Senior forward Kevin Roach produced the biggest offensive outburst by a MacArthur boys basketball player in five seasons and the Generals flirted with an upset against one of Long Island’s top teams before losing to Baldwin, 73-61, on Jan. 6.
MacArthur nonetheless had another successful week that included a 57-38 win against Port Washington. The Generals moved to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in Conference AA-II. They return home to face East Meadow on Friday, Jan. 13 at 6:15 p.m.
Roach had a career-high 30 points as well as 20 rebounds against Baldwin. It was the largest output by a General since Mike Gattus scored 35 points at Rosyln on Dec. 4, 2006.
Bidding for the school’s first win against Baldwin since 2005, the Generals took a 28-27 lead into halftime. Baldwin, which remained unbeaten in league play, led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but MacArthur hung around and threatened late.
Senior guard William Cheshire, who finished with 15 points, nailed three three-pointers in a 2:22 span late in the fourth quarter. MacArthur then pulled within 65-58 with 55 seconds remaining as Roach capped his performance with a pair of free throws.
Against Port Washington three days earlier, junior forward Andrew Seniuk scored a career-high 16 points off the bench and Cheshire contributed a game-high 18 points. After Port Washington scored the opening seven points, MacArthur went on a 14-2 run that was sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Cheshire as well as two interior baskets from Roach.
Two minutes into the second quarter, Port Washington pulled even at 16, but the Generals answered with a 10-0 run. MacArthur opened its first double-digit lead with 2:49 remaining in the first half as Cheshire produced his second steal and layup in a 17-second span.
Seniuk drilled a series of baseline jumpers in the second half to double his former career high — an eight-point performance Dec. 9 against Island Trees in the Jeff Shaw Memorial Basketball Tournament championship game.
