Yesterday evening, the boys’ basketball team took a historic step by booking their first trip to the PSAA Championship, their first finals berth since the 2018 NYSPHSAA County Championship, with a 57-46 semifinal win at Lawrence Woodmere.

The Bears led 14-9 after one as five different Bears scored in the opening frame. They carried the same margin into the half against the West Division’s top seed as Charlie Onana Awana’s seven points and Nate Small’s six helped The Brook maintain a 31-26 advantage. The Bears extended their margin in the third quarter and, as has so often been the case this season, their defense led the way. The Blue & White yielded just five points in the period, while Onana Awana, Federico Chiappa, Randolph Logan, and Andreas Simoni combined for 14 points to give The Brook a 47-31 lead heading into the final frame.

From there, six points from Onana Awana, four from Niks Zemitis, and two from Orlando Morris ensured Woodmere did not chip their deficit below double digits. Onana Awana led the Bears with 20 points and was supported by Logan (9), Small (8), Chiappa (8), Morris (5), Zemitis (4), and Simoni (2). The Bears move on to play East Division #1 Portledge on Thursday night at 7:00pm at Island Garden in Hempstead. The Bears lost both regular season match-ups to the Panthers by a combined five points.

It was a sweet Valentine’s Day for the basketball program as the girls’ varsity and boys’ JV teams also won their semifinal match-ups, giving the Bears a trio of championship games Thursday night at Island Garden.

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