Boys basketball: Newburgh plays strong defense against gritty Middletown in win
NEWBURGH — The Goldbacks got out to a big lead, but it didn't slow the Middies down.
Newburgh Free Academy boys basketball defeated Middletown, 59-37, in a league game at Newburgh Free Academy Saturday afternoon.
Scores: High school sports scores for January 15
The Goldbacks had a dominant first half, holding the Middies to 15 points at halftime. Andre Crosby had 11 of his 13 points in the first half and shined on both ends of the floor. But the Middies kept crawling back.
Frank Dinnocenzio credited his team's defense for creating scoring opportunities, but he was not completely satisfied despite the win.
"Usually we score off our defense and they did a great job being real physical in the second half, so once they got physical, our guys kind of stopped for some reason, I'm not sure why," he said. "And then we started to force the issue. We had a couple of guys not do the right thing on the offensive side. It's one of those games where we won, but you don't really feel good about winning."
Middletown was without center Ziyade Ndancky, who has been a key part of his team's success this season. Despite being down by as much as 28 in the second quarter, the Middies played tough until the final buzzer, with some sparks from both Chris Cruz and Jermaine McCray. Two starters in Ndancky and Lynai Dunwoody will return next week for the Middies, according to coach Jim Kelly.
Newburgh Free Academy's Jah'Likai King, who scored a game-high 21 points, said with Ndancky being out, the strategy changed.
"We knew what they were going to do so we came out pressuring the ball, running our offense and just playing our role, and they knew what they had to do," King said. "We were focused on their big man, but he didn't play today, so we had to switch up the game plan."
Turning point
Middletown went up 4-2 early in the first quarter, but Andre Crosby knotted the score at 4, before Aidan Brown hit a 3-pointer, putting the Goldbacks up 7-4. They would hold the lead the rest of the game.
Player of the game
Jah'Likai King scored 21 points and was a force on the offensive end, showing great court vision. Andre Crosby also contributed on both ends, scoring 13 points and swatting away scoring opportunities from Middletown. Both players were critical to the win.
By the numbers
Newburgh Free Academy (5-1) — Andre Crosby added 13 points and had a few timely blocks on the defensive end. Deondre Johnson contributed 11 points and was strong on the boards.
Middletown (6-4) — Chris Cruz scored a team-high 11 points and Jermaine McCray added 10.
Quotable
"We're just playing our game, just doing what we do best and just playing Newburgh basketball." - Newburgh's Andre Crosby on what went well in his team's win.
"Our main guys played well. It's one of those games where you want to keep your guys in the game because it's getting late in the season, so you want to make sure that they have their legs and it's hard to get substitutes in and they're playing really hard." - Newburgh coach Frank Dinnocenzio on his team.
What's next
Newburgh Free Academy will hit the road and face Pine Bush for a crossover game on Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Middletown is scheduled to host Spring Valley for a non-league game on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.
MKramer1@th-record.com
Twitter: @MKramerTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Section 9 boys basketball: Newburgh's defense comes through in win
