February
5, 2007
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| Josh Feit scored the first two points of overtime and Pascack Hills was finally able to put away Wood-Ridge, 75-70. | |
TENAFLY -- Their Jamboree life was staring them in the face, as was their undefeated record. The last person Pascack Hills wanted to see with the ball was Wood-Ridge’s Anthony Taborda, yet there its was in his hands as the final seconds ticked down.
From the right elbow extended, Taborda took a couple of steps toward the basket, but he could not shake the defensive pressure, which was just enough to force a contested shot that clanged iron and caromed away with three seconds left.
That meant overtime, and in the extra session, the Cowboys scored first and, after relinquishing the lead, got a huge three point field goal on the way to a 75-70 win that puts the third seed into next Sunday’s quarterfinals against sixth-seeded Teaneck in a 2:00 p.m. start at Ramapo College.
It was the second OT game in six days for the ‘Boys, who stayed perfect with a 76-73 win over Indian Hills.
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| Wood-Ridge's Kenny Andrade hit big shot after big shot on the way to a 25-point, 10-rebound effort. |
“After the overtime with Indian Hills, we were prepared for this,” Josh Feit said. “We stayed composed and did what we do best.”
What they did was score the first basket, as Feit got loose inside for a layup 12 seconds in.
“That was huge,” Feit stated. “You always want to get that first (basket). It was good to get it right away.”
“Once it went to overtime, I thought we were in good shape, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way,” WR head coach Ed Rendzio lamented.
“I think we had a little momentum at the start of overtime,” PH head coach Chris Kirkby said. “They were in a position to win the game, we stopped it, and we got the first basket and that forced them to come out and play us.”
The lead went back to Wood Ridge at 69-67 with 2:56 left on a three-pointer by Anthony Solano, but that one got answered 20 seconds later by Jake Wolfin, who spotted up in the left corner and drained a trey.
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| Sophomore Jake Wofin had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists to help PH stay perfect on the season. |
“I felt I needed to do it for the team,” Wolfin said. “I was open and I shot it, no hesitation.”
“He’s got a lot of composure for a sophomore, and I thought he didn’t play too well in the first three quarters,” Kirkby noted.
“That’s my fault,” Rendzio accepted. “I made a call to go to a zone. We wanted to trap out of the corner and try to strip, but once they reversed the ball we were out of position and he got that wide open look.”
Wolfin followed up by banking in a shot from straight away with 1:51 to go, and when Matt Marini dropped in a layup with 27 seconds on the clock, it was all but over.
The loss left Rendzio questioning his regulation-ending strategy. Evan Lampert scored a short jumper with 48 seconds to left Hills into a tie at 63, and the Blue Devils decided to play for the last shot.
“We don’t like to call time outs down the stretch to let them set up,” said Rendzio. “We like to spread the floor, and I have confidence in the guys that they can make the plays.
“Anthony got the ball and the kid was right on him. Maybe I should have banged the time out.”
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| Anthony Taborda scored 14 points, but six of them came on his first two shots of the game. |
Instead of beginning the final play from the top of the key, it began from the side and left Taborda less room to work. In some ways, it was a microcosm of Taborda’s entire game, as he had only 14 points. He knocked down two early first quarter three-point field goals, but after that he was held in check, hitting only 4 of 14 shots.
“We felt he was most effective in transition,” Kirkby assessed, “so we worked a lot on our transition defense and locating him, not necessarily with one guy but as a team effort, to find where he was in transition and stop him from getting shots.”
The Blue Devils (15-3) had their opportunities, including a 33-26 halftime lead. Kenny Andrade made up for Taborda’s struggles with a 25-point, 10-rebound effort, hitting big shot after big shot.
Still, they hit a dry spell in the third period, where PH outscored the Devils 21-9 to assume a 47-42 lead. Feit was in the middle of it all on the way to a 27-point game in which he hit on 13 of 19 shots while also grabbing 14 rebounds.
“We thought we could rebound and get the ball up court,” Feit related.
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| PH's Matt Marini dropped in a layup with 27 seconds left on the clock to put the game away. |
There were three lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter, and David Hammer’s three-point field goal with 1:02 in regulation had put WR up by two before Lampert’s tying hoop.
Wolfin had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Lampert added 14 points and 12 rebounds and Marini dished off six assists for Pascack Hills, which went 31 of 72 from the floor and 10 of 16 on free throws.
Solano scored 11 points for Wood Ridge. The Devils were 22 of 67 from the floor and 19 of 27 at the line. Taborda did have 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
“These are the kind of games you love to play in and coach in,” Rendzio said. “Jamboree, place is packed. Who knows how many chances we have to get back here. There’s nothing like the Jamboree, this is fun, but next week I’ll be home.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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