Somers Hits Wall in 50-39 Defeat to Pleasantville

Scroll down for crowd shots and photos versus Pleasantville

On Thursday February 12, Somers traveled to Pleasantville High School and battled back and forth with the Panthers for two and half periods. A 32-30 score resulting, the game changed on one very hot hand.

Nathan Barreto dropped 11 straight points before the quarter was over, and Somers never recovered in a 50-39 defeat.

The Panther was in on the ground floor too. After Declan Druder came up with a steal at half court and made a circus layup to start the game, Barreto sunk a follow on Pleasantville’s next possession.

Timeout for Somers at 5:41, the boys responded to the 5-0 lead. Ben O’Brien got to the line for two, Nico Quinones made a tightly contested layup off the glass, and O’Brien went long range to get the Tuskers going strong.

Chris Decker especially, the big center made the most of his half court steal. He exploded up the floor and thundered a dunk to move the Tuskers within one point.

Not done, Decker broke away again on another Panther miscue. Quinones pounced on the loose ball and blindly lofted the ball ahead. Decker ran under, and his layup gave the visitors an 11-10 lead at 2:10 of the first quarter.

Unfortunately, Pleasantville was not that impressed. Druder hit a pull up jumper and turned a defensive rebound into a coast to coast layup to close the quarter.

A 14-11 score, the slugfest continued. First Troy Rossi put Decker on the line with a perfect pass under the basket, Barreto hit a baseline floater, and seeing an opening, Kareef Martin left the defense in the dust for a one point game.

Not for long, Somers lent a hand for Pleasantville to get some separation. Barreto sank three from the free throw line after being fouled in the corner, and following an errant pass out of bounds by Decker, Druder got three points in one swipe for a 22-15 lead.

Now it was Somers' turn to not be impressed. Dan Hauser followed Decker’s layup, Julian Rosa threaded the Pleasantville paint for a 22-19 game, and Decker ended up on the line after his defensive rebound.

Two for two, Decker made Pleasantville double take on the other end. The big center pulled down Leo Keimig’s miss and then his own and put Somers back on top with the put back.

Forty seconds remaining in the second quarter, Somers had one last go before the break. After O’Brien pulled down Druder’s miss, Quinones kept his dribble alive at the foul line and found Decker underneath to close the scoring with Somers leading 25-22.

Onto the third period, Pleasantville jumped out of the box in response. They got to the line twice to tie the game at 25 and took a six point lead on a three from Connor Day and a pair of layups from Druder.

Five minutes left in third and Decker stepped up. Moving without the ball, he converted Keimig’s look underneath and then went the length of the court after rebounding on the defensive boards.

At 3:31, the mini burst was the last for Somers and Barreto did his thing. The Tuskers could only wince and were sent home with a disappointing loss.

Please Click the image for action shots.

Please Click the image for crowd shots of Somers fans

Please like Somers Somers Sports on Facebook

And

Please follow Somers Sports on Instagram

If you are looking for a photographer for any sport, at any level, I can be reached at [email protected] or by email at [email protected]

Thank you