Monday night, the Masuk varsity boys’ basketball team faced the Bunnell Bulldogs on their home court in the David Strong gymnasium. The game, ending with a score of 62-57, was a loss for Masuk after a two-game winning streak against New Milford and the Panther’s rival Newtown.
Masuk players Owen Smith, Matthew Domenichelli and Greg Nivison all contributed to a score of nine points for Masuk in the first quarter. Despite this, a total of four three-pointers and three two-pointers from the Bulldogs left Masuk trailing 18-9 at the end of the first quarter.
“I think we played really hard. Our shots were not far but that’s because they were just hitting everything. We gotta close out better on shooters. Especially that one guy who was hitting threes in the corner,” said sophomore Stephen Sentementes.
Masuk did not maintain a tight defense in the second quarter, allowing Bunell to score an additional four three-pointers. Sentementes, Newson, Domenichelli and Micheal Cafaro all scored two-pointers in the second quarter that closed with a score of 34-23.
The third and fourth quarters were followed by an additional two three-pointers from the Bulldogs and one three-point shot from Masuk player Smith.
“We are looking to improve on our shooting. Our shooting hasn’t been great directly, especially the three-point shooting,” Sentementes stated.
The Panthers held on to close the game but left with a loss of 62-57. Newsom and Smith were among the top scorers in the game with Newsom scoring a total of 14 points and Smith scoring 13 points.
Masuk is now 7-7 and dropped to 11th place in the southwest league since their game against New Milford. The Panthers have five league games left in their 2023 season. On Thursday, Feb. 2nd the team will face the New Fairfield Rebels. Make sure to support the Panthers in the David Strong gymnasium this Thursday!
Masuk Free Press 