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With the help of some timely three-point shooting, the Arlington Admirals defeated the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Presidents, 62-60, at the James J. McCann Center at Marist College on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Lighting up the scoreboard for the Admirals were Dave Neumann with 15 points, Andy Ziemins with 14, Vince Ross with 8, Dylan Britton, Ted Kurdziel, Dan Quartuccio and Carlos Santos, who each scored 7, and Sam Loussedes with 2.
For the Presidents, seniors Shareef Taylor and George Dallas each contributed 16 points, while Connor Hart had 11. Additionally, Sharief Warfield scored 8 and Craig Myers added 6 and Tevin Hurry scored 3.
Both teams kept the ball moving early, as the Admirals took a 10-6 lead with 3:38 left in the first quarter. Arlington called a timeout and FDR grabbed some momentum with a late-quarter three-pointer from Hart, his only trey of the game. The Admirals finished the quarter ahead 16-15, with the score indicative of how close the game would stay.
It was back-and-forth all night long, and Ziemins hit a basket to put the Admirals up 18-15 early in the second quarter. FDR rallied to take a 20-18 lead off of a basket underneath by Dallas and the Admirals countered with one of Ross’ two three-pointers in the first half. For the game, the Presidents converted four threes: two from Warfield and one apiece from Hurry and Hart. With a little over two minutes to go until the half, Dallas stole the ball from Loussedes and drove down the court for a 24-20 FDR lead, and the half ended with the score 27-24 in favor of the Presidents.
“We need to take our time on offense,” said Taylor, a co-captain, at halftime. “They (the Admirals) switched their defense to a 2-3. Before they were playing man-to-man.” Taylor heeded his own advice immediately in the third quarter, as he put his team ahead 29-24. Arlington’s Ziemins then scored underneath and Neumann followed with a basket, starting an 18-10 Arlington run in the third quarter and swinging the momentum of the game. By the end of the third, Arlington led, 42-37.
FDR made a game of it in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Admirals 23-20, but a Ross three-pointer at the seven-minute mark gave the Admirals a 47-40 lead. A Dallas steal and basket helped close the gap, but after an FDR timeout, a Ziemins basket restored Arlington’s seven-point edge, 49-42.
With 3:36 remaining in the fourth, the Admirals held a 53-44 advantage. After free throws from both teams, a Hurry three-pointer made the score 56-49 with 2:14 left in regulation. FDR tried fouling down the stretch, but Arlington’s free throw shooting helped the Admirals hang on for the 62-60 final margin.
Admirals head coach Matt Hoyt said he’s seen better defense from his team, but was confident about their overall performance.
“At halftime I told our guys, ‘Let’s just play our game, we’re a good team and they’re a good team,’” Hoyt said, noting that an all-around team effort was key to the victory.
The Admirals lost at John Jay 58-47 on Monday, Feb. 4. and were 12-5 with a game scheduled against Roy C. Ketcham on Feb. 6, after the Beat’s press time. The Presidents fell to 13-2 as a result of Saturday’s game.
“I thought tonight was going to be a good wake-up call for this group. We’ve been on a pretty good roll all year; it just goes to show that nobody’s perfect,” said Kevin Hart, FDR’s head coach, who cited speed and quickness as two culprits in the loss.
