Port Washington couldn’t hold off the MacArthur Generals as the Vikings boys basketball team fell 61-52 at on Friday night. The loss dropped Port Washington to 0-10 on the season, while MacArthur improved to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in AA-II Division play. Senior captain Michael Murphy led the Vikings with 14 points in the losing effort.
The Vikings competed hard with MacArthur in the first half and trailed by three points after the first 16 minutes of play. But the Generals began to pull away in the third quarter and Port Washington couldn’t close a seven-point deficit when the game went into the fourth quarter.
“In the beginning of the second half we had a couple of turnovers and that’s when we had few of those [lack of effort] lapses for about two minutes,” said Port Washington Head Coach Sean Dolley following the game. “We had three or four turnovers [in that time]. That’s something we have to continue to work on going forward.”
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Despite the final score and dropping to 0-10 on the season, not all was lost according to the Vikings head coach who sees his team improving: “I’m happy because this is the best effort we gave so far this season,” Dooley added. “We had a few lapses of intensity, but not that many, so I was very happy with our effort."
Dooley continued, "I like what I saw from everybody tonight. They were into the game, they were working harder then I have seen so far" this season.
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The Vikings received scoring contributions from eight players, though Murphy was on the only player in double-digits. For MacArthur, forward Kevin Roach led the game with 23 points and guard Kevin Monahan chipped in with 18 points.
Heroes: Port Washington could not contain MacArthur’s Kevin Roach and Kevin Monahan. The duo combined for over 67 percent of MacArthur’s scoring.
Turning Point: MacArthur started the fourth quarter with eight unanswered points and went on a 12-2 run to open up a 56-39 lead before Port Washington was able to go on a scoring run of its own. But the Generals' lead was too great even though the Vikings ended the game on a 13-5 streak, with all five of the MacArthur’s points coming at the foul line.
Quoteable: “We have Plainview next and we’re hoping that if we can play with this level of intensity and effort then the results are going to come," Dooley said. "And not just for our next game, but for the rest of the season. If we can work everyday like we did tonight then we’ll be happy with what the results will bring.”
Bottom Line: Port Washington’s scoring came in bursts with unanswered streaks of eight, seven and 10 points at different points of the game. However, MacArthur was more consistent throughout the whole game and were opportunistic of Port Washington’s turnovers.
Key Stat: After winning the opening tip-off, 6'3" center Kevin Roach scored 13 of MacArthur's 15 first quarter points.
Who’s Next: Port Washington at Plainview on Jan. 18, MacArthur at East Meadow on Jan. 18
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total
MacArthur
15
18
11
17
61
Port Washington
15
15
7
