Seaford Boys Basketball Falls A Step Short of Final Four

It is said that all good things much come to an end.

The boys basketball team  saw its dream of a trip to the Nassau County Class A Final Four halted as Lawrence took another step toward its first county title since 1968 with a 64-41 victory in the quarterfinal round of the Nassau County Class A playoffs at Seaford High School.

Senior guard Ibraheem Shamseldin scored a season-high 22 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists to lead Lawrence. The Vikings were led by Robert Goldstein’s 17 points. Despite the loss, Goldstein, who will play at Baruch College at the collegiate level, ended the season with 422 points; a new single-season record for points scored at Seaford.

With the win, the sixth-seeded Golden Tornadoes (16-3) secured a slot in the Class A Final Four. The team will meet No. 15 Great Neck North (12-8) on Friday night at 8 p.m. at the Clark Center on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury. The Blazers, this year’s Cinderella story, advanced to the semifinals with wins over second-seeded South Side and 10th- seeded Valley Stream North. 

Seaford head coach Ralph Rossetti was disappointed with the way the final game played out, but pleased with the overall season. “We didn’t play very well,” Rossetti said. “You hate to end a season like that, especially in front of such a terrific crowd. The atmosphere was outstanding. But, they were the better team. We seemed to get a little intimidated when they got on their run, and we panicked. The season was a very satisfying one, though. The kids certainly achieved more than was expected.”

The Golden Tornadoes, who many feel have the talent to win a county title, never trailed in the game, but it was a nip-and-tuck first half. The third-seeded Vikings proved to be a worthy opponent. Led by Goldstein, the county’s third leading scorer at 22.1 points per contest, Seaford kept it close in the opening half. 

With Lawrence holding a narrow advantage and the clock running down in the opening half, Shamseldin banked in a three-pointer from 21 feet out to send the teams to the locker room with the Golden Tornadoes holding a 27-21 lead. 

Lawrence head coach Pete Linderman expected a tight game. “Seaford is a solid, well-coached team,” Linderman said. “We spent a lot of time focusing on stopping Goldstein, and they found ways to break our press and score with other guys. Goldstein is an outstanding player, so we knew he would get his points. We just wanted to make scoring a little more difficult for him.”

Shamseldin’s prayer proved to be a harbinger. Lawrence couldn’t miss in the third quarter, and Seaford lost a bit of composure. Sophomore Eddie Robinson (13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists) hit a pair a threes, the second of which culminated an 11-0 run that gave the Golden Tornadoes a commanding 35-21 lead with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter. 

After a layup by Goldstein stopped the bleeding, Lawrence ran off another eight straight points to put the game away. A long three by Shamseldin as time expired in the third quarter put the exclamation point on the quarter that would end with the Golden Tornadoes holding an insurmountable 50-27 lead. Seaford never challenged in the final quarter.

Seaford, which won Conference A-IV championship, got 12 points and 12 rebounds from Michael Siler. James Gambina added seven points for the Vikings.

Rossetti was very proud of his team’s accomplishment. “We graduated four starters last year, so winning 15 games and a conference title was unexpected,” Rossetti said. “The boys have nothing to hang their heads about. We finished among the top eight teams in the county, and represented the school and community very well.”