Massapequa Boys Basketball Suffer First Loss Of Season Against Uniondale

The Massapequa boys basketball struggled offensively and were defeated for the first time this season in a tough road game at Uniondale  Tuesday afternoon, falling 59-37.  

The Chiefs (5-1, 1-1) were led by senior Matt Young with 15 points and four assists, but were overmatched by the Knights (4-2, 2-0) and junior Shaquille Mosley, who was the games’ high scorer with 24 points as well as seven assists.  

Massapequa, a team renowned for their solid outside shooters, started off on the wrong foot against Uniondale, the defending Class AA Nassau County champions. The Knights started off on a 9-0 run, with the Chiefs’ first points coming off of a free throw from Young over five minutes into the game.  

Senior Ian Walsh put in the teams’ first basket a minute later after starting 0-for-15 as a team. Uniondale put up big numbers at the start of the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run as Massapequa failed to knock down another field goal going into halftime down, 25-10.  

With Massapequa looking to come out strong in the second half, Uniondale only got better, and faster on the offensive side of the ball, scoring 12 points in the first two minutes of the third. The Chiefs began to find their touch, going on an 11-2 run to close out the quarter, but remained down by 20 points to the County powerhouse.  

Mosley, despite standing just 5’ 7”, showed again why he is so dangerous for the Knights. The junior scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to help Uniondale open up their largest lead of the game en route to the 59-37 win.  

Heroes: Young was the lone Chief in double-digits on the day, posting 15 points while adding the four assists. Mosley carried the bulk of the Knights’ offense with his third 20+ point game of the season, including five three-pointers.  

Turning Point: Massapequa had a tough time gaining much ground back after trailing by double-digits early in the second quarter. Uniondale came out on their biggest run right from the get-go in the third quarter with the 12-0 run, and despite Massapequa going on a big run of their own, the lead was already too large to overcome.  

Quotable: “We came out flat, but the effort was there. We know we have to work harder in this league,” Massapequa head coach Marty Voigt said. “We need to change our ability to make shots in difficult situations. We have to believe in ourselves that the shots we make in practice are also going to go in during big games. That comes with experience.”  

Bottom Line: The keys to why Massapequa fell to Uniondale by 22 in this early league match up is simple. The Chiefs did not hit the open shots they are accustomed to making and the Knights won the rebounding battle on the boards from start to finish.  

Key Stat: Massapequa put in just two field goals in the games’ first 19 minutes before going on their offensive spurt in the third quarter. There was little the Chiefs could do with the Knights’ size in the front court and their touch from outside, getting outshot on three-pointers, 7-3.  

Team…………...1…..2…..3…..4  -  F

Massapequa….5…..5….14…13….37

Uniondale…...11…14…19…15….59  

Reb.-Ast.-Pts.: M: Young 3-4-15, Fasulo 2-0-2, Smocovich 3-0-7, Husmann 2-1-2, Walsh 4-0-4, Henderson 0-0-3, McGuire 0-0-2, Schlich 0-0-2, Donahue 3-1-0, Van Buren 4-0-0 Totals: 21-6-37. U: Mosley 5-7-24, Epps 11-5-14, Woodard 8-1-12, Posey 4-1-4, Reid 3-0-2, Robinson 3-0-3, Reid 3-0-2. Totals: 37-14-57. Three-Pointers: M: Smocovich 1, Young 1, Henderson 1. U: Mosley 5, Epps 2.