East Hampton's Jarred Bowe beats everyone down the floor and puts the ball up off the glass.

Farmingdale - At 37 points per game, the mortality of Roslyn's George Beamon had to be questioned. It just didn't seem human. The East Hampton boys basketball team heard all week he could leap tall buildings, that he could run like a gazelle, that he could erupt without notice. Bonac heard that it would learn that the hard way in the Long Island Class A championship game at Farmingdale State College.

If the Bonackers listened to those whispering in their ear – those not named Coach, that is – their season would have ended long ago. They, too, have a way about them. They never relent, they swarm and they cash in on the opposition's errors. They have disarmed many a marksmen before. East Hampton proved on Friday night that Beamon was mortal after all. The defending champs' defense held the state's leading scorer to a season-low 13 points, and its defensive showcase helped it reel in a 57-48 victory and the team's second consecutive Long Island title.

East Hampton advances to the New York state semifinals at the Glens Falls Civic Center where next Saturday it will face Section I champion Peekskill, which was ranked second behind defending champion Jamesville-DeWitt in the most recent New York State Sportswriters Association rankings. On Friday night, Peekskill (23-1) came from behind to beat Section IX winner Cornwall 57-54.

"These kids have done an amazing job when you consider there were two starters from last year's team and Jarred [Bowe] who came off the bench," Bonackers Head Coach Ed Petrie said. "For them to go this far is a remarkable feat. I couldn't be prouder of any kids I've ever coached."

Hayden Ward of East Hampton drew more and more defenders as he gradually scored his team's first 13 points en route to a game-high 26.

The other semifinal will be filled on Saturday by champs from Sections II (Scotia), III (Jamesville-DeWitt), V (Batavia) and VI (McKinley). As hardily as Bowe along with the aforementioned starters – captains Hayden Ward and Jerome Russell – celebrated last year's Long Island title, this time around carried a little extra emotion. The team was no one's but theirs.

"We did it last year and it was really great; this is probably even better than last year because it was Jerome and I that led the team with Jarred," Ward said. "We're not in the shadow of Mikey (Russell) and Marcus (Edwards) anymore. Last year it was really them. They were out in front. They were doing everything. This year, it's been me and Jerome. It's a really great feeling."

Against Roslyn, East Hampton was rolling in the fourth quarter, but any ideas of a premature celebration were quickly doused when Roslyn awakened from its offensive daze and very nearly snatched the win away. With 5:22 to go, Bonac enjoyed its largest lead at 45-29. The Bulldogs (16-7) received just the momentum boost they needed when Jordan Richman sank four straight free throws – two on a foul and two more on a technical. It slashed the deficit to 12 and Beamon's first basket since the second quarter cut it to 10 with 4:51 to go.

Later in the quarter, Roslyn went on an 11-2 run capped by Beamon's second three of the night with 1:35 to go, leaving East Hampton with just a 51-48 advantage and forcing Petrie to call a timeout. "We had to hold our composure," Bowe said. "We've been through this before. We knew if we could come out and be strong with the ball, we'd be in good shape."

Bonacker junior Tyler Brenneman vacates the right corner and takes it hard into the paint.

Beamon's bomb ended up being the last points for Roslyn. East Hampton forced a turnover on the Bulldogs' next trip, Russell led the break, found Ward charging up the floor, and then Ward crossed it to Hyman for an uncontested lay-up. On its next time down, Roslyn took the ball inside only to have Peyton Kelley block a Tariq Forte attempt and eventually cause a jump ball. Russell coolly buried two free throws for a seven-point edge, now with half a minute remaining. Bowe sealed Roslyn's fate with a pretty defensive play. From the left side, Beamon dribbled right hoping to use a Forte pick at the top of the key but Bowe poked the ball free, gained possession and was fouled.

