BROOKLYN, NY- First-year Berkeley Carroll Lions Boys Varsity basketball coach Mike Kubera knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

Trying to dethrone defending ACIS League champion Dwight proved too much of a challenge as Kubera’s Lions fell 67-38 in the playoff semifinals played at Brooklyn Friends gym in lower Brooklyn ending their season.

In the early going, both teams struggled to adjust to the miniscule court where even raised baskets got in the path of three long range attempts including two on the BC side which didn’t help matters against the league’s top seed.

Dwight got on the board first never trailing while jumping out to a 12-4 lead forcing Kubera to take a full timeout. Though his team responded hanging around thanks to timely buckets from leading scorer Giancarlo Hirsch (19 points), they never could match their bigger opponent’s firepower.

Much like they did in their come from behind quarter win over Packer the day before, the pesky Lions hung around much of the half staying within striking distance. But just when it seemed they could keep it close giving themselves a realistic chance at the upset, Dwight senior big man Maliek Patterson sparked a 14-1 run stretching a four point lead to 32-15 the final three minutes of the half.

An undersized BC frontcourt had no answer for the 6-9 center who hurt them on the offensive glass with a couple of monster dunks following free throws  as well as keeping possessions alive. His D also resulted in a couple of steals and easy flushes which energized the Dwight bench.

With Patterson wreaking havoc, other teammates stepped up getting uncontested lay-ups along with eight foot runners building the lead to 17 by intermission.

Despite an early trey from Hirsch who hit for three from downtown, Berkeley Carroll couldn’t crack the defending champs who answered every challenge getting at least four players into double digits including junior power forward Peru Kovacevic, who used his size down low to hurt the smaller team from Park Slope netting 12.

Eight came in the third quarter where Dwight continued to execute a perfect screen and roll resulting in lay-ins for Kovacevic. That along with the contribution of at least three other guards scoring in a variety of ways helped the defending champs stretch the margin to 25.

The Lions got most of their points from Hirsch and senior guard Phil Seay, who added 10 including a couple of trifectas for the defensive stopper who gave his best against the much bigger Patterson.

With the senior duo receiving little support outside of junior Sean Cunningham and freshman Cole Kitchen who each had four, the much thinner Lions didn’t have enough arsenal to stay with Dwight.

Kubera went mostly with a seven man rotation while Dwight countered with 10 deep even allowing some of their lesser experienced players to get a taste of playoff basketball during an uncompetitive final quarter.

Still, the first-year Varsity coach did the classy thing allowing Hirsch and Seay to play until the final minute while also getting in fellow seniors Alex Pierre and Max Rainey. When they finally subbed out the two emotional leaders, both received well deserved applause from the crowd for all they’d given to the program.

Dwight will next meet Friends Seminary for the championship Thursday at Poly Technical Institute College. Seminary used 12 three-pointers to help offset a 29 point 15 rebound performance from Dylan Bulger as they held on to edge Staten Island Academy 64-62 in the other semi played in lower Manhattan.

Lady Lions Ousted: It wasn’t much better for the Berkeley Carroll Lady Lions who fell by 20 to Martin Luther in the PSAA playoff semifinals in Queens concluding their first season under new coach Morgan Sevigny.

It was the final game for senior Ashley Privett, who along with sophomore leading scorer Keyanka Bailey were the only holdovers from the 2006-07 championship team. Congrats to Privett on making The University of Vermont.

It also marked the final games for Stephanie Boyle and Elsie Vieira.