Port Washington Boys Basketball Suffers Loss Against Massapequa

The Port Washington boys basketball team was defeated by a non-league opponent in Massapequa Thursday night at Massapequa High School.

Junior K.C. Ozcayir was the leading scorer for the Vikings with 13 points.  Junior Christopher Husmann led the Chiefs (6-1) with 17 points and 12 rebounds en route to a 68-39 win over the Vikings (0-7). 

Massapequa put points up on the board early and often against an undersized and shorthanded Port Washington team. The home team led 5-0 after just 30 seconds of play. The Chiefs pulled out to a double-digit lead after the first quarter, 21-9.  

However, that offensive output was put on a short hiatus in the second quarter where the Chiefs scored just six points, all by Husmann, to the Vikings' 10 and headed into halftime up by just eight points after the dominant start.  

The third quarter would soon shift the game into cruise control for Massapequa as seniors Matt Smocovich and Matt Young each put in a basket within the first 15 seconds. Midway through the quarter, the Chiefs' lead grew to 20 points as they finished up the first 24 minutes up 49-26.  

With Massapequa clearing their bench with four minutes remaining, the win was all said and done. However, that didn't stop players such as senior Matt Hamdan and sophomore Ryan McGuire from pouring in the three-pointers on the way to the big 29-point win.  

Heroes: While Ozcayir was the leading scorer for the Vikings with 13 points, Port Washington could not take down Massapequa, led by Husmann with his double-double performance of 17 points and 12 boards.  

Turning Point: When Massapequa senior Ian Walsh grabbed four consecutive offensive rebounds in an attempt to score midway through the third quarter, he didn't let up for one second. When he failed to find the points, he again hustled towards the loose ball to make a tough pass underneath to Husmann, who was able to finish, draw a foul and sink a free throw. This ultimately set the tone for the rest of the game where Massapequa outscored Port Washington 41-20 in the second half.  

Quotable: "We had some turnovers early that put us in a hole that was tough to come back from," Port Washington head coach Sean Dooley said. "The second quarter, I thought we played them pretty even, despite us being a little undermanned tonight. They hit a bunch of threes and killed us on the boards, so that was the big difference." 

"What our goal was here was to just try and rebound and get back to playing hard," Massapequa head coach Marty Voigt said. "We also really focused on offensive execution, such as running hard cuts against everybody, making the extra pass, smart passing. We wanted to play harder for a full four quarters."  

Bottom Line: Massapequa set a new season high with their 68 points, the third time they cracked the 60-point barrier. They received solid production from both their starters (40 points) and bench (28 points) as they prepare for a critical three-game home stand in early January against league opponents Freeport, Hempstead, and Oceanside.  

Key Stat: The Chiefs were dominant on the boards (48 rebounds) and from outside (seven three-pointers), two keys of success for this experienced team.  

Who's Next: Port Washington @ East Meadow, Jan. 7, 7:00 p.m.; Freeport @ Massapequa, Jan. 4,, 7:00 p.m.

Team…………….......1…..2…..3…..4   -  F

Port Washington…9….10….7….13.....39

Massapequa……....21….6….22…19.....68  

Reb.-Ast.-Pts.: PW: Ozcayir 13, Murphy 7, Valenti 5, Froccaro 5, Omeltchenko 3, Cuthill 3, Merriweather 3. Totals: 39. M: Husmann 12-3-17, Young 3-9-5, Donahue 9-2-10, Fasulo 6-2-6, Smocovich 4-2-9, Van Buren 6-0-10, Walsh 6-1-2, Hamdan 0-0-3, McGuire 1-1-3, Papantoniou 1-0-3, Delaney 0-1-0, Henderson 0-1-0. Totals: 48-22-68. Three-Pointers: PW: Valenti 2, Murphy 2. M: Smocovich 2, Donahue 2, Young 1, McGuire 1, Hamdan 1.