Port Washington boys hoops team has eyes on ending 78-year Nassau County title drought

These Vikings have weathered the storm for 78 years.

The last time the Port Washington boys basketball team won it all in Nassau County was 1947.

However, you don’t have to scan a lifetime to see impressive hoops at the high school, as the top-seeded Vikings are making their third straight trip to the AAA title game after losing the previous two to Baldwin.

The Norse-named bunch will have its work cut out in Saturday’s championship when taking on a very tough second-seeded East Meadow juggernaut at Farmingdale State College.

For head coach Sean Dooley, snapping the drought would be a “cool anecdote” and “add to the story,” but this finale is all about the recent unfinished business.

“We’re just trying to get to that point where we’re the winning team,” he told The Post, adding his players don’t want to be known as the bunch who didn’t finally get over the proverbial hurdle.

For a slew of seniors who have played varsity since sophomore year, coming so close the past two seasons has mentally felt like 78 years.

“It would be nice to finally get it done now,” 12th-grade shooting guard Kenny Daly told The Post. “It’s so fresh in everybody’s head.”

The boys are buzzing

The 18-4 team is ready for whatever comes its way this weekend. The stoked squad was revved during a Wednesday practice in which even players on the sideline were at a fever pitch as they rooted on teammates.

Practicing and playing with fervor is something Dooley, Nassau’s AAA-2 coach of the year and 2023 New York state coach of the year, stresses big-time.

“Energy is something that you can control,” senior point guard Kenny Reyes said. “It’s much more fun” to play the game with spirit, he added.

Daly recalled a “slow start” against Chaminade during which Dooley called timeout to simply psych up the boys and snap the early funk.

“We came out and dominated the rest of the game,” Daly said of the 66-46 victory.

Dooley proudly says he “never has to ask for energy,” and team camaraderie is a dream come true.

“It’s 15 guys that all get along and support each other, and every guy is rooting for somebody else’s success,” he said.

From bus rides after wins to deli trips after Saturday morning practice, Reyes said the current group includes some of his closest friends — and that several recent alumni will be in the stands to pull for the team this weekend.

“Winning it for this whole town and our teammates who graduated, after all the support they have showed us the past three years, that would be the best moment for me,” forward Ryan Shanahan said.

However, there’s a much more significant motivator for the gang larger than the past 78 — or two — years.

“We want to win because we want to get back together the next day,” Dooley said of hopefully moving on next to the Long Island championship.

“The next time we lose is the last time we get together — and we don’t want to stop getting together.”

By air or by sea

Adding to the championship intrigue, 19-3 East Meadow has won out since losing to Port Washington, 55-44, in December. In January, the Jets won a rematch, which was also Port Washington’s most current loss, by a score of 57-47.

They, too, are chasing unprecedented glory as the 68-year-old school has never won a title, according to head coach Tom Rottkamp.

He said the team is a genuine “band of brothers,” with six seniors who have played together since sixth grade.

Their focus remains on sound fundamentals rather than the storylines surrounding the winner-take-all game, according to the coach.

“It doesn’t matter who you play,” said Rottkamp, who added there is mutual respect between the two schools. “You’ve got to win the game.”

And Port Washington is certainly not taking the Jets for granted, either.

“They’re a really good team,” Shanahan said. “We know we’re gonna have to battle a full 32 minutes on Saturday.”

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Stephen Collopy

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