On Friday, Dec. 10, in their first home game of the season, the Dalers’ boys’ basketball team hosted the Plainview JFK Hawks in a non-league matchup. Farmingdale came into the game with a record of 1-1, having beaten Wyandanch and lost to Copiague a week earlier in a tournament in Amityville.
The Dalers are fielding a young team this year, evident by the fact that each of their five starters in this game was an underclassman. Senior Heather Magro led the National Anthem before the game started.
Plainview JFK scored on the opening possession of the game, silencing the home crowd. The Hawks’ defense stifled the Dalers, holding Farmingdale scoreless until freshman Curtis Jenkins’ lay up put the home team on the board with two minutes left in the first quarter. The Dalers had missed easy opportunities, including several free throws, before scoring their first points. Sophomore point guard Dalique Mingo made two free throws after Jenkins’ lay up, but Plainview JFK led 8-4 at the end of the opening quarter.
The Hawks’ defense continued to frustrate Farmingdale’s offense in the second quarter, much to the displeasure of the Dalers’ fans.
A three pointer and a short jump shot by Mingo accounted for all of the Dalers’ points in the period. Farmingdale trailed 18-9 at halftime, with Mingo scoring seven of their nine points.
Farmingdale came out of the locker room ready to work their way back into the game. The Dalers began the third quarter of play with nine uncontested points, featuring a layup by sophomore Matt DiCarlo and his ensuing free throw.
A tip-in off of an offensive rebound by sophomore Navreet Dhaliwal tied the game up at 18. The Hawks came out cold in the quarter and took quite some time before scoring. Farmingdale took their first lead of the game and led 26-25 at the conclusion of the quarter.
The Dalers and Hawks battled it out in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Dalique Mingo came up with a steal, took the ball across the court, then made the lay up and the following foul shot to give the Dalers a 34-32 lead with under two and a half minutes to play.
Mingo added six clutch free throws in the final minute of the game to put it away for Farmingdale, winning 42-35. DiCarlo scored seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and sophomore Kevin Petit-Ferar scored 10 points for the Dalers. Farmingdale outscored the Hawks 33-17 in the second half for an exciting comeback and a strong win.
