Massapequa Boys Basketball Cruise Past Hempstead on Senior Night

The Massapequa boys basketball team took down the Hempstead Tigers on Friday night, their “Senior Night” in front of their home crowd, winning 69-39. The Chiefs (10-4, 6-4) moved into sole possession of third place in Conference AA-I with the win over the Tigers (7-6, 4-4).

Matt Smocovich led Massapequa in scoring with a game-high 14 points, Mike Donahue had 12 points and Ian Walsh contributed with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Hempstead was led by Mical Boyd with 10 points.

Massapequa and Hempstead set the tone early with physical defense and tough drives to the basket. Donahue gave the Chiefs a 10-8 lead with a big four-point play midway through the first. Another three pointer by Smocovich put the home team up 17-10, forcing Hempstead to take an early timeout. Massapequa led 19-14 at the end of the quarter.

With the shots falling, the Chiefs stepped up on defense in the second quarter. GianFabio Fasulo and Smocovich blocked two Hempstead shots in a row to bring the crowd to their feet. With Massapequa ahead by eight, Hempstead went on a quick 5-0 run to end the half down 26-23.

Fasulo started the third quarter with four consecutive points, followed by another three from Donahue to give Massapequa their first double-digit lead of the game, 34-23. Walsh then stepped up to score five straight points as the Chiefs started the quarter on a big 17-0 run, highlighted by two consecutive three-pointers from Lee Henderson.

The Tigers did not get on the board in the quarter until Boyd hit two free throws with a minute remaining. Their only field goal came on a Boyd three-pointer 30 seconds later as Massapequa led at the end of the quarter, 49-28.

With the game in hand, Massapequa did not let up as they started the final quarter on a 9-0 run. The Chiefs cleared the bench with over three minutes remaining to roll to their big 30-point league victory.

Heroes: A number of Chiefs came through when it counted most, such as Henderson and Donahue, who each knocked down three three-pointers. Walsh put in a season-high in points and rebounds as well in the absence of sixth-man Chris Husmann.

“All of our guys came up big and we just have great leadership on the team,” the senior Donahue said. “This win was huge for us, putting us back in the playoff picture. It means a lot to win like this on senior night in front of my whole family.”

Turning Point: Without question, the dominating third quarter for Massapequa was the difference in the game. Outscoring Hempstead 23-5 in the quarter put the game out of reach and helped the Chiefs cruise to the critical league win.

Quotable: “I think the second half we made a couple of adjustments, wanting to attack their pressure rather than settling for jump shots,” Massapequa head coach Marty Voigt said. “Next week is like three playoffs games for us with Freeport, Oceanside and Syosset.”

Bottom Line: Massapequa rebounded in a big way from consecutive losses to Farmingdale and Uniondale. They now stand in third place in the conference behind Uniondale and Freeport, who they will play a make-up game with on Monday in Freeport.

Key Stat: The 69-point performance was a season-high for Massapequa as they reached 60+ points for the fifth time on the year. The win was their second time topping their opponent by at least 30 points as well.

Who’s Next: Massapequa @ Freeport, Feb. 7, 6:15 p.m.

Team…………..1…..2…..3…..4   -   F

Hempstead…..14….9…..5….11….39

Massapequa…19….7….23…20….69

Reb.-Ast.-Pts.: H: Dash 2, McCrimmon 6, Boyd 10, T. Pierre 5, I. Pierre 4, Underwood 4, Dobson 3, Gray 3, Watson 2. Totals: 39. M: Donahue 4-4-12, Young 1-1-4, Smocovich 4-5-14, Van Buren 2-5-7, Henderson 0-0-9, Walsh 10-1-11, McGrath 0-0-2, Papantonio 1-0-2, Hamden 2-0-4, Fasulo 6-0-4, Schlich 2-0-0. Totals: 32-16-69. Three-Pointers- H: Boyd 2, McCrimmon 2; M: Donahue 3, Henderson 3, Smocovich 2.