By Mitch Abramson
The Knights' season has been a series of nail-biters, missed opportunities and crushing defeats. For second-year coach Pete Banta, it's been a season of ifs and buts.”We could easily be 8-3 or 7-4 right now,” said Banta, a 26-year-old resident of Queens Village who played basketball at Queens College. “We've had so many games that have been close that we haven't won. I told the seniors that they're letting it slip away. I just feel bad for them because they're going to graduate from here having never played in the post-season.”Lane (4-7) lost four games this season by four points or less. A quick recap of the season provides a window into a team that could easily have been gearing up for the playoffs if not for a couple of unlucky bounces or puffs of the referee's whistle.The streak of futility started in early December against Flushing in the second game of the season when the Knights found themselves down by 20 points.Lane came back in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win, said Banta, but Flushing won 72-68, putting Lane at 0-2 in the division and setting a pessimistic tone for the rest of the season.The Knights were 3-3, in position to make a run at a playoff spot when they hosted Bryant Jan. 9, a game that will live on in infamy in the minds of Lane's players forever.After leading by three with seconds remaining, Bryant hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied at 71. After the teams played to a standstill, tied at 80 in the first overtime, the undefeated Owls led by a point with five seconds remaining in the second overtime when Lane had a shot blocked as time ran out, losing 90-89.”You just tell the kids to keep believing,” said Banta, who admitted to speaking to former coaches at Queens College and at Floral Park Memorial High for advice. “When you let teams hang around and you put yourself in a hole, you're going to find yourself in these types of games. I just think we lacked a killer instinct to put teams away, and it came back to haunt us.”Instead of using the narrow loss to a good team as an elixir, Lane caught another bad break when starting point guard, Christ Richards was kicked off the team and suspended from school for disciplinary reasons, according to Banta.The season didn't stop there as Lane next traveled to Newtown, a school that was 0-7 and the victim of several close losses. The game Jan. 12 ended with the Knights losing, 57-54, on a three-pointer at the buzzer and the fans running onto the floor and piling on the players. It was another crushing loss for a team that could have changed their name to the Black Cats because of their run of bad luck.Newtown used the game as a catalyst, winning their next three games, while the Knights proceeded to lose another thriller to Forest Hills, 55-53, Jan. 14 at home when the Rangers hit a layup with 15 seconds left in regulation and Lane missed three shots in a row on the final possession to slip to 3-6. A loss four days later to Long Island City would cement their status as the most exciting team in the division not to make the playoffs.To their coach, the players put on a brave face at practice and in games, but to each other during phone conversations late at night, feelings of dread and remorse oozed out.”We would discuss what we could have done better when we lost,” said starting small forward Karl Louinis. “Every time we lost, we lost more confidence. It was almost like if we weren't winning by a lot, we were in trouble because we were afraid of messing up at the end of a close game. Everyone was afraid of making the mistake that would cost the game. It's been a tough season. You just have to keep working hard and hope you catch a break.”Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 130.
