Syosset Boys Basketball Drops Tight One to Farmingdale

Though the Farmingdale boys basketball team is composed of mostly underclassman, none of that inexperience showed up on Tuesday night.

The Dalers upset the Syosset Braves 63-55 at to earn their second win of the season. Dalique Mingo led Farmingdale with 16 points, while Mohammad Kassamali paced the Braves with 17. With the win, the Dalers move to 2-4 in Conference AA-I, while Syosset drops 1-5.  

After dominating most of the first half, Farmingdale let the lead slip away moments before heading into the locker room. A Mike Friedman basket gave the Braves their first lead of the game. The hoop was part of an 11-5 Syosset run that gave the home team a 28-26 advantage.

Youth and inexperience had seemingly come back to bite the Dalers once again.

“We told these guys at halftime that they were 16 minutes away from their season being over,” Farmingdale coach Jim Pastier said. “You’re not going to come back from 1-5. They needed this game and desperate things call for desperate measures.”

Taking the half time ultimatum to heart, Farmingdale played like a team fighting for its life in the second half. For a night, at least, they fit the role perfectly. The Dalers outscored the Braves 20-9 in the third quarter, opening up a 46-37 lead entering the final period.

The Braves struggled to find any sort of rhythm in the second half. A combination of not finishing at the rim and poor rebounding allowed the Dalers to score nine of the final 11 points of the third.

“In the second half, we didn’t rebound and we didn’t run,” Syosset coach Bobby Kopp said. “They go hand in hand. If you don’t rebound, you can’t run.”

Hero: Mingo - He responded when the Dalers needed him most. Mingo hit four clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter, stifling any chance Syosset had at a late-game run. The Dalers leading scorer had eight of his 16 points in the games final quarter.  

Turning point: Syosset cut the lead to four late in the fourth, but were unable to climb any closer. With his team facing a similar situation as they had in the second quarter, Mingo completed a three-point play to extend the lead to seven. This was followed by a Matt DiCarlo basket and two Jack Burke free throws. The lead was now 11 points and Farmingdale was on its way to a season preserving win.

 Quotable: “Our guys are very athletic,” Pastier said. “We start three sophomores and two freshmen. Basically, these guys are a JV team, people have to understand that. A learning curve has to happen. Mental breakdowns will happen, but they can’t let it happen again. These kids are as athletic as any kids we had coming through here. It’s just going to get better every game."

 “I thought Farmingdale did a good job of pressuring us, taking us out of our sets, getting us out of our spacing, and that caused problems for us,” Kopp said.

 Bottom Line: Nothing can cure the ills of a team like a win on the road. Farmingdale needs to use this win as a springboard for the rest of the season. They faced adversity and were able to fight through it. Experiencing that first hand and still climbing on the bus victorious should do wonders for this team. Clearly, it’s only the beginning for Farmingdale.

Syosset, on the other hand, has hit another speed bump. They now sit in last place in the conference. They need to get back to playing a style of basketball that lets them control the pace of play. That starts with rebounding. It needs to get better or the team will find themselves in half-court games, something the Braves are uncomfortable with.

 Key Stat:  Syosset hit eight three pointers. Farmingdale hit four.

Who’s Next: Syosset @ Uniondale Friday, 6:15pm; Massapequa @ Farmingdale Friday, 4 pm.

Team..............1.............2..........3..........4.......F

Farmingdale........12..............14...........20...........17......63 

Syosset...............10.............. 18............9............18......55 

Farmingdale: St. Simon 3-0-7, Burke 2-2-6, Mingo 5-4-16, Jenkins 4-3-11, Fosan 0-1-1, Pierit 2-4-9, Dicarlo 6-1-13. Totals: 22-15-63 Syosset: Friedman 3-0-7, Park 4-2-10, Luft 2-0-6, Laine 1-0-2, Kassamali 7-1-17, Capetta 3-2-11, Fried 1-0-2 Totals: 16-5-55 Three Pointers: Farmingdale: Mingo (2), Petit, St Simon Syosset: Kassamali (2) Capetta (3), Luft (2), Friedman