The Manhasset High School boys varsity basketball team has split its last four tough conference games and as they look to finish second in their conference and make the Nassau County "A" Playoffs, with an away game at North Shore and a final home game against Seaford.

The past four games have been a roller coaster for the Indians, starting with the Garden City game at MHS. The Indians had beaten Garden City by 12 in December and expected more of the same, especially at home. The game began with the Indians dominating and scoring with ease. Scott Madison (14 pts) had four 3-pointers and Patrick Judge (10 pts) tossed in three 3-pointers, most in the first half as the Indians jumped out to a 30-23 start.

However, the Indians have shown to be a streaky team on offense this year, and this game was no exception, as the Indians went cold and gave the Garden City squad a chance to get back into the game. The Indians continued to have trouble getting points on the scoreboard and Garden City caught and passed the Indians with one minute to play, despite a very rare 4-point play by senior Chris Zaccherio, who hit a 3-pointer, got fouled and hit the foul shot. It wasn't enough for the Indians who came up short, 50-47 and dropped the Indians conference record to five wins and two losses.

With an 18 game schedule, there is no time to worry about the past, so a couple of days later, the Indians traveled to Roslyn for a re-match of the early January loss at MHS. This was one of the most hard fought games, played with such intensity by both teams, that it was a pleasure to watch, from beginning to end. Roslyn led 14-13 after quarter one, but it was clearly going to be a dogfight. The Indians greatest weapons this year, a balance and teamwork, were never more prominent. Four players scored in double figures for the game. Marcello Barrera (14 pts) and Frank Coughlin (11 pts) took it to Roslyn with hard drives and soft touches on their shots. Scott Madison (10 pts) canned a couple of long 3's and the Indians went up 26-22 by halftime, against the first place Roslyn team.

The third quarter saw Roslyn come out ready for the kill, and the Indians seemingly realized just how good the opposition was. Roslyn passed the Indians by as much as five, until point guard Eric Fitzig (11 pts) took over. It successive plays, spanning the end of the third and beginning of the fourth period, he hit a 25 ft. 3-pointer, drove full court for an acrobatic lay-up in traffic, banked another short jumper, then was fouled shooting and dropped in both free throws to put the Indians back into the lead at 44-43. It was quite an effort by Fitzig and a lift the Indians desperately needed.

Still, Roslyn was tough and with 12 seconds left in the game, the Indians found themselves on the verge of losing to Roslyn 53-52. Roslyn then threw an inbound pass, trying to run out the clock, which was stolen by an alert Patrick Judge (8 pts), who grabbed the ball, spun to the basket and hit the driving lay-up with seven seconds to play. Roslyn threw away another pass and the Indians had defeated the conference leaders, 54-53, and bettered the MHS record to 6-2 in the conference.

The next game, 48 hours later at a tough West Hempstead, saw the Indians drop a very rough and physical game, 63-58. Akeem Bennett, the best pure basketball player in the conference and possibly in Nassau County, scored 31 points, which is his average. The Indians played tough throughout, and were down by only two points with 30 seconds to play. Judge led Indian scorers with 16 points, followed by Chris Zaccherio coming off the bench for 10 points. After the key Roslyn win, this outcome was disappointing, however, the Indians effort has been tremendous all season long, often in underdog roles.

The fourth game in eight days saw the Indians host Lawrence HS in another re-match of a one-point victory (the Indians have earned 4 one-point victories this year). This time, the Indians jumped out fast and a 9-2 spurt from the start, and a 11-8 lead at the quarter. At halftime, it was evident that the Indian defense was leading the way, as a good shooting Lawrence team just could not get open against the aggressive denial defense of Fitzig, Judge (12 pts.) and Madison, and the box-outs and rebounds of Coughlin (10 pts.), Barrera (9 pts.) and Anthony Tompkins.

The Indians extended their lead in both the third and fourth quarters, and finished the game with a 44-31 victory, a 7-3 conference record, and 11-5 record overall. With two games left in the regular season, the Indians are assured a playoff spot and hope to win the final two games and get a strong seeding for the playoffs.

The next and final regular season home game is Monday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. This is also Senior Night and CYO Night this year. The Indians will be playing yet another re-match, this one of the Seaford game where Marcello Barrera hit the game winning 24 foot shot at the buzzer. Should be fun.