Tuesday, February 25, 2014

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Parth Patel had 9 points and 5 assists for Wallington, which closed out a rebuilding season with a 51-37 win at Bergen Charter.

HACKENSACK – There is no easy way to either take over or start a varsity program with the cupboard completely bare, but that was the reality that both Wallington's Josh Aronowitz and Bergen Charter's Justin Bank had to deal with this season. With each facing tough schedules and neither team having any varsity experience coming into the season, each of them knew that success was not going to be measured by wins but more by how their players would handle the adversity of losing against more talented and more experienced teams. As each team's season came to a close on Monday, they faced off against one another in a spirited game where it would be not be decided until a late run spanning the third and fourth quarters turned the tide.

Josh Bonilla and Joe Torres hit consecutive 3-pointers late in the third quarter to snap a tie and Parth Patel added a conventional 3-point play early in the fourth quarter as Wallington earned its second win of the season with a 51-37 triumph over Bergen Charter at the Bergen Arts and Sciences Charter School in Hackensack.

“It feels really good to get a win being it's only our second one this season,” said Torres. “It's been a tough season on us but we'll work hard to get better and have a much better year next year.”

Wallington, whose other victory was also over Bergen Charter, took an early lead. Only this time, Bergen Charter fought back behind guard Alex Martinez. He scored seven straight points capped by a floater in the paint as the Yellow Jackets led by as many as six before taking a one-point lead into halftime, 20-19, which is the first time they led at halftime all season.

Alex Martinez scored a game-high 14 points as Bergen Charter closed out its inaugural varsity season.

“We weren't executing and they were outworking us in the first half,” said Aronowitz. “In the second half, we had to take care of the ball better and knock down some open looks. We were actually pretty fortunate to make a little run and only be down one at the half.”

The teams ramped up the intensity in the third quarter with players from both teams diving all over the court for loose balls. After trailing for the entire second quarter, the Panthers took the lead on a 3 from Bonilla. The Yellow Jackets got consecutive baskets inside from Alen Gunner to tie the game at 28 with 1:19 to play in the third quarter but the Panthers answered right back. Bonilla and Torres hit back-to-back 3s as Wallington took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, 34-30.

“We were getting open shots and coach (Aronowitz) told us to keep taking them with confidence if we're open,” said Torres, a sophomore. “We were more aggressive but we were smarter, too. Once one shot went down, we wanted to knock the next one down and keep it going.”

The lead was six when Patel drove the baseline and scored on a layup while being fouled. The junior guard hit the ensuing free-throw that bumped the lead up to nine and it never got closer than that margin the rest of the way.

Even though Bergen Charter's first season as a varsity program came to a close without the school's first-ever victory, the spirit has not waned nor has the optimism for the future.

“It hurts that these kids gave it everything they had for four months without any wins to show for it, but we know what we have to do moving forward for next year,” said Bergen Charter head coach Justin Bank, who, at 25, is Bergen County's youngest head coach. “I'm really proud of the guys and how we kept it together even through some tough times. It hasn't translated into wins, but you can see how much these players have grown individually, as a team and as young men.

"We'll get in some summer leagues, we'll get in the weight room, and we'll try to get better every day. It's tough to go through adversity. The way you respond from it is how you build character and become a better person and our guys have responded to that challenge.”

Wallington's Jose Bonilla scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

Torres had 12 and Bonilla scored all of his 10 points in the second half for Wallington. Patel added nine points and five assists.

Martinez led all players with 14 points and five steals. Dejour Dobson also had a solid performance with nine points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

With Bergen Charter returning their entire team and Wallington returning all but one starter, both teams will look to improve in the off-season and be much more competitive squads in the 2014-2015 season. While there is still a long way to go for both programs, the first hurdles of getting the players to buy into a new system is always the most difficult. Now that they have bought in, the next step is gaining respectability.

“I like how hard we worked in the second half and it's a good feeling for these kids to get a win under their belt after a tough season,” added Aronowitz. “We are trying to change the culture here and we understand that it's going to take time. The commitment from everyone wasn't there that summer when I first got the job, but I think that will change this summer with so many kids coming back. We hope this is the first step towards starting to build a solid program here.”

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