Masuk Free Press

Masuk Madness was all the talk on Panther grounds, as for the first time in a very long time, both the girls and boys basketball teams hosted a home playoff game in the state tournament. The boys were hosting the Amity Spartans in the state tournament. The school’s pep rally on Friday had students riled up, and the Panther’s student section was all black, as intended. However, as the home competition commenced at 7:00 on Mar. 1 between the Masuk Panthers and the visiting Amity Spartans, trouble arose quickly. 

The Panthers were coming off of an infamous, heartbreaking loss in the SWC tournament, losing on a last-second half court heave. The shot was unexpected, impressive, and a little lucky. So much so, it was posted by House of Highlights on Instagram, and was even in the Sports Center top 10. As one can tell, this shot was demoralizing for the Panthers, and their focus was both for it to not happen once more, and to be in the driver’s seat of the game for its entirety. 

“We just can’t let them hang around for that long again,” said senior captain Steven Sentementes, “that last shot we couldn’t really control at the end but, everything else before that we could, we just gotta play through it and hang around.”

Nevertheless, attempting to get ahead and stay ahead was also a large focus. 

“Well, our team really emphasized that it was a tough loss, we fought hard for that game,” said junior Saijon Gavin, “but, in this game preparation we’ve been focusing on wiping teams out early, starting off strong, so that we could finish out with an easier journey.”

The Panthers did in fact start off strong, as at the end of the first quarter the score was 15-10 in Masuk’s favor. An intense defense and fast paced offense, led by all-colonial guards and captains: Oliver Irving and Alex Simoulidis, kept the Panthers above in points. 

Quarter two included much of the same, inclusive of contributions from all-conference guard Mitch DeBernardo. More defensive displays from the Panther’s led to buckets in transition and on the fast break. Masuk’s run was too much for the Spartans, as midway through the quarter, they called a timeout to talk things over. 

The Spartans came out different after the timeout, as they slowly began to climb back.  The half ended with a score of 27-22, still in Masuk’s favor. 

The increased defensive intensity along with a striking offensive game plan has been the Panther’s way of success all season long. Head coach of the Panthers, Pete Szklarz, wanted this to be in full effect that night.

“I want to continue playing the way we’ve been playing all year, playing fast, playing aggressive defense,” said Szklarz. 

This game plan was achieved for the first half, but it was the second where the Panthers would eventually lose this game. As the second half began, Simoulidis and DeBernardo hit a pair of 3s, but Amity kept it close. The score was now 33-28 midway through the third quarter. Amity then took the lead, and all of the sudden they were on a 12-0 run, putting the Panthers in danger, bringing the score to 40-33 in Amity’s favor. 

A timeout was called by the Panthers to regroup and attempt to get back in the game, but Amity showed no remorse, as they continued their run. At the end of the third quarter, the score was an astonishing 47-34 in Amity’s favor. The Spartans went on a whopping 19-1 run. 

Masuk’s success in the first half became their weakness in the second. They had trouble defending in a transition as Amity kept pounding and pushing the pace. Masuk’s stars went cold at the worst time. Throughout the fourth quarter, Amity did not step on the breaks one singular moment. Masuk did eventually start to crack through and score some points, but it was too little too late. Amity ended up defeating the Panthers, 70-54. 

The Panther’s season came to an unfortunate end. However, their regular season record was very impressive and they were able to add on some individual accolades as well. After two heartbreaks in a row, it’s safe to say that Masuk Madness indeed ended in sadness.