February
5, 2006
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| Doug Parker chipped in with 13 points and 7 boards as Old Tappan reached the quarterfinals. | |
ALLENDALE -- Old Tappan was well aware of the shooting capabilities of the Wood-Ridge boys basketball team. The Golden Knights also knew that if they shut the door on the perimeter that their task would be much easier to accomplish.
That meant putting the clamps on Anthony Taborda and limiting Dave Hughes, who average about 36 points a game between them.
Old Tappan got a lot more than it expected, shutting them both out in the first half and keeping them 23 points below their combined average. It spelled a 66-51 Bergen County Jamboree win that moves Old Tappan into the quarterfinals next weekend at Paramus High School. The sixth-seeded Knights will face the three seed, Paramus Catholic.
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| Christian Muniz led Wood-Ridge with 25 points, including 17 of of his team's 24 in the first half. |
Taborda was exceptionally frustrated by the Old Tappan defense, getting off just six shots and hitting only one three pointer in scoring a season-low four points. Joe Massaro drew the assignment of covering him, and he blanketed the junior while actually outscoring him (8 points).
“Massaro played him very tough, as did [Nick] Vallillo when he went in the game,” OT head coach Dennis Rossi said. “I thought overall we played pretty good defense. We wanted to set the tempo with our defense rather than get into a running match up and down the floor, and I think we accomplished that.”
They did it despite missing senior David Weinfield, who suffered a concussion after a head-to-head hit in a game against Wayne Hills earlier in the week.
“We missed him big time,” Rossi said of the senior. “He’s our stabilizer and our best all-around player.”
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| Joe Massaro was a factor on both ends of the floor for Old Tappan. |
His teammates stepped up for him, giving him the likely opportunity to play in next week’s Jamboree game. Eight different players scored points, and they had a remarkable 51-19 rebounding advantage.
“I always thought we were the smallest team when we played, but we finally met a team that’s smaller than we are,” Rossi deadpanned.
Old Tappan never trailed in the game, scoring the first seven points. Sam Hagopian and Ryan Veselsky hit jumpers and, after Charlie Weinfield, hit one of two free throws, Veselsky added a layup.
The closest Wood-Ridge (14-2) would get was 19-13 off a jumper by Christian Muniz with 6:56 left in the second quarter. Muniz was then lone bright spot for the Blue Devils, shooting 11 of 18 and scoring 25 points, including 17 of WR’s 24 first half markers.
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| Jake Pietrasz grabbing one of Wood-Ridge's 19 rebounds. |
Old Tappan (14-2) then put another 7-0 run up, with Weinfield scoring four points and Doug Parker dropping a three-point field goal. The Golden Knights ended the half up 37-24 before the Devils had their run late in the third quarter.
Down 45-28, Wood-Ridge finished the third period on an 11-1 run to get to within 46-39. Hughes knocked down a pair of threes (he was 2 of 12 behind the arc) and Taborda had his only bucket, a trey.
“In a game like that, you know they’re going to come back, and it got very sloppy in the end,” Rossi noted. “We had to use our bench a lot and the kids did a good job.”
The Knights countered with a five-spot to open the fourth, as James Cooke scored in close and Bryan Stankiewicz hit an open three. After that, free throws became the predominant play, as OT lost a pair of players to fouls and Wood-Ridge lost one as well.
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| Old Tappan's Charlie Weinfeld pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. |
The Blue Devils shot 20 of 58 from the floor and hit just 5 of 26 threes. They also fared poorly at the free throw line, draining just 6 of 16. Anthony Solano’s five rebounds topped the team.
Old Tappan was 24 of 54 shooting (3 of 10 on threes) and 15 of 25 at the line. Weinfield ripped down 16 rebounds and Massaro added 11. Veselsky had 16 points and 5 assists and Parker chipped in with 13 points and 7 boards.
“These kids have worked hard, and I’m glad that they get another opportunity to have (another Jamboree) experience,” Rossi remarked.
FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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