This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Massapequa Boys Basketball Pull Out Big Win Over Syosset

Ryan Van Buren tied a season-high with 23 points in comeback win.

The Massapequa boys basketball team pulled away in the final quarter to defeat Syosset in a pivotal league game on Friday night to win, 64-53.

Senior Ryan Van Buren tied his season-high with 23 points for the Chiefs (9-2) and senior Matt Smocovich added his own season-high with 17 points. Junior Chris Park scored 13 points to lead the Braves (5-5).

With both teams coming off of a game against Oceanside, where Syosset won by eight in their lone league win thus far and Massapequa lost by a surprising 16 points, it seemed  anything was possible with these two teams.

Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Massapequa and Syosset played a tightly contested first quarter with the score tied at 12-12 after eight minutes. The Chiefs, who were without both Chris Husmann and Ian Walsh for the game, stuck around with the shooting of Smocovich to go into halftime down by just one, 28-27.

Syosset came out in the second half on a quick 5-0 run sparked by a three-pointer from senior Jacob Luft to open up the largest lead of the game for either team. That's when Van Buren showed up in a big way, knocking down a lay up plus a free throw followed by a jumper on the next possession to bring the Chiefs back in a big way.

Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Massapequa tied the game at 40-40 and eventually ended the third quarter up 48-43 after a buzzer-beater lay-up by Van Buren. Going into the fourth, Massapequa stepped up their defense on Syosset and would not let the Braves get closer than four points as they pulled away for the 11-point victory.

Heroes: It is clear that Van Buren was the deciding factor against a Syosset team who also lacks a bit of size in the frontcourt. The senior had 13 rebounds to go along with his 23 points, 16 of which came in the second half.

Turning Point: When Massapequa went down by six points early in the third, they did the exact opposite of what happened in the Oceanside game. When the Sailors opened up a lead, they pulled away even further, but when the Braves did so on Friday, the Chiefs made their adjustments and fought back with a 21-10 run for the remainder of the quarter.

Quotable: “In the second half, we defended better, ran the offense and took advantage of a few mismatches and that was the differences,” Massapequa head coach Marty Voigt said. “Late in the game, they have to have that competitive greatness. Now we just have to learn how to do that for the whole game.”

“We knew it was going to be a close game here,” Syosset head coach Bobby Kopp said. “I felt like we didn’t react to Massapequa’s physicality as well, especially in our half court sets. Hats off to them, they are a good team, well coached and hung in there to win.”

Bottom Line: Syosset has been somewhat of a surprise and has set themselves up to contend for one of the four playoffs spots at the end of the regular season. Massapequa is in a similar position themselves, and with powerhouse Uniondale losing their last two league games to Freeport and Hempstead, the doors have been pushed wide open for what should be an exciting race to the postseason.

Key Stat: With a shorthanded bench, Massapequa depended on their senior starters even more. The Chiefs starters scored all of the teams’ 64 points against Syosset. Both teams had three players in double-digits.

Who’s Next: Farmingdale @ Syosset, Jan. 18, 6:15 p.m.; Massapequa @ Farmingdale, Jan. 21, 4:00 p.m.

Team…………..1…..2…..3…..4   -   F

Syosset……...12….16…15…10….53

Massapequa…12….15…21…16….64

 

Reb.-Ast.-Pts.- S: Park 13, Laine 12, Luft 11, Friedman 8, Kassamali 6, Shangold 3. Totals: 53. M: Van Buren 13-4-23, Smocovich 8-3-17, Donahue 5-4-10, Fasulo 6-1-7, Young 5-8-7, Henderson 1-2-0, Schlich 2-0-0. Totals: 40-22-64. Three-Pointers: S: Friedman 2, Luft 1, Park 1, Shangold 1; M: Smocovich 3, Donahue 1, Young 1. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?