McIntosh helps Floral Park edge Manhasset
Floral Park guard #11 Shamoy McIntosh, left, looks to drive past Manhasset #10 Anthony Amitrano, center, and #23 Alessandro Troia in the third quarter of a Nassau County varsity boys basketball game at Floral Park High School. (Feb. 11, 2011) Credit: James Escher
Floral Park's kick line walks in short, choppy steps when it comes on and off the floor for its routine.
It had to shuffle around like that Friday afternoon just to avoid bumping into anyone in the filled-to-capacity gym.
Once Floral Park completed its 46-42 win over visiting Manhasset in a Conference A-III boys basketball game, Shamoy McIntosh embraced his proximity to the fans. Especially when the student body stormed the court to celebrate the win.
Things weren't as simple during the game. Fans hovered over the teams, which sat in the front row of the bleachers, while coaches diagramed plays. Cheerleaders from each team squeezed into their corners, and, on the court, bodies flew.
McIntosh took the brunt of the hits, but performed better being jostled than while standing still. McIntosh, who scored 17 points, missed his first six free throws of the fourth quarter, but hit the last to make it a two-possession game with 3.1 seconds to play.
"I played the whole 32 minutes, so maybe my legs weren't there," McIntosh said about why he couldn't make a free throw down the stretch. "But I hit the one to clinch it."
His fruitless trips to the line didn't go all for naught. With 2:03 to play, McIntosh was hacked on a drive by Manhasset's Gary Tibbs, who fouled out on the play.
Alessandro Troia, who led the Indians with 12 points, also played the fourth quarter in foul trouble. He picked up his fourth with 5:16 to play.
"At times, it became an issue," Manhasset coach George Bruns said. "We didn't have our best club in there."
Floral Park (13-3, 10-1) faced its largest deficit at 35-29 when Troia picked up his third foul with 58.6 seconds left in the third. Tom Monahan and McIntosh hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie the score at 35.
McIntosh opened the fourth with a runner off the glass. Floral Park never trailed again - though a 3-for-10 at the line in the last 2:03 gave Manhasset (14-2, 10-1) two chances to tie.
"In my head, I'm thinking 'Are we ever going to make a foul shot again?' " Floral Park coach Nick Simone said, before adding, "Everyone at this game will be talking about it for a long time."
Because the teams are tied atop the conference with one game to play, they'll likely finish as co-champions. McIntosh doesn't care. He received the closeness from the fans he's been looking for.
"It was great when everyone stormed the court," he said. "I've spent four years wishing for that."
