Massapequa Boys Basketball Drop Critical Road Game to Freeport

The Massapequa boys basketball team were coming off of a stellar win last Friday night at home against Hempstead where they seemed to not be able to miss a shot.

On Monday afternoon, the Chiefs (10-5, 6-5) struggled to have a repeat performance in a make-up game at Freeport, losing 51-31. The Red Devils (13-2, 8-2) moved into first place in Conference AA-I ahead of Uniondale as the Chiefs remain in third.

Massapequa and Freeport traded baskets in the first in a tight defensive match-up. The two teams ended the opening quarter tied at 10-10.

Freeport’s Leondre Simmon gave his team a lead with an early basket in the second quarter. That sparked a 13-0 run for the Red Devils on their home court. With frustration building for Massapequa, Ryan Van Buren picked up a technical foul after getting called for a defensive blocking foul on the preceding play. Jere Brown hit all four of his free throw’s for Freeport to cap off the run.

Michael Donahue finally got the Chiefs on the board with two minutes to go in the half, their lone basket of the quarter, also a season low for points scored in a single quarter for Massapequa. Freeport led comfortably after 16 minutes, 27-12.

The struggles continued for Massapequa with the dismal second quarter still in the back of their minds. Ian Walsh put in the Chiefs first points of the quarter with three minutes remaining, ending a stretch of 14 minutes of game time with just one field goal. Freeport led 38-16 at the end of three.

Unlike in the two teams’ first meeting which Massapequa won 52-39 at home in early January where they led for the majority of the game, Freeport built an early lead that it would not relinquish. Bench players got a chance to play in the fourth quarter with the game in hand, closing out the critical 20-point league win for Freeport.

Heroes: Freeport seemed to play inspired basketball in an attempt to seek redemption for their loss to Massapequa earlier in the schedule. Brown hit all of his seven free throws to collect a game-high 15 points for the home Red Devils.

Walsh led Massapequa in the game with seven points.

Turning Point: The 17-2 second quarter put the game out of reach for Massapequa. A normally solid shooting team, the Chiefs missed routine shots mixed in with eight turnovers during Freeport’s big run to close the first half.

Quotable: "It all comes down to effort and the ability to score and we were prepared enough to handle them, but when you don't make shots, you can't win," Massapequa head coach Marty Voigt said. "We didn't pay attention to our game plan. We let them drive to the basket and let them get offensive rebounds, resulting in too many uncontested shots."

Bottom Line: If the game against Freeport served any significance, Massapequa’s match up with Oceanside, whom they lost to 65-49 in January, is even bigger. Although Massapequa holds the third playoff spot out of four issued to the conference, Oceanside and Hempstead are right on their heels. At least one of those three teams will ultimately miss out on the upcoming playoffs.

Key Stat: The 31-point performance was a season low for Massapequa, just the second time they scored under 40 points. It was also the first game in which they did not have a single player reach double-digits in scoring.

Who’s Next: Oceanside @ Massapequa, Feb. 8, 7:00 p.m.

"Hopefully we learn from this game and give Oceanside a better effort and just take our chances," Voigt added. 

Team…………..1…..2…..3…..4   -   F

Massapequa…10….2…..4….15…..31

Freeport……..10…17…11…13…....51

M: Walsh 7, Van Buren 6, Donahue 4, Young 4, Papantonio 3, Henderson 3, Smocovich 2, McGuire 2. Total: 31. F: Brown 15, Simmon 14, Durham 9, Smiley 4, Barnes 4, Jones 2, Tilman 2, Staton 1. Total: 51. Three-Pointers: M: Henderson 1; F: Brown 2, Durham 1, Simmon 1.