Baldwin boys basketball’s Ethan Sainsbury steps up in win over Uniondale

Dylan Cudjoe and Gabe Phillips were lost for the season before it even tipped off. The Baldwin bigs were cousins with talent and torn ACLs.

Then Mical Saint Jean, the Bruins’ top scorer over the first five games, sprained an ankle in practice Friday. The junior shooting guard is expected to miss a couple of weeks.

But this basketball team still has steady 5-8 senior point guard Ethan Sainsbury to run the show and its defense never rests. And so it keeps on overcoming and winning.

Sainsbury scored 15 points, including four key free throws, and the full-court defensive pressure forced 19 turnovers. So Baldwin beat Uniondale, 38-28, Saturday in the Gary Charles Hoop Classic at Chaminade and moved to 5-1 following its fourth straight victory.

“I’ve got the two best bigs for Long Island on the bench, and then one of the top scorers on Long Island gets hurt in practice the night before a big game like this,” said Darius Burton, the Bruins’ 26th-year coach.

“Our motto all season has been, ‘Next man up.’ The guys stepped up. They truly stepped up. I’m so proud of them.”

Dylan Hickman scored a team-high nine points for Uniondale, but he was lost with 4:47 to go due to leg cramps. And the Bruins were strong down the stretch. Burton credited Sainsbury’s senior leadership and that defense.

The Knights committed three turnovers after slicing a 16-point deficit to three with 3:40 left.

Burton called the defense “our mecca for the whole entire 26-year program.”

Devon Mitchell made a layup for Baldwin, and Sainsbury calmly hit two free throws with 2:01 remaining and two more with 1:03 remaining to make it 36-27.

“Of course, I wanted the ball in my hands at the line,” Sainsbury said. “It’s just like my time I put in the gym.

“I couldn’t hit a shot today. … But I believe in my abilities, my work, to get the ball at the end of the game and make the clutch free throws.”

Rian Gittens scored six of his 13 points in the first 2:44 of the third to help the Bruins build a 27-11 advantage. Then came a 16-3 run by Uniondale.

“Desperation,” Uniondale coach Jaaz Styles.

The Bruins led 10-3 after one quarter and 17-11 at halftime.

“Great ball pressure by Baldwin,” Styles said. “… We’ve got to be better offensively.”

The 4-3 Knights have been without the use of their gym for practice and games since a pipe burst in early December. They have practiced on a smaller auxiliary court. Styles hopes the regular court will be ready shortly and feels that will help.

“Just conditioning, familiarity with spots on the floor,” Styles said. “It’ll be better, definitely.”