[Video: JFK bangs home during it’s loss to Bronx rival Wings Academy last week.]

It was the kind of game neither team appeared to want. In a battle for Bronx high school basketball dominance, John F. Kennedy lost to Wings Academy 56-50, but both coaches admitted to being disappointed with their team’s play.

In an early-season showdown of the two best public school teams in the Bronx — JFK came in ranked 10th, according to the NY Post, while Wings was 7th — both teams found areas in need of improvement.

The Knights from JFK essentially lost the game early when they failed to score until almost six minutes into the first half. Wings used their size and athleticism to pound out points in the paint against the smaller Knights.

Wings out-rebounded the Knights 37-15, and drew many more fouls, scoring 26 of their 56 from the free throw line. Just nine of the Knights’ points came from free throws.

Resembling the Knicks’ streaky perimeter offense, the Knights started hitting 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to pull within four, the closest they had been since the first. JFK actually outscored Wings in the second half 37-28, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

“I don’t know if the television played a part or what, but we just didn’t play good early, it was horrible,” said Kennedy Coach Johnny Mathis. He said his team started to play their usual game when the defense improved. “When the defense changed, the intensity changed.”

Wings played the game with a lead that hovered around double-digits through most of the game, but when it came time to close it out, Coach Billy Turnage said the team needed to stay focused. “We stopped playing to win the ball game and played not to lose. There’s a difference.”

Turnage said he has 10 players for whom this was their fourth varsity basketball game. “We started watching the clock, watching the score, instead of doing the things we’ve got to do that got us to that point.”

Wings’ star forward Steven Gomez had another strong game, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.