Masuk Free Press

 After a fun and successful fall sports season for Masuk, students were ready to get back into the winter games. Boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey are the two most popular winter sports here at Masuk, and in the past week, both teams had their home openers. The hockey team has had a steady start with all wins, but the basketball team has taken a little bit longer to organize themselves.

On Thursday, Jan. 8, the Panthers took on the Immaculate Mustangs at home. The opposing team has a record of 2-5, and Masuk has a record of 0-4. Most recently, the Panthers lost by just one point against New Milford on Jan. 6 at home, so they were looking to secure their first season win on Thursday. “We’re focused on playing the full 32 minutes this game,” said senior captain Saijon Gavin. “In our last game, we started off hot but took our foot off the pedal, and we learned from that going into today.”

At 7:00, Mr. Hourigan started off the night by announcing the teams, the Mustangs being called out first. Both teams took the floor, and the tip-off was the beginning of a game that the Panthers needed to win after 4 losses. Immaculate scored first, pushing through the paint with a layup. Masuk responded quickly, trying to get a 3-pointer, but unfortunately, it did not go in. Nate O’Hara tied it up quickly after with a layup. With a tie game and some time passing, it was clear that this game was not going to be an easy nor quick win for either team. With 4:25 on the clock in the first quarter, the score was only 4-4.

Immaculate was given two free throws with 3.4 seconds left in that first quarter, and it ended with a score of 6-9, Masuk trailing behind. After a quick talk with the team’s respective coaches, Masuk came in strong and fired up. With only 58 seconds gone in the second quarter, Masuk turned over the ball, and on the other team’s fast break into a layup, Saijon Gavin had an amazing block. After this point in the game, there were a lot of turnovers, baskets, and fouls from both teams.

There was 3:47 on the scoreboard, and the Panthers led the Mustangs by one point, and after some good plays by Masuk, Immaculate called a timeout with some high tensions between players. The second quarter continued with equal play by both teams, and Masuk had 12 points, trailing by only one point at the end.

Both teams grabbed their belongings and went into the locker rooms to talk with their coaches. “We talked about focusing on ourselves to limit our own mistakes,” said sophomore Matthew Boyle. “We had to keep the game simple, and that was what we tried to do in the last two quarters.”

Starting back up, Masuk had trouble finding someone to inbound to and, in turn, got a 5 second violation on the pass-in, so Immaculate was given the ball. The teams continued on with even scores and nothing notable occurring for a while, but eventually Immaculate was fouled by Boyle.

Soon after, there was a jump ball, and Masuk got possession of the ball. Players continued to fight hard for this game, both teams wanting to add a win to their record. With four minutes and 20 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, it was still tied 18-18, which highlights how much of an even game it was throughout. Shortly after, junior Owen Mok got a nice floater to take the edge. “I was motivated because of how sloppy the first half was,” said Mok. “The team and I wanted to capitalize on each possession and play hard through the end.”

Two minutes later, it was 24-20 with Masuk leading. In the last eight seconds of the quarter, O’Hara blocked a lob from an inbound, which helped raise energy levels for the Panthers. The Mustangs were starting to get frustrated at this point, which led to more timeouts being called in the fourth quarter.

With the back-and-forth fouls in this game, Boyle was one of many to be sent to the line in the fourth quarter, where he made one of the two shots he was given after being fouled. With 6:30 on the clock, Immaculate had taken back over the lead 31-28. With time dwindling, Masuk had to step it up in order to improve their record. Gavin, who had a huge part of this game, blocked another layup, but a Mustang got the rebound and ended up getting a basket, making the score 36-34 with 5:09 left. 

Towards the end of the game, there were many Masuk players who were in foul trouble, but it was the same for Immaculate. Gavin was able to get more blocks, which made Immaculate’s coach call yet another timeout. With 50 seconds left in the game, Masuk was beating Immaculate 48-41. After a few more turnovers, steals, and fastbreaks, Masuk took the win 51-43. Masuk will take on New Fairfield away on Jan. 12.