The Wallkill boys’ basketball team was so close, the Panthers could taste a victory over the Marlboro Iron Dukes.

However, the Panthers couldn’t curb the Iron Dukes’ comeback and found themselves heading home with a 66-63 loss on Friday night.

“It was great, and we’ve been playing a lot of teams tight that are more experienced,” Wallkill coach Hunter Andrews said. “We have two freshmen, two sophomores on the team. It’s great that we’re competing and I’d love to win a few of these.”

Wallkill (4-10, 2-5 MHAL) nearly got this one, taking a 7-point lead into the third quarter. However, the Panthers were whistled for six fouls in over two minutes to open the quarter.

During that stretch, Marlboro cut the lead to four points.

“It turned the game really quick, and I’ve been rotating my big guys a lot lately,” Andrews said. “They’re going to foul and I’m OK with their aggressiveness, but that definitely changed the course of the game.”

The Panthers maintained a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but Marlboro’s Giovanni Tamburri scored six straight points to give the Iron Dukes (11-5, 6-2 MHAL) a lead they would never relinquish.

“I thought we played well for 30 minutes,” Andrews said. “Marlboro’s a really tough senior-laden team. We executed for most of the game. Defensively we let them get into the game in the last few possessions there. That’s the difference.”

Wallkill was carried by freshman Matthew Shea and senior captain Demetress Wilson, who scored 21 and 18 points respectively.

“Matt has been phenomenal all season,” Andrews said. “He’s a freshman and he’s been locking in on the defensive end. I’ve been so proud of him all season.”

Marlboro had three players in double figures, led by Daniel Rusk’s 20 points. A.J. Musacchio scored 14 and Tamburri added 13.
Wallkill will visit New Paltz on Wednesday.

“We’re making our strides,” Andrews said. “We still have five games left and we’re going to try to make the most of our opportunities.