Baldwin led after three quarters 73-46 and cruised to the big 39-point win.

“Bellmore came out strong and were making shots. I felt we weren't contesting and getting back on defense, so we made an adjustment to press and make them try to score more points in the half court,” Baldwin head coach Darius Burton said. “If we keep making our shots, it could force teams to go man against us, where we feel we are harder to guard."

Heroes: Greene and Richardson shined against Kennedy with a combined 42 points and nine three-pointers made.

Karo carried the Cougars right from the start, scoring 21 points, including five three-pointers of his own. He scored 18 of his 21 in the first half against Baldwin.

Turning Point: Kennedy hung in with Baldwin for the entire first half, keeping the deficit to single-digits, but Richardson's dunk just before halftime gave the Bruins a big boost heading into halftime.

Baldwin went on to outscore Kennedy by 28 points in the second half.

Quotable: “I thought our guys played very hard and were hanging in, but we just didn’t have any energy left in the second half,” Kennedy head coach Rory Block said. “I am really proud of our guys in how they played. It was a great season for a great bunch of guys. We have a lot to be proud this year.”

Bottom Line: Baldwin is nearly as good as it gets in New York State High School basketball, but Kennedy put up an inspiring fight on the road.

The Cougars also won their first playoff game in 12 years against MacArthur in the opening round and their first as a member of the Class AA level after joining seven years ago.

Key Stat: Although Kennedy was able to hit nine three-pointers, Baldwin hit 12 of their own en route to their largest point output of the 2010-11 season.

Box Score

92

Three-Pointers: K: Karo 5, Rose 2, Teich 1, Lerner 1; B: Richarson 5, Greene 4, Gonzalez 2, Williams 1.