February
9, 2004
March 21,
TENAFLY - After opening the season with seven straight wins, Rutherford fell on some hard times. That January drought cost them a higher seed in the Jamboree, but the Bulldogs are proving that their body of work is deserving.
With a 63-57 overtime defeat of fourth-seeded Demarest, Rutherford has become the first 20th-seed to ever advance to the quarterfinals and the Bulldogs are feeling as though their ride is not over yet.
"We looked at the draw when it came out," Rutherford head coach Brian Gaccione, "and we felt that, even though we were the 20th-seed, we had a pretty good bracket. We've stressed it to the kids and they've responded."
Their next task will be a familiar one, as they take on fifth-seeded Cliffside Park, a 64-54, winner over Hackensack. The two teams played earlier in the season with Cliffside earning the victory.
The rematch almost didn't materialize as Demarest had the opportunity to win the game in regulation, only to miss a pair of foul shots with nine seconds left. The foul line was particularly deficient for the Norsemen, who hit only 6 of 13 freebies.
"We didn't play well, but give Rutherford credit," Demarest head coach Bob Rudolph stated. "They played very hard and they executed in the key areas. That's high school basketball."
In the overtime, Rutherford (11-6) got the lead on an Alex Kuchar three-point field goal from deep on the left baseline, and they made it stand up with free throw shooting into the last minute, hitting six straight to offset six Norsemen points.
In the final 30 seconds, Jon Bigley made his presence felt at the free throw line and off the glass. He missed two shots with 29 ticks on the board, but stepped in and grabbed his own rebound and was fouled again.
After missing the first one, he made the second shot with 26 seconds left. Tom Caporale then drove the basket, scored and was fouled with 15 seconds on the clock, but he missed the free throw, leaving Demarest down 59-57.
Chris Schule got the rebound for Rutherford, was fouled and promptly missed both free throws, only to have Bigley step in once again, get the rebound and score in the paint to make it 61-57. After a Norsemen miss, Jon Guzman hit the final two foul shots with four seconds on the clock.
"They weren't boxing out the shooter," Bigley commented, "and it was just being aggressive. I just attacked the ball."
"We teach them to shoot, follow through, then go for the rebound," Gaccione explained. "With the new rule this year that takes the block away (on the line) next to the shooter, there's two spaces to cover the shooter, and that benefits the offense and we took advantage of it."
Demarest had what Rudolph felt was an uneven first half, taking a 12-9 lead after one period before falling behind 27-23 at the half. Bigley (11 points) had three baskets in the second period to lead the Bulldogs.
"We came out much better in the second half and got the lead," Rudolph said, "but we didn't sustain."
The Norsemen (15-2) were up by 43-39 entering the fourth quarter, as Andrew Forman came off the bench and hit three straight three-point field goals in the period. Gaccione said that, "in the games we saw, he didn't even play, so that caught us off guard."
The fourth saw Rutherford tie the game at 45 before Ryan Brisk banked one in to give Demarest the lead back. A Guzman jumper tied it again, and the Bulldogs took the lead on two free throws by Guzman (24 points) with 2:11 to play in regulation.
Kellen Hayes hit a pair of foul shots 16 seconds later to re-tie the game, setting up the final seconds and overtime. Demarest was 23 of 54 shooting and got 15 points and 9 rebounds from Brisk before he fouled out with one minute left in the overtime. Hayes added 11 points but also fouled out with 26 seconds in the OT.
Rutherford was 20 of 40 from the field and 18 of 24 at the foul line. Kuchar had 13 points and Brian Murphy led the Bulldogs with 8 rebounds.
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