Masuk Free Press

Many can say that Christmas came early for our Masuk Panthers, as they rolled right through Trumbull, as performances by junior Mitch DeBernardo and senior captain Oliver Irving helped Masuk as three-point shots just kept on raining from all players on the court Friday night.

For DeBernardo, playing at home was a catalyst for his performance.

“Home court gives us more advantage…when we have the home court behind us and everyone cheering us on, we know it gives us that extra boost that we need,” said DeBernardo.

DeBernado started off hot with the game’s beginning, as he recorded a block and then immediately got a bucket, scoring the first points of the season. Irving then cashed in a three-point attempt, followed by DeBernardo hitting three straight three-pointers, as he remained hot for most of the game.

“We have a different identity, and we’re gonna come out, bang two threes, and barbecue chicken from there,” Irving said.   

Their identity was definitely very different, and no one can really say Irving was wrong, except for the fact that way more than two 3’s landed for the Panthers. Trumbull would not go down that easy however, as Sean Wilson kept on powering to the basket, attempting to keep his team in the race, scoring what seemed to be easy baskets around the rim. As both teams kept on trading scores and displaying an array of celebrations, the energy on the court was immense. Players even interacted with opposing fans after cashing in big shots for their respective sides. As the first half winded down, senior captain Steven Sentementes hit a pair of threes along with junior Saijon Gavin registering five points. 

Last year, Trumbull got the best of Masuk. “This time around it’s a little more personal,” said Sentementes. A good start got the Panthers in great position to get that revenge. 

The second half began just as energized as the first as senior captain Alex Simoulidis started finding his groove, burying a three pointer. DeBernardo wasn’t as electric as his 14 point first quarter performance. However, a total of 10 second half points helped Masuk eventually come out on top. As for Trumbull, it was all Wilson for them, as no one else had as dominant of a performance. Late in the fourth quarter, DeBernardo hit a dagger three point ball, and Trumbull had to intentionally foul in order to stop the clock. Masuk cashed in on their free throws, and soon after, the Panthers rolled to a 1-0 start on the year, cementing themselves as a Grinch to Trumbull’s hopes of an early Christmas gift, winning 65-53. The Panther’s will look to keep heating up against St. Joseph. 

As for the rest of the season: 

“The tone of the season isn’t set by one game—it’s about consistency, effort, and building day by day,” said head coach Pete Szklarz. It seems that the Panthers are very motivated to make something happen this year.

“To keep it plain and simple, our goal is to win,” Simoulidis added, “[and] play competitive basketball throughout the whole year.”