The boys’ basketball team had a decent regular season with the possibility of extending it further during its playoff run.

The Chiefs ended the season with a respectable 10-7 record, giving them the seventh seed in the playoff rounds. Massapequa first faced Hempstead, ranked tenth in the conference with a weak 6-11 record to end the season.

During the game, the Chiefs started strong, gaining a commanding 11 point lead by the end of the first quarter, maintaining their lead throughout the rest of the game.

Hempstead played sloppily on defense, surrendering 39 points by the end of the first half and committing an excessive amount of fouls, especially on senior Brandon Merklin, who scored 11 out of his 22 points from the free throw line.

The Nealis brothers, senior Sean and junior Dylan, scored a combined 18 points while Joe Perna also put up double digits with 10 points. The Chiefs went on to win the game 68-36, allowing them to advance in the playoffs.

The second game was not as easy as the first game, however, as the Chiefs played on Elmont’s home court.

Massapequa stayed close throughout the whole first half of the game, only down by one point at the start of halftime. The lead started to escape the Chiefs by the end of the third quarter, and so the Chiefs fell to the Spartans 54-40.

Foul shots made the difference in the game as the Spartans scored 15 points from foul shots alone. Spartans player Travis Robinson-Morgan proved to be dangerous at the free throw line, scoring half of his 20 points off of fouls.

“It’s just hard to defend [against] some guys and fouls are inevitable,” Massapequa senior, Matt Spinelli said. “And they hit their foul shots, which put us in trouble late in the game.”

Merklin and Nealis scored a combined total of 31 points, but the rest of the team could only score nine — a combined seven points from sophomore Bryce Paladino and senior Joe Perna.

As the season ends, Massapequa says goodbye to two high scoring players: captains Brandon Merklin and Sean Nealis.

“I’ve grown up playing with these guys since we were young,” Spinelli said, “but to see them emerge not only as the consistently talented players they always are, but also as leading sources of motivation for the team in practice and games, is what carried us to win some of our toughest games of the season.”

The team now will look towards junior Dylan Nealis and sophomores Bryce Paladino and Tom Amandola to lead next year’s team.