Hundreds of Port Washingtonians packed Farmingdale State College Saturday night, hoping to see some history.
Some of them wore blue and white paint on their chests and screamed their lungs off from the student section. Others were parents and grandparents and interested locals, like Schools Superintendent Michael Hynes.
Not since 1947 had Schreiber High School boys basketball won a county title, and this team was their best shot in a long time. They’d won 20 of their 22 games this season, with a strong core of seniors backed by an excellent junior class.
The stars all seemed aligned for history to be made.
But unfortunately, the title drought will last at least one more year.
Undone by swarming Baldwin High School pressure defense and self-inflicted turnovers, the Vikings simply couldn’t score enough to stay in the game and lost 46-26 in the Class AAA title contest.
“It was like trudging through mud,” Port Washington head coach Sean Dooley said. “They threw everything they had at us, so many different looks, and we never could get going. No rhythm, nobody could do anything on offense.”
The final score was a bit deceiving, as the two offensively challenged teams stayed within six points of each other for the first three quarters.
Last year’s final between the two teams, played at Hofstra, was exceedingly low-scoring, with Baldwin nabbing a 45-39 win, but this one was even more starved for buckets.
With each defense swarming ballhandlers, clogging the paint and the referees letting a lot of contact go, each made field goal seemed like a minor miracle. In fact, the halftime score was only 16-10, Baldwin.
The Vikings (20-3) were their own worst enemy for much of the night, committing turnovers and missing sorely-needed breakaway layups, along with going 2-for-8 from the free throw line.
“We just never could get any kind of spark, like two baskets in a row,” Dooley said. “We’d score, then go 4-5 possessions with bad turnovers or missed shots. We could never string together enough baskets to really get going.”
Down six at the break, the Vikings kept it close in the third, with a Kenny Daly rebound and layup bringing them within 5, at 25-20.
But Baldwin, aiming for its fourth straight county championship, started to pull away in the fourth. Leading scorers Chase Timberlake (16 points) and Peyton Howell (12 points) began heating up, and the lead stretched to eight, 29-21 early in the fourth.
Port leading scorer, senior Trevor Amalfitano, never could get it going Saturday, as he made two field goals while battling foul trouble, finishing with five points.
When the senior guard picked up his fifth early in the fourth quarter and the Vikings down by six, things looked exceedingly bleak.
“My heart bleeds for that kid because this is now how he deserves to go out, sitting and watching from the bench the last five minutes of the game,” Dooley said. “He’s a special player and a special kid, and for the last three years he’s been so great for us.”
One last spark for the Vikings came on a John Spinoso 3-pointer (he led Port with six points) that cut the deficit back to five, but Port could get no closer, and for the second straight year had to watch the Bruins and their fans celebrate at mid-court.
Dooley, while of course frustrated, made a point to praise the crowd and community support he and his kids have received.
“It’s been awesome; so many messages of how great the season’s been, wishing us good luck, the whole town’s rooting for you,” he said. “We can’t thank them enough. We wish we could’ve given them something to celebrate.”
He also effusively praised the senior class for helping the Vikings reach two straight county title games.
“Just awesome,” he said.” Kids like Mac Tiger, Jake Chainani, who maybe don’t get the recognition or playing time, are still out here working so hard in practice every day. “They’re all a part of this and all helped us have one of the best seasons in Port Washington history. It’s very tough now, but we had such a great year and lot to be proud of.”
