The MacArthur varsity boys basketball team used a pair of stifling defensive efforts to improve to 4-2 in league play and move closer to clinching the program’s first post-season berth since the 2011-12 season.
The Generals held host Mepham to nine first-half points en route to a 53-32 victory on Jan. 8. Two days later, MacArthur held Long Beach scoreless for the game’s opening nine
minutes, 59 seconds en route to a 52-40 win at Memorial.
With six games remaining, MacArthur (6-5 overall) already is within two wins of clinching a playoff berth.
Against Mepham, senior guard Jack Wall scored a career-high 12 points, including a three-pointer to close the first half that opened a double-digit lead. Senior guard Brian Perez added nine points. The 21-point margin of victory was the largest in a conference game for MacArthur since beating Herricks, 77-48, on Jan. 11, 2011.
Against Long Beach, the Generals raced to a 12-0 lead on senior guard Ryan Cunningham’s three-pointer with 6:15 remaining in the second quarter.
Long Beach eventually closed to within four points, but the Generals never trailed. Cunningham and Perez hit three-pointers 37 seconds apart midway through the fourth quarter as MacArthur opened a game-high 15-point lead.
Cunningham finished with a team-high 15 points. Perez contributed a season-high 13 points. Senior forward Greg Baumstein and junior forward Jared Wolfe had eight points apiece.
MacArthur’s next home game is Jan. 20 at 6:15 p.m. against Calhoun.