It didn't take long for Beamon to find out that he'd be fortunate to even approach his 37-point average, never mind go off for 56 like he did earlier this year against Calhoun. His first shot was an airball from 22 feet. His second was sent away by Ward. A steal and dunk got the state's leading scorer on the board four minutes in but the Bonacker zone had him completely out of synch all night. Beamon had four points at halftime and failed to score in the third.

"I could see [the frustration] in his face," Russell said. "He was getting really mad and talking to the refs. We just kept playing good defense and just had to get in his head and get him out of whack."

Bonac's defense can take credit for frustrating the Bulldogs' star, who did bury two three-pointers en route to a nine-point fourth quarter yet his baker's dozen matched a season low. His performance broke a string of four straight games with at least 30 points.

Jerome Russell's three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave East Hampton a 24-15 lead through two periods.

Bowe oftentimes was responsible for marking Roslyn's prolific scorer. "I just had to keep him in front of me," Bowe said. "He's a good penetrator. I had to respect his drive. Every time he went up for a shot I tried to smack at it. Luckily I didn't get called for many fouls."

Roslyn's 48 points also matched their worst output this season, coincidentally when Beamon last went for 13 – in a 60-48 loss to Jericho on Feb. 9. It's the third time this postseason that East Hampton has held its opponent to a season low in points – Greenport was limited to just 44 in the Small Schools Championship on March 6; two days earlier, Huntington tallied a mere 32 points in the Class A county title game.

Head Coach Ed Petrie talks strategy as the Bonackers huddle during a timeout.

As it turns out, East Hampton is also the only Suffolk County team to win a contested Long Island title. North Babylon (AA), Center Moriches (B) and Port Jefferson (C) were all downed by the Nassau representative. Nassau did not field a team in Class D, which Greenport claimed in Suffolk.

Both East Hampton and Roslyn took some time to solve the other's defense. For the Bonackers, only Ward did early. The senior pivot tallied all of Bonac's first quarter points (9) and its first 13 in all. Ward, who led all scorers with 26 points for the game, has averaged 27.3 points in East Hampton's six playoff games. "Hayden's been scoring throughout the playoffs," Petrie said. "He has a very good shooting touch, from the corners as well as down in the low post. He had a great first quarter and got us off to a good start. It's what we needed."

At the point that Ward's colleagues began chipping in is when the Bonackers began to pull away. Hyman buried a jumper from the top at 5:30 of the second quarter to break Ward's personal run. After a pair of Bowe free throws, Russell hit 1-of-2 freebies and then a three-pointer with 11 ticks left to establish a comfortable 24-15 edge going into intermission.

Jerome Russell (left), Jarred Bowe (center) and Hayden Ward (right) lead a charge toward their teammates following East Hampton's 57-48 win over Roslyn to win the Long Island Class A championship.

Guard Jerome Russell celebrates his 1,000th career point with Head Coach Ed Petrie.

Not lost on a spectacular night was a pair of rare feats in Bonac history. Russell joined the 1,000-point club with a trey from dead ahead late in the third quarter. Thirty-two seconds later, a beautiful give-and-go inbounds play yielded a Ward lay-up and that put him at 1,000 for his career as well. The individual accolades are welcome, but all along Russell was more concerned with the trophy he and his team hoisted at game's end.

"It was a close game but we kept it together," said Russell, who finished with 15. "We played as one unit, won as one unit, and now we can go upstate and hopefully take the whole thing as one unit."

EAST HAMPTON 57, ROSLYN 48
Long Island Class A Championship, at Farmingdale State College
ROSLYN (16-7)
Jake Ansel 1-0-2, George Beamon 5-1-13, Jordan Richman 8-5-21, Tariq Forte 5-2-12. Totals 19-8-48.
EAST HAMPTON (23-2)
Jerome Russell 5-3-15, Hayden Ward 10-6-26, Jarred Bowe 2-3-7, Sam Hyman 3-1-7, Peyton Kelley 0-2-2. Totals 20-15-57.
Halftime: East Hampton, 24-15. Three-Point Field Goals: Roslyn (); East Hampton 2 (Russell 2).