BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, BK-It was rough going for both the Berkeley Carroll Lions’ JV and Varsity basketball teams. Each had days to forget in losses at ACIS league rival Packer in Brooklyn Heights yesterday.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Coach Mike Kubera’s Varsity fell to Packer 56-33. Once again, they were undermanned with starter Cole Kitchen done for the season due to a broken bone in his right foot suffered Monday. Also out serving a one-game suspension due to an ejection in a St. Ann’s home loss was Joe Martinez. Even with starter Walker Harrison returning from sickness, the Lions had only seven which didn’t bode well against a deep Packer squad sitting in second.

Not surprisingly, veteran coach George Boutis rested his top starter due to the discrepancy. His other charges fared well building a 30-6 first half lead. BC struggled with Packer inside and had trouble with another quick guard who got open teammates good looks. The home club also played stellar D taking full advantage of Lion mistakes, converting in transition.

Despite being down more than 20, the Lions didn’t give up coming out strong in the third quarter led by sophomore guard Adam Kochman’s four treys, which he drained consecutively to help whittle it down to 19. His long distance shooting forced Boutis to call for time. For the day, he finished with a team-leading 15 all from downtown.

Even though they let their guard down, Packer didn’t allow Berkeley Carroll to draw any closer, using solid ball movement to finish near the basket. In the final quarter, they widened the gap going up by nearly 30.

To BC’s credit, they continued to work on both ends. Seniors John O’Shaughnessy, Sean Cunningham and Harrison all competed on the glass. As usual, O’Shaughnessy got his share of boards while also using a couple of strong drives to get to the line, chipping in with nine. Cunningham also knocked down a three from the right wing.

Ultimately, it wasn’t enough against one of the league’s better teams, who remain the biggest threat to Dwight’s chances of a three-peat. A tall order for anyone with the playoffs around the corner.

In the second game, Coach Carmine Giovino’s JV were handled by first place Packer 60-32. A discouraging performance when they pushed the bigger team in a much more competitive contest earlier this season, falling by just three back in Park Slope.

Packer took control from the outset, establishing their size advantage to quickly jump out to an 11-0 lead. Dondre Benson finally broke the shutout by draining one from downtown. Unfortunately, nothing went right for the younger Lions who only managed seven points in an entire first half that featured sloppy turnovers and too many easy buckets for the hosts, frustrating Giovino. The fiery coach burned two consecutive timeouts laying into his team.

Trailing by 24 in the third quarter, BC finally played the type of basketball they’re capable of. Anthony Spina provided a lift with more than half his nine coming during a good stretch where the Lions cut the deficit to 18. Duncan Hardy also had a nice finish. Utilizing a full court press with mixed results, they forced Packer into some miscues.

However, a timeout allowed the team from The Heights to restore order, breaking it for uncontested lay-ups, taking advantage of the Lions’ overaggressiveness. Despite scoring half their total in the quarter, BC still trailed by a ton due to poor D. Giovino tried everything, subbing for starters who didn’t play aggressive enough in the half court set when they still were down 20.

Fouls also plagued BC in their comeback attempt with a few marginal calls going against them. That along with a Packer bucket that shouldn’t have counted due to a shot clock error got under Giovino’s skin. Feeling his team was getting no respect, he eventually earned a technical- only adding to the frustration.

With the game out of reach in the fourth, he eventually put in the bench. The 28-point loss was their worst of the season. They’ll aim to avenge a loss to Dwight tomorrow (4 PM)  at the BC Athletic Center in an important game with playoff implications. The Varsity will then battle unbeaten Dwight at 5:30 PM.

Benson paced the Lions with 11. Eight came in the second half. Hardy added four.