Indians Fail to Hold Off Lincoln Hall at Tournament

MAHOPAC—The Mahopac High boys basketball team suffered a tough 65-63 loss to defending Section 1 Class B champion Lincoln Hall in the Putnam Challenge tournament Saturday at Brewster High School.

BASKETBALL
MAHOPAC 63
Lincoln	Hall 65

The loss in the non-league game dropped the Indians to 2-4.

Junior guard Ryan Wagner led Mahopac in scoring with 34 points. T.J. Foley, another junior guard, contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Indians had a chance to send the game into overtime, but missed a short jump shot at the buzzer. The fact that they were even close enough to have a chance to extend the game was surprising, considering Mahopac started the fourth quarter down 14 points. The Indians were able to come back and take a few leads, but could not hold on in the end.

The Indians had the lead at the end of the first quarter, 12-11. However, Lincoln Hall took a 37-26 lead into halftime and had a 49-36 lead after three quarters.

Mahopac coach Kevin Downes was impressed with the fact that his team was able to battle back and have a chance to win.

“I think they know what they have to do to get back into the game. I think there is something to be said for that kind of character,” he said.

One thing that Downes did not like was the inconsistency that his team played with. They played well for three quarters, but played poorly in the second, according to the coach. That is something that has plagued the Indians all season. “You have to be able to play consistently,” Downes said.

He was very impressed with the game that Wagner had. What makes it even more impressive about it is that the guard had twisted his ankle in practice the day before and Downes was not sure if he was going to play.

“Ryan Wagner was clearly the guy. It was his best game by far. He played really on one leg for most of the day,” Downes said.

He also credited Foley with having a good game and said that junior forward Robby Catalino and junior guard Kevin Carey also made important contributions by providing energy when the team needed it most.

The Indians play Lakeland on Friday on the road at 4:30 p.m. They face Carmel at home the next day at 2 p.m. Both are league games.