The Farmingdale boys’ basketball team (5-1) took on the Massapequa Chiefs (0-7) on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 6. A matchup against Massapequa in any sport is bound to be met with excitement in Farmingdale, and this game was no exception.
Farmingdale’s defense made a statement right out of the gate, getting an early steal and a big block by Kevin Petit-Frere. A layup by Curtis Jenkins got the Dalers on the scoreboard a few minutes into the game. Several layups and a three pointer by the Chiefs put them ahead early, 11-4.
Jumpers by Jenkins and Dalique Mingo, this season’s leading scorer, brought Farmingdale back into the game. The Chiefs led, 12-11, at the end of the quarter.
A jump shot by Pierre St. Simon to open the quarter gave the Dalers their first lead of the game. Two foul shots by Jenkins extended the lead to three points.
But a Massapequa three-pointer gave them a brief lead, and another basket gave them a 21-20 lead going into halftime.
Farmingdale’s defense came out strong in the second half. Mingo and Navreet Dhaliwal both came up with steals. Jack Burke drew a charge and Petit-Frere blocked another shot. The Chiefs continued to shoot the ball well though, hitting two shots from beyond the arc and three free throws.
Petit-Frere found DeAndre Fogan for a basket and Mingo scored after an offensive rebound to keep the Dalers in the game. P.J. Spadalik, coming off his best game of the season, hit a big three to tie the score at 32 with a minute and a half remaining in the quarter. Two foul shots by Massapequa gave them the lead, but Curtis Jenkins scored off an offensive rebound and made the following free throw to give Farmingdale a 35-34 lead to end the third quarter.
To open the fourth, the Chiefs made a three to give them a quick lead, until Jenkins made an impressive tip-in, with his extended, non-dominant right arm, to tie the score.
From there, Mingo and Petit-Frere took control of the game. Mingo made a layup and a free throw for a 40-39 lead. A Chiefs basket gave them the lead again, but they would not score again for another five minutes.
Petit-Frere hit a three and scored on an aggressive drive to the hoop to take back the lead for Farmingdale. Mingo added two free throws and a difficult layup for a ten-point lead. Petit-Frere made a tough turn-around, fade-away jumper to further extend the lead. On the next play, he stripped the ball at half court and threw down a two-handed slam as an exclamation point on the game.
The Dalers outscored Massapequa, 24-11, in the final eight minutes of the game and came away with a 59-45 win over their rivals. Mingo and Petit-Frere scored 11 points each in the fourth quarter. Mingo finished with 23 points and his counterpart Petit-Frere finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Jenkins scored 11 points and grabbed ten rebounds. The Chiefs, still in search of their first win of the season, were led by William Schich’s 23 points.
