January
30, 2006
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PARAMUS -- Julius Kacinskis wouldn’t come right out and say it, but he had something to prove when Fair Lawn took the court in their first round game in the Oscar F. Thompson Memorial Bergen County Jamboree.
A starter until last week, he came off the bench the two previous games, but was inserted back into the starting lineup on Sunday afternoon against Saddle Brook and the 6-foot-6 Maneri brothers.
“Coach said he liked me coming off the bench and giving a spark,” Kacinskis said of his sixth man role, “but I guess you could say I had to prove something.”
He made his point, scoring eight key points and grabbing a pair of significant rebounds in the fourth quarter to lead the 17th-seeded Cutters to a 52-48 win over the 16th seeded Falcons, earning a Round of 16 berth against top seed Don Bosco next Sunday in the 3:15 p.m. game at Tenafly High School.
“We’re coming in there and they have everything to lose,” Kacinskis said of the Ironmen. “We’re coming in with full confidence.”
Fair Lawn came into this game looking to chop the Falcons’ down to size, and for the most part they were able to accomplish that. There were plenty of times where Saddle Brook got its hands to the rebound first but the Cutters came away with the ball.
“We play hard,” FL head coach Jim Graff noted. “We weren’t going to change what we do (because of the Maneri’s), we were still going to look to get the ball inside.”
“When somebody constantly pounds you on rebounds, you don’t want to crash the boards any more,” Kacinskis said of the play in the paint.
“We had so much stuff to put in during practice, and the kid I was starting couldn’t be there, so I switched them,” Graff explained. “It’s not a knock on the kid, but Julius came up big.”
What also worked in Fair Lawn’s favor was that it played with the lead for the entire game, from Nick Singer’s three point field goal a minute in straight to the end. The Falcons, who lost their third straight game after opening the season with 12 straight wins, got as close as 28-27 in the third quarter, but they could never grab an advantage.
Early on, Fair Lawn, now 9-4 and winners of seven of their last eight games, dominated the boards, as Matt Paterno had five offensive rebounds in the first half alone.
“We knew from the beginning that we could not back down, that we had to take it right at them,” Paterno commented. “That’s our game, going inside out. I don’t think they expected us to come at them like we did. We had to prove to them that we wanted it more.”
“I think (playing a) zone (defense) helped us,” Graff remarked, “it made them come off a bit and helped us with the rebounding.”
They also adjusted offensively after Justin Maneri blocked three shots early, using some motion to create driving baskets off the baseline. The Cutters held a 25-21 lead at halftime, and after Justin Maneri scored on a layup, Vinnie Graff banged a three-point field goal. Jon Walsh answered with two free throws and a basket, but Kacinskis worked inside for a layup and Graff dropped another three ball to make it a six-point game.
“That’s a credit to our kids,” Graff said. “We know we’re not the most talented team, but we’ll work as hard as anybody, and they prepared hard for this game.”
Fair Lawn entered the fourth quarter with a 37-32 lead before Graff sandwiched a Kacinskis basket off a rebound with layups, the former off a steal. That put Fair Lawn up 43-32, which allowed them to weather a late three-point storm by the Falcons. They hit four of them in the final four minutes, two by Jamar Mason.
Kacinskis had another highlight play with 57 seconds remaining, cashing in a rebound of a missed free throw to send the Cutters up six at 49-43.
“The guy was coming off the block,” Kacinskis recalled, “and I kind of snuck behind him. Matt Paterno tipped it over the guy’s back and I ended up with the ball.”
Walsh’s trey with 7.1 seconds left had Saddle Brook within two at 50-48, but Paterno closed the door with two free throws at 5.6 seconds.
Paterno matched Kacinskis with 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Graff added 14 points and 6 boards. Fair Lawn was 19 of 48 shooting (3 of 7 behind the arc) and hit 11 of 17 free throws. They also outrebounded the Falcons by a 28-24 margin.
Walsh (15 points), Mason (13) and Justin Maneri (11) were in double figures for Saddle Brook. Maneri also had 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, while Steve Maneri had 5 caroms and a pair of blocked shots. The Falcons were 17 of 44 from the floor (5 of 18 on threes) and 9 of 11 at the line.
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