Shamrock boys drop a tight one to Dansville

On Thursday, December 19th, the Dansville Aggies visited Portland to take on the St. Patrick's Shamrocks. It was a hard fought game and close all the way, but the Shamrocks just couldn't pull it together, and lost 48-43. In the first quarter, the Shamrocks started out cold, but came back towards the end of the quarter losing the quarter 13-10. Connor Cross had 4 points, and John Schneider, Chase Fitzsimmons and Tyler Coyne all chipped in 2 a piece. The second quarter was a very similar outcome, with the Aggies extending their lead by winning the quarter 16-12. Sam Mauren and Seth Hoppes both put in 5 points for the Shamrocks and Ryan Lay added the last 2. This left the Shamrocks down 30-22 at halftime. The third quarter was a defensive struggle, with the Shamrocks locking down Dansville, holding them to 2 points, while St. Patrick's scored 9. Ryan Lay, Connor Cross and Chase Fitzsimmons all scored 2 points, and John Schneider put in a 3 to leave the Shamrocks trailing 32-21 heading into the fourth quarter. Dansville outscored the Shamrocks in the fourth quarter and held on for the win, beating the Shamrocks 16-12 in the quarter, St. Patrick's was led by two 3-pointers by John Schneider. Offensive leaders for the Shamrocks were John Schneider who had 11 points and 3 assists, and Connor Cross who had 10 points 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Coach Brett Pettit had lots to say about the game. "Overall I was proud of the way the kids played hard. We battled until the final buzzer. We keep getting better every game, and with more practice time we will be able to eliminate the small mistakes that are holding us back from having a very successful season. The kids made some tough shots, unfortunately, we turned the ball over too much especially early. That being said, I was proud of the way they were able to overcome a slow start and crawl back into the ball game and compete until the very end." The Shamrocks have a down time for Christmas Break, and return to the court on January 7th, at Bath High School at 7:30 pm.