Lawrence Advances to Final Four

And then there were four. 

The Lawrence Golden Tornadoes took another step toward its first county title since 1968 with a 64-41 win over host Seaford in the quarterfinal round of the Nassau County Class A playoffs. Senior guard Ibraheem Shamseldin scored a season-high 22 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists to lead Lawrence. 

With the win, the No. 6 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 8:00 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 No. 2 South Side and No. 10 Valley Stream North. 

Lawrence head coach Pete Linderman wasn’t surprised by Shamseldin’s outstanding performance. “The last few games Ibraheem has really stepped up his game,” Linderman said. “He’s a senior; it’s time for him to do it. He’s been playing very well.” 

The Golden Tornadoes never trailed in the game, but it was a nip-and-tuck first half. No. 3 Seaford (15-4) proved to be a worthy opponent. Led by the county’s third leading scorer Robert Goldstein, who averages 22.1 points per contest, the Vikings kept it close in the opening half. 

With Lawrence holding a narrow three point advantage and the clock running down in the opening half, Shamseldin banked in a 3-pointer from 21 feet out to send the teams to the locker room with the Golden Tornadoes holding a 27-21 lead. 

Shamseldin’s prayer proved to be a harbinger. Lawrence couldn’t miss in the third quarter. 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, the champion of Conference A-IV, was led by Goldstein’s 17 points. Michael Siler added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Vikings.   

Linderman was pleased with the third quarter performance. “It’s been taking us a little time to get our groove. As we move along, that can’t happen. We have to turn it on right from the get-go," Linderman said. "In the second half, we played at the pace we want to play at, and started to frustrate them with our pressure defense. We did what we needed to do to win the game, but we have to bring the effort we gave in the third quarter if we want to win on Friday night.”