Manhasset High School's boys varsity basketball team had two big games last week, against the pre-season second seeded Roslyn and first seeded West Hempstead. The Indians fared well by splitting the week, in losing to Roslyn in a tightly contested 66-59, while beating West Hempstead last Friday night in a wild and tough game, 54-51.

Against a widely talented Roslyn at MHS, the Indians broke out to a fast start, as guard Scott Madison (11 points) was on fire early. He hit three 3-pointers, and the last was about 28 feet from the basket. Center Frank Coughlin (23 points) had strong moves to the basket and got the Roslyn defender and strongest player on the bench in early foul trouble in the first half, which helped the Indians break out to a 29-25 halftime lead.

The third quarter showed the Indians extend their lead to seven, as Coughlin continued his scoring (including 7-8 from the foul line), and was assisted on the boards and scoring by forward Marcello Barrera (12 points) and swingman Patrick Judge (13 points). The fourth quarter was a different story though, as it seemed the Indians tired and Roslyn, now at full strength, came alive with their offense, outscoring the Indians 24-9 in the period, and handing a conference loss to the Indians.

Friday night, at MHS, was a far different game though. Another big game as far as playoff seeding go, the Indians hosted a highly touted West Hempstead (WH) team. From the start, the Indians had trouble controlling WH speedy defense and had multiple turnovers and trailed 10-3 early. WH has a potential D1 college player and talent in guard Akeem Bennett, and he got off to a hot start, and scored 18 points in the half. This, combined with some unusually poor officiating that continued throughout the contest, put the Indians in a big hole as the first quarter ended 18-8.

The second quarter started with more of the same, until about three minutes in, and the Indians now down 26-10. At that point, things changed. The Indians Patrick Judge (19 points) hit a 3-pointer, then another, then a drive, then another 3-pointer, for 11 straight points, bringing the Indians back to 26-21. You could see the air come out of WH somewhat, and the game was on. Judge would finish the quarter with 17 points. Point guard Eric Fitzig focused the team, Frank Coughlin (15 pts) and Marcello Barrera (14 points) ripped rebounds, settled the Indians down, and the halftime score was WH in the lead 32-27.

The second half was very intense, as the Indians kept chipping away at the lead with Coughlin making very strong moves across the lane for a combination of lay-ups, sky-hooks and running one-handers that WH could not defend. When he didn't have the ball, it was Barrera and Judge who defended against WH's Bennett, shut him down in the second half. Barrera hit the offensive boards while Judge and Coughlin got the defensive

rebounds. The Indians led after three quarters, 46-44.

The forth quarter was equally exciting as the lead was exchanged a couple of times, then a fifth foul call against Fitzig put senior Cody Stack into the game in a tough assignment. Guide the Indians the last three minutes against the quick WH pressing defense in a tie game in a much-needed conference battle. He did great! Barrera gave the Indians the lead with two foul shots 52-51, and WH missed two shots. The Indians came down court and Stack was fouled and went to the line in a one and one situation with 20 seconds to play. He missed the first shot, but Barrera tapped the rebound back to Stack, who was fouled again with 17 seconds. This time he hit both shots! WH came down and missed, and the Indians had a huge victory, 54-51, and a 6-3 record.

The next home games are Friday, Jan. 13, vs North Shore, and Thursday, Jan. 26 hosting Garden City. Both games will be at 7 p.m.