Tuesday,
February 24, 2015
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Justin Minaya was one of three starters to finish in double figures for Old Tappan, which reached the BIT final with a 54-46 win over PC. |
RIDGEWOOD – If it were not for the Bergen Invitational (BIT), which is in its fifth year in existence, a team like Northern Valley/Old Tappan would be in that gray area of its season. Having missed out on the Bergen County Jamboree and not playing for a league title, the Golden Knights would have been left to play out the string of the regular season while trying to stay sharp for a state tournament run where they will be on the road against an unfamiliar opponent.
Because of the BIT, Old Tappan not only gets a chance to acclimate itself to the do-or-die conditions of the postseason, but also a chance to win a championship along the way. With its 54-46 win over Paramus Catholic in the BIT semifinals on Monday night at Ridgewood High School, Old Tappan earned a chance at the tournament title. The final is set for Friday against Indian Hills, a winner in double overtime against River Dell in Monday's second semifinal.
With the benefit of a secondary tournament, Old Tappan has now won five straight and evened its record at 10-10 on the season.
“It's a great tournament and a great opportunity to get some extra games in at the end of the season and the competition is great,” said Old Tappan head coach Craig Ferraro. “Our first goal right now is to win this on Friday night, you don't want to make the final and not finish it off, but at the same time to get ready for the state tournament and this is a great setup for that.”
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Ty-Lynn Johnson scored 11 points to top Paramus Catholic. |
Paramus Catholic won the BIT two years ago and was making a bid to get back to the final by taking a 20-9 lead after Charles Scerbak made back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second quarter. An 11-4 run the other way capped by Luca Casamento's 3-pointer off a kick-out from the post by Justin Minaya got Old Tappan back it in and the Knights trailed by just four, 26-22, at halftime.
“We got off to a little bit of a slow start and we had to work ourselves back into the game and we did,” said Casamento, the Knights' junior point guard. “We are in this tournament with the goal to win it and we had to pick up our game and play better defense.”
It was Old Tappan's defense that was the difference in the second half as it allowed just 20 points over the final two quarters. Mike Vitti's from the corner tied the game at 33 with 2:43 left in the third quarter. The lead changed hands five times in the final 2:13 of the third quarter before Tyler Sokolich scored inside off an entry pass from Casamento to give Old Tappan the lead for good, 38-37, heading into the fourth.
“Tonight was an exciting game and I think our passing was a big part of it. We moved the ball and found the open guy,” said Sokolich, a senior. “I usually get the ball down low and go to the basket, but they had some big guys. Lucas did a good job finding open shooters and moving it around.”
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Lucas Casamento and Old Tappan will play Indian Hills in Friday night's BIT championship game. |
Ty-Lynn Johnson made a 3-pointer with 3:40 left got Paramus Catholic to within 46-44, but Casamento responded with three straight points and Old Tappan maintained its advantage the rest of the way through good work at the free throw line. Casamento was 6 of 8 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and, as a team, the Knights were 9 of 11 from the line in the final eight minutes and 11 of 15 for the game.
Casamento (17 points), Minaya (13 points) and Dan Fitzmaurice (10 points) made it three Old Tappan starters in double figures. Sokolich scored all 7 of his points in the second half and Vitti scored all 5 of his in the third quarter. Alex Ward hit a first quarter field goal to round out the scoring for Old Tappan. Johnson (11 points), EJ Anosike (10 points) and Scerbak (10 points) all finished in double figures for Paramus Catholic.
IN THE OTHER SEMIFINAL:
Tim O'Brien scored a game-high 20 points for Indian Hills, which outlasted River Dell, 57-52, in double overtime. Matt Coppola led River Dell with 12 points. Indian Hills, which returned just one starter from last season's team that reached the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Jamboree, is making a nice run in this tournament as it steadily rebuilds. The final will take place on Friday night at Ridgewood High School immediately following the Bergen County Freshman Tournament, which will play its semifinal round on Wednesday night.
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