Fergus Duke had the hot hand for the Hun School boys’ basketball team in early stages of the fourth quarter last Saturday as it faced WW/P-S in the Tip-Off Classic.

Junior guard Duke reeled off seven points as the Raiders edged ahead of WW/P-S 47-46 in the game played at Rider University.

“I felt good; my shot was feeling good so I just kept shooting the ball,” said Duke.

Hun, though, didn’t hit enough shots down the stretch as it fell 56-54 to the Pirates.

In reflecting on the loss, Duke said Hun’s impatience helped doom it to defeat.

“We took too many quick shots and it turned into easy layups for them,” said Duke, who ended up with 15 points in the contest.

“It didn’t put us in a good situation at the end of the game; we should have worked harder on offense and been more patient for open shots. We also should have done a much better job defending.”

Duke and backcourt mate, senior Bo McKinley, are trying to do a better job of running the Hun offense.

“Going back to last year, we didn’t play as much and we got used to the system,” said Duke.

“This year we have stepped into more of a leadership role so we are hoping that we develop as the season goes on.”

In Duke’s view, the disappointment of the loss to WW/P-S could help Hun develop into a stronger team.

We needed a wake-up call; that was a humbling experience for all of us,” said Duke. “We need to come out stronger and we need to come harder.”

A perturbed Hun head coach Jon Stone hopes his team learns from the setback. “The lesson is that we have got to show up to play every night,” said Stone with a clenched jaw.

“We didn’t show up to play today. They outworked us; they outplayed us, and they deserved to win 100 percent.”

In Stone’s view, his team has struggled to find a rhythm. “We have had close games go our way too but we are just not consistent,” added Stone, whose team bounced back Sunday with a 58-41 win over Paramus Catholic as McKinley scored 16 points with Rashid Epps adding 11 and Will Kelly chipping in 10 as the Raiders improved to 4-5. “We have no consistency.”

Duke, for his part, believes Hun can work through its inconsistency. “We are still learning and getting more comfortable with it,” said Duke. “I am sure that we will get things under control and figure it out.”