By Marc Raimondi
Van Buren was almost forced to forfeit games, for the second season in a row, because of a faulty retractable, electronic wall in its Queens Village gymnasium. But McClain found out Monday his team's undefeated season would still be intact.”The wall is fixed – supposedly,” the coach said.McClain has heard that before. Last season, the wall was supposed to be fixed after the holiday break, but the VeeBees were forced to forfeit two games and postpone three others. Their 13-5 Queens A record could have been much better without the forfeits and disadvantages of playing most of their games on the road.”We could have gotten a better seed (in the playoffs),” McClain said.Van Buren still made it all the way to the PSAL Class A city semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Thomas Jefferson. The VeeBees are poised for the same kind of run this season, too. Senior Justinna Boatwright is averaging 16.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game and the X-factor has been Flushing HS transfer Kamesha Lambright (15.1 points per game, 19.1 rebounds per game), who sat out last year due to transfer rules.Still, Van Buren was forced to play John Bowne, the team it was tied at the top of the division with, on the road because of the broken wall. The VeeBees won, but will face the Wildcats on the road again Feb. 4.”More than any other sport,” McClain said, “playing at home in basketball is a big advantage.”
