Sunday, March 8, 2015

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Matt Flood scored a game-high 17 points for Cresskill, which advances to the North 1, Group 1 final with a 54-41 win over Verona on Saturday.

CRESSKILL – In the North 1, Group 1 state sectional final football game played back in December, Cresskill lost to Verona, , in a game that was never close. Think AJ Gentile, a member of the Cresskill football team, remembered that when the two schools met up again on Saturday in the boys basketball state playoffs?

“I came in here today with the mindset that I was going to get a little revenge,” said Gentile. “And I think we did just that.”

What Gentile did was throw his body all over the floor and play with passion during a flying start that saw Cresskill get up by double digits early in the second quarter and stay there for the rest of the game in a 54-41 victory. The win puts the Cougars into the state sectional final where they will take in Wood-Ridge, a 70-64 winner over Hasbrouck Heights, for the third time in the last seven years.

Matt Flood did not even play football this year, but even he wanted to help his football playing brethren get over the debacle at MetLife Stadium.

“This was for them. I actually looked up the video of Verona beating us last night for a little motivation and I didn't even play football,” said Flood. “I just wanted to help get this win for my boys.”

Will Mulderry (10 points) was Verona's lone double-digit scorer.

Flood hit a jumper from the corner to open the game's scoring and then used his quick release to nail a 3-pointer with 1:51 left in the opening quarter to give his team a 15-6 lead. The Cougars led 17-10 after one and Flood scored six points in a 12-0 run that made it 29-12.

Verona got a 3-pointer from Travis Jocelyn and a driving layup from Dave Guateri to get to within 29-17 at the half and Guateri hit a short turn-around jumper on a post move to open the second half scoring to make it a 10-point game, but Cresskill, despite not shooting the ball well after the break, was never really threatened.

“I thought today we played pretty well, especially in the first half. We came out flying, we laid it on them pretty good in the first quarter and that put us in the driver's seat. I didn't fell threatened the rest of the game,” said Cresskill head coach Mike Doto. “The second half was a little ugly with a lot of fouls both ways, but I kept saying to my assistant coach that if they cut it below 10 we would have to call a timeout, but they never got it below 10.”

Ten was a close as the Hillbillies could get and they were there at 31-21, 33-23, 38-28 and 40-30 after the third quarter, but Sean Kelly opened the fourth with an up-and-under on which he was fouled. Kelly made the free throw to put Cresskill up 13 and from there it was a parade to the free throw line. Cresskill did not make a field goal over the final 7:51 of the game, but did not need to Verona set the Cougars to the free throw line 19 times in the fourth quarter to try to get back in it.

Nick DeCandia scored 8 points for Cresskill, which will host Wood-Ridge in the section final on Tuesday night.

“It was not my plan to fall in a hole like that, but they have weapons and they can shoot,” said Verona head coach Eric McElroy, “Their big kid [Gentile] plays hard, they are one their home floor and they had an edge in the stands. It made a big difference.”

Verona is the rare Group 1 team that can match Cresskill in physical size, but Cresskill, especially with Gentile handling the the dirty work underneath, was able spread the floor on offense without having to worry about being beat the other way. The Hillbillies had zero transition points and had to work for everything through the halfcourt, which made a sustained comeback difficult.

Even through Cresskill made just 12 of its 19 fourth quarter free throws, 16 of 25 in the second half and 17 of 27 in the game, the sheer volume of trips to the line got the job done down the stretch. Verona did not miss a free throw in the game, but went to the line only a combined 10 times.

Will Mulderry (10 points) was Verona's only double-digit scorer. Guateri scored all 8 of his points in the third quarter, Frank Ferrari and Charles Matta each finished with 6 and Zack Zaccone, Jocelyn and Mike Moran had 3 apiece for the Hillbillies, who finished the season with a 13-12 record.

Dave Guateri scored 8 points for Verona, which finished the season with a 13-12 record.

Flood scored a game-high 17 points for Cresskill while Gentile finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Nick DeCandia provided a viable third option with two 3-pointers among his 8 points and Zac Garcia scored 5 of his 7 points from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Kelly added 5 points and Matt Ferrara and James Picinich split the other four points for the Cougars, who improved to 26-3 heading into Tuesday's North 1, Group 1 final where they will play Wood-Ridge in the championship game for the third time in the last seven years.

Cresskill beat Wood-Ridge 92-66 earlier this season, but that means nothing this time around. Wood-Ridge has been playing its best basketball as of late and is fully healthy, unlike the last time when it played with Ernie Day, who missed the game through injury.

For the senior-laden Cougars (26-3) who have stated that reaching Rutgers University for the Group 1 state final is their ultimate goal, they know from experience that getting there requires no let downs. Cresskill lost to Cedar Grove on its own home floor in last year's section final.

“The clock is ticking and you never know when the last buzzer is going to sound on the kind of fairytale season that this has been for us,” said Flood. “Anything less than the R[utgers] A[thletic] C[enter] is a disappointment and we will take nothing for granted until we get there.”

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