Left to right, Eli Daglio scoops in a lay up for the Foxes. Arthur Shevick gets fouled. Will Oliverio leads a fast break for Fox Lane. Jim MacLean Photos
By JIM MACLEAN
It was a gritty battle back-and-forth all game long as Fox Lane hosted rival Yorktown on Jan. 10. The Foxes held a 39-36 lead heading into the final two minutes of play, but the ending belonged to Yorktown as the Huskers scored the final 10 points of the game to hand Fox Lane a 46-39 defeat.
Fox Lane had its chances, but the Foxes were unable to connect from the floor or the free-throw line on a cold shooting night overall and that made the difference down the stretch. With the loss, Fox Lane fell to 5-4 overall on the season.
“They’re a good team and they kind of took us out of what we wanted to do, but the shots were there and we just couldn’t make shots,” Fox Lane coach Mike Tomassi said after the loss to Yorktown. “We have to play a full 32 minutes and we haven’t done that. Until we do that we won’t beat the good teams. The talent is there and we just have to play a full game.”
Fox Lane is healthy as senior Evan Mayers returned to the starting lineup and scored the first five points of the game for the Foxes to get them off to a 5-3 lead, but Yorktown went on a 7-0 run and closed out the first quarter with a 12-7 lead.
The Foxes answered back in the second quarter as leading scorer Arthur Shevick got on the board late in the quarter with four points to make it 18-18 after a low scoring first half.
The shots started to fall in the third quarter for the Foxes. Trailing 23-19, Fox Lane went on a 9-0 run and closed out the quarter with a 30-25 lead.
Will Oliverio opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to give the Foxes an eight-point lead, but Yorktown answered back behind Ryan Duffy and Kaden Gonzalez.
Eli Daglio scored to give Fox Lane a 39-36 lead, but the Foxes didn’t score in the final minutes with missed layups and free throws as Yorktown took control and closed out the victory.
“We couldn’t hit a free throw and we practice that every day, a big part of the game and you leave 10 points on the line and that’s tough,” admitted Tomassi. “Defensively we were a little better, but we made too many mistakes on the defensive end. Offensively 39 points is not enough. We had to work for everything, and free throws and mental lapses on our end add up and that’s the difference in the game.”
Shevick led the Foxes with 12 points overall, but that was below his season average as the Huskers defense focused on shutting him down. Daglio finished with nine points, and Evan Mayers finished with eight points. Oliverio and Logan Mammola each scored three points, while Janak Bain and Mac Keller each scored two to round out the scoring, but the Foxes struggled to make shots all night long.
It was the second-straight loss for the Foxes after suffering a 61-55 setback on the road at John Jay/East Fishkill on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Fox Lane now stands at 5-4 overall with three games on the schedule this week. The Foxes were scheduled to travel to White Plains on Wednesday, then to Ossining on Friday, before returning home to host rival John Jay on Saturday.
“We have a group that is capable, but we have to find consistency and commit to play a full game,” Tomassi added. “It’s still early in the season and it’s what happens at the end, so we’ll get back at it. We’re going to keep getting better and they have to decide, do you want to be average or do you want to be really good. This team has that potential, but they have to commit to it.”