West Hempstead aims for better results

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Finding the win column on the basketball court has been difficult for West Hempstead over the past few seasons, and things have not gotten any easier for the Rams in 2018-19. The team has an overall record of 1-10, 1-4 in Conference A-5 play.

Without a true go-to player or consistent scorer, the Rams, once again, struggled through a difficult non-league schedule, falling to the likes of Oceanside, Carey, Valley Stream North, Hewlett, Manhasset, and Port Washington. Senior Michael Parnell scored 22 points in a losing effort against Port.

While turnovers have been a big factor in the Rams lack of success, it’s hard to point to one facet as an underlying reason. “We seem to do just enough to hurt our chances of winning games,” West Hempstead head coach Ed Cosgrove said. “It’s not like we’re getting blown out of the gym. One night it’s our defense that’s lacking, another night it’s foul trouble. It hasn’t been just one thing that’s kept us from succeeding.”

After dropping their first six games of the season, the Rams finally finished up on top when they knocked off visiting Friends Academy, 55-47, right before the Christmas break. Parnell scored a career-high 24 points, and Duane Bernard added 13 points while dishing out four assists. Senior forward Angel Garcia pulled down 16 rebounds.

Despite playing with an injury to his shooting hand, hard-working senior forward Kobe McMillan put forth a tremendous effort in a 61-57 loss to a strong Mineola five. McMillan scored a career-high 22 points, but the Rams fell just short of carrying out the victory.

“Honestly, there’s no dominant team in the conference,” Cosgrove said. “Every game is winnable. The Mineola game was competitive throughout, but we had a bad third quarter. Our defense was much better than it had been.”

When the Rams hosted first place Locust Valley, a team that is yet to lose a conference game, they gave the Falcons all they could handle, but again were narrowly defeated 52-43. Parnell (12) and Bernard combined to score 23 points. The Rams outscored Locust Valley in the three of the four quarters.

Bernard, who is averaging 11 points per game, had a big night when Island Trees came to town. The junior guard hit for a career high with a 19-point effort, but a slow start put the Rams in an early hole, and the Bulldogs hung on for 63-51 win.

Cosgrove hopes his team can bounce back when it faces league foes the second time around. “We have to just keep working at getting better, and take one game at a time,” Cosgrove said. “We’re going to keep on pounding home the same message we’ve been sending. We need to play solid defense and limit the opponent’s opportunities, and take care of the ball and execute better on the offensive end.”

West Hempstead will be back in action this Saturday morning at 10 when it welcomes in Clarke.