For the first time in the history of Island Trees High School, the boys basketball team will be playing for the Nassau County Championship.

On Saturday, Feb. 27, the Bulldogs beat Bellmore/JFK 53-50 in a thrilling Nassau Class B semifinal game at Massapequa to advance to the finals.

With 15 seconds left, and the Bulldogs tied with Kennedy High School at 53, freshman Gerard VanLeuvan took a pass from teammate Greg Salvage and hit a three-pointer from the right corner, giving Island Trees a 56-53 win and a berth in the March 4 championship game against Seaford.

VanLeuvan only had seven points in the game, including two free throws after a technical foul by Kennedy's Scott Calka. Whether on the foul line or from the three-point range, VanLeuvan wasn't fazed.

"I knew it was going in," said VanLeuvan.

Bulldogs coach, Bob Young added, "When he gets that kind of a look at the basket, lights out."

VanLeuvan's trey was a high point in an incredible journey for Island Trees, which had never reached the semifinal round in 42 years of boys basketball.

The game was a see-saw battle marked by the excellent shooting of Kennedy and the solid inside game of Island Trees. Six-foot-six front man Shane Brunette (18 points) penetrated the lane at will, forcing the Cougars to abandon their zone defense.

"Thanks to number 55, we had to play them man-to-man," said Cougars Coach Rory Block, referring to Brunette. He and teammate James Sguigna (16 points) powered the Bulldogs' attack.

When Kennedy ran up a 7-4 lead midway through the first period, Island Trees battled back to take a 16-13 lead after one quarter, then took charge in the second stanza with a 9-2 run keyed by a VanLeuvan three-pointer.

Down 26-15 with less than five minutes in the half, the Cougars scored seven of the next nine points. Kennedy's Josh Chaikin hit a three-pointer from the right side with 11 seconds left to shrink the gap to 30-25. Senior Nick Aliberti led the Cougars with 12 points, 10 in the first half.

A Brunette deuce and free-throw, and Salvage's driving layup gave the Bulldogs a 10-point lead early in the third quarter. Then Kennedy came alive, scoring 12 of the next 14 points. Kennedy's Steve Drury, who had been held in check in the first half, hit a three-pointer and a free throw to tie the game at 37. Drury finished with 17 points.

Island Trees' Brunette hit a layup in traffic and Salvage fired off a three-pointer, to put the Bulldogs up by five. The Bulldogs led 46-41 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, with 1:02 remaining and the Bulldogs leading 53-50, Kennedy's Drury took a pass from teammate Nolan Lowe and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc to tie the score at 53.

After the Bulldogs turned the ball over, Kennedy's Scott Calka marched the ball downcourt and passed in the corner to Seth Chaikin, who stepped out of bounds, giving Island Trees the ball back with half a minute remaining.

Near his own baseline, Salvage sent the ball to James Sguigna, who ran downcourt. Sguigna fired it at the top of the key to Salvage, who sent the ball to VanLeuvan on the left side, the Island Trees freshman cooly fired the ball up, and in.

When the Bulldogs' Sguigna blocked Drury's three-point attempt with two seconds left, Salvage grabbed the ball, ran with it to midcourt and fired it in the air in joy.

Eleventh-seeded Island Trees had won its biggest basketball game ever.

Asked whether he thought the Bulldogs would make it as far as the Class B final, veteran coach Young smiled and said, "at the beginning of the year, I thought we had a nice team."

Now all of Nassau County knows it.