One win away.
One measly win.
Thirty-two minutes of great basketball is all that separates the Port Washington boys basketball team from glory, and a place in town history.
Once again, using a tenacious defense and a different leading man on offense, the Vikings pulled away from Jamestown in the fourth quarter Thursday night in the Class AAA semifinal in Binghamton and won 50-39.
Port Washington closed the game on a 15-4 run and now gets to play Shaker High School (from outside of Albany) for its first state basketball crown ever.
The game will be Friday night at 7:45 p.m. and will be streamed on the NFHS website; Finn McCool’s will also be holding another “watch party” for the title game.
A bunch of kids who have known each other and Dooley since their days at Sousa Elementary, when he taught them physical education, are on the cusp of immortality.
“It’s still surreal, just like it was when we won county and then Long Island,” coach Sean Dooley said by phone from Binghamton. “We came out a little nervous, but nerves don’t affect defense, and our defense was there for us all game.
“We just need to do it for one more game.”
The Vikings (21-4) are still playing thanks in large part to senior Kenny Daly, whose turn it was to be the leading man. After Port Washington fell behind 7-2 early and appeared a little rattled, Daly helped spark the Vikings attack. He scored a game-high 23 points, including 13 in the first half, to help settle his team down and play from ahead for most of the game.
“My teammates got me the ball and I made a few easy baskets, and once you do that, you just play with more confidence and I felt great with my shot,” Daly said.
Jamestown was in the state final four for the third time in the last four years and has made two state championship game appearances, so it was understandable that they came out more comfortable. Plus, the game was delayed by about an hour thanks to the other AAA semi going to overtime.
In the second quarter, Port really started rolling. Daly and Izaias Clemmons (12 points and 12 rebounds) were huge, but it was the pinpoint passing of guards Billy Edelstein, Cole Reyes and others that kept the offense flowing.
The final play of the second quarter gave Port Washington a lift, as Daly made a steal, then Kovar took a long pass from Shanahan and sank a layup as the buzzer sounded.
“It was just like, we settled down and played our best half of basketball, and we just need to keep doing it,” Daly said. “We have total confidence in ourselves.”
In the third quarter Port Washington started out hot, and extended to a 31-21 lead early in the period. But Jamestown (19-3 coming in) didn’t go away, using a 7-0 run to get back in the game, and at the end of three the Vikings led by only 3, 35-32.
But in the fourth, Clemmons and Daly dominated. A rebound and putback by Clemmons put the Vikings up for good, 38-37, and the defense took over from there. When Daly made another steal and hit a driving layup to make it 44-39 with 1:33 left, the Port fans in attendance went wild. Reyes hit four free throws in the final minute, and the victory was sealed.
“Our goal was to get to the last game of the season, and now we’re here,” Dooley said. “We’ve talked about it, and now it’s real.
“So let’s go win this last one.”
