Masuk Free Press

Masuk Boys Basketball achieved a 69-52 victory on their long awaited Senior Night against the Joel Barlow Falcons this past Monday. The game’s atmosphere was electric. As soon as the Junior Varsity wrapped up their own game against the Falcons, the black away jerseys of the five seniors were presented in the gym’s entrance, with a photoshoot of the seniors in their jerseys and as children to the right and gift bags along with an appetizing cake for the seniors to the left. Giant cardboard cutouts of each of the players’ heads were handed out to the student section, while the families of the seniors arrived with smaller cutouts of their own. Before the game began, the seniors walked onto the court with their families for a brief group photo, before huddling up and preparing to face off against the Falcons.

“We want to bring the seniors out, and let them celebrate their time here,” said Captain and senior Stephen Sentementes before the game. “[Senior night] means alot to me. I’ve been here four years, and I watched my brothers in this same spot too, so it’s kind of weird, but also kind of cool, now that I’m a senior.” 

While it should be noted that the Panthers are coming off a two game losing streak, the captains kept their heads high for this game:

 “Last week, we went zero and two, we’ve been high the whole season, so we just have to bounce back,” said captain and senior Alex Simoulidis. “Hopefully [we’ll] climb the rankings before playoffs.” 

The game began with an all-senior lineup of Simoulidis, Sentementes, Jayden Cassese, Christopher Welch, and Oliver Irving, and the seniors wasted no time getting their show on the road, starting with a layup from Simoulidis, followed by a few more buckets from other teammates to force the first timeout of the game. Simoulidis continued his opening attack with a three pointer to bring the score to 9-0, however the Falcons fired back with a run of their own, forcing the regular starting group of Saijon Gavin and Mitch DeBernardo to rotate back in for Welch and Casseese, and even though Simouldis kept the crowd on their feet with a steal, the following layup went in and out of the hoop, and was rebounded by the Falcons. 

The other Panthers saw this and decided to help Simoulidis make up for his miss, with Irving and DeBernardo both getting points down low, alongside a third layup from Welch that was called off due to time, leading to a 16-15 score to end the first quarter with Joel Barlow in the lead. 

The second quarter began with another layup from Gavin, which revealed how Masuk was working their offense against the Falcons two-three zone. Although they were breaking the press and getting the layups that they needed to keep up, they lagged on defense and suffered from travel calls. Then again, that didn’t mean that Masuk was giving up — DeBernardo did what he does best and drilled a three pointer to get the crowd up, and kept them up with a fastbreak layup. 

Ironically, Masuk was suffering on the defensive end with layups too; number 44 on Joel Barlow exposed weaknesses in the Masuk defense and exploited them for rebounds and points. This neck and neck play continued until halftime, with a 33-33 tie game to end the first half.

As the Panthers emerged from their locker room, they prepared to take back control of their senior night game. Sentementes deflected a shot from the Falcons, but on the next play, Welch came down with a knee injury. The Panthers would not let this fly under their radar, and whether it was intentional or not, DeBernardo answered back, getting fouled on a made layup for a three point play. However, the tides always turn quick in basketball, and after another and-one, he was hit with a technical foul. After the Falcons made one of two foul shots (and after a brief clock malfunction), Gavin committed a foul down low on Joel Barlow, and Coach Pete Szklarz called his first timeout. This timeout benefitted Masuk, with Simoulidis and DeBernardo continuing with effective three point and midrange shooting, but also other players contributing on the defensive end, lengthening the lead to 58-43 at the end of the third quarter.

Masuk had just turned on the jets, and they were ready to leave the Falcons in the dust. Cassese got a steal and narrowly missed a layup, but DeBernardo made up for it with a steal and layup of his own, multiple times. Welch returned with 6:07 to go in the fourth quarter, while the three pointers rained down from all the key players. The bench was put in as the lead continued to increase in the final 38 seconds of the game, and an eventful senior night ended with a 69-52 score for the Masuk Panthers. 

“I liked the second half much better. We played with energy, we were disciplined, and we moved the ball on offense,” said Coach Szklarz reflecting on the game. 

“These guys have dedicated their careers to this program for four years, they have put a lot of time and effort in, and I’m glad they’re able to come out here, play, contribute, and get this big win that will contribute to the playoffs.” 

This win was a good one for the team, finally giving them the bounce they needed to return to the court and hold their heads high, as playoffs loom for the basketball team later this February.