The boys’ basketball season has come to an end, but it’s not bringing down our mighty Dragons. The boys’ have been playing their hearts out this season, with games against Petrides, Curtis, McKee/Tech, Wagner, New Dorp, Port Richmond and Tottenville high schools.
On January 7, the boys started their second half of the season in an uproar against Petrides. The boys pushed through four intense quarters to end with a final score 69-64.Sophmores Christopher Frank and Quamaine Tomlin scored 20 points to help make up for poor foul shooting.
The boys’ next game was on our home court against Curtis. The game ended with a score of 69-26 in favor of Curtis. With height on Curtis’ side, it was a rough game for the Dragons. Yet, sophomore Quamaine Tomlin scored a total of 13 points by the end of the fourth quarter.
McKee/Tech was the boys’ next challenge, and the Dragons played a phenomenal game. McKee/Tech expected the game to be a blow out, but our boys gave it their best effort and kept McKee/Tech on their toes. Despite the loss, the boys played good defense and incredible offense.
In the third quarter the boys were up by four, and were easily breaking MSIT’s press.
Our Dragons were able to keep the lead into the beginning of the fourth quarter, but only by one point. Yet, with an aggressive offense from MSIT, the boys were down by four in the last three minutes. With the fourth quarter coming to an end, MSIT made a last minute surge to end the game 83-63.
“I feel that if we play harder on the court, we can do much better,” said Tomlin.
On January 18, the boys won, this time against Tottenville. But this game was by far the most intense of the season.
The game began with our Dragons down, but the boys bounced back at the end of the second quarter, taking the lead by three.
With a half time confidence boost, the boys had a mind set to win. At the end of the third quarter, the teams were tied 48-48.
Then when the fourth quarter came, it was blow for blow. The Dragons and Pirates went back and fourth. A time out was called, and the boys came up with a play that helped them win the game.
Freshman Brandon O’Keefe passed the ball to sophomore Quamaine Tomlin. With 4.1 seconds left, Tomlin scored the winning shot of the game.
“Coach said to get the ball in to Chris Frank, but he wasn’t open. I saw Quamaine open, and I just threw him the ball, and he made the layup to win the game,” said O’Keefe.
Not only was the team excited, but the crowd rushed onto the court and cheered for the Dragons who won 69-68.
“It was an extremely well played game by both teams, and I am happy to see the boys hard work finally pay off,” said Athletic Director Dennis Barrett.
The boys played Susan Wagner on January 20 and though they played hard in the end, it wasn’t enough. With the score at 35-22 at half time, the boys came into the second quarter with there heads still held high. Sophomore Joseph Ojo worked hard to score a total 11 points that game. The final score was 60-35.
The boys’ next game was January 22 against New Dorp. With the freshman team beating New Dorp, the crowd had high hopes for the varsity team. Tomlin led the team with 17 points, but it wasn’t enough to win. The boys lost 74-42.
Then, on January 29 the boys had their first home game against Port Richmond. It all started with our Dragons ahead by double digits in the first few quarters, but by the end of the fourth it didn’t look good. Port Richmond was able to come back and score 25 points in the fourth while the Dragons only scored sixteen. Even though the boys gave it their best effort, it wasn’t good enough and the final score was 69-59.
February 1 marked the end of the season for the boys’ basketball team. The Dragons last game was up against Tottenville, and the Pirates were definitely looking for revenge after their previous loss against our mighty Dragons. With an intense game and hard work the boys did their best, but lost by nine points with a score of 69-50.
The boys ended their season with a standing of 3-10 with victories against Petrides and Tottenville. With a good season and hard work, the boys are bound to do great things next season.
