Saturday,
December 20, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Chris Schloback hit two free throws and a 3-pointer in an 8-1 run that gave Leonia control for good in a 41-29 win over Bergen Charter in the season opener on Friday night. |
LEONIA – One team is trying to get back to the heights that it had once inhabited while the other is just trying to find the road map. While the Leonia boys basketball program, which returns just on starter from last year's team, is trying to rebuild, Bergen Charter of Arts and Sciences is trying to build a foundation in just its second year as a varsity program and its first as a full-fledged member of the NJIC-Liberty Division.
An opening night win, therefore, would have been a confidence builder for the Lions, while for Bergen Charter, its first win of this season will be historic, the first in the program's brief history. In short, Friday night's season opener was of huge importance to both teams.
While Bergen Charter was far more competitive than it was at any point last season, including a blowout loss to Leonia, it was the Lions who used an 8-0 run to end the first half to take control and grab the victory, 41-29, on Friday night.
“Once we started attacking the zone it gave us more lanes to get off better shots,” said McKee. “Bergen Charter is a scrappy team and we had to play as hard as they were playing. We have a capable team and great leadership, but we have to put together a whole 32 minutes to be successful.”
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Bergen Charter's Rohan Afflick scored 13 points, a game high. |
Leonia jumped out to an early lead just as they did when the teams met last year. It was not nearly as easy to pull away this time as sophomore guard Rohan Afflick kept the Yellow Jackets afloat early. His pull-up elbow jumper to start the second quarter gave Bergen Charter its first lead. Teammate Andre Messado scored inside to put the Yellow Jackets back in front with just over three minutes to play in the half, 14-13.
The Lions needed a spark and got a pair of them from the perimeter. James McKee knocked down a three from the wing to give Leonia the lead for good. Chris Schloback was then fouled while shooting from behind the arc. Not only did Schloback make two of the three attempts from the line, but he also forced Afflick to the bench for the final 2:12 of the first half with three fouls. Schloback then hit a three-pointer of his own as the Lions gave themselves from breathing room by halftime, up 21-14.
“For an up and coming team little things can turn the momentum,” said Bergen Charter head coach Justin Bank. “Fouling a three-point shooter, turning the ball over and then giving up a three, that’s at least a five-point swing right there. In a game that ended up being a 12-point margin, that’s a big difference.”
Leonia then started to get the ball inside with Suldan Muhammad’s basket putting the Lions up by 17 midway through the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets kept after it, however, as Afflick and Alex Martinez, who was all over the floor all game, scored consecutive baskets to cut the lead to 10 with seven minutes to play. But Leonia was able to slow the pace and never allowed the lead to dip back below nine.
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Suldan Muhammad was one of three Leonia scorers to finish with 10 points. |
“When we started to get the ball inside against their zone, we started to find some success both inside and finding open players behind the three-point line. With one returning starter (Tony Vargas), we’re learning on the fly and we’ll look to get better day-by-day. Any time you win it’s a good feeling but we still have a lot of work that needs to be done for us to keep winning games down the road.”
Leonia (1-0) had as balanced of a three-pronged attack as a team could have with McKee, Schloback, and Muhammad all scoring 10 points. Afflick led all scorers with 13 points for Bergen Charter (0-1). Martinez finished the game with 11 points (eight in the second half), four steals, and four rebounds.
Even in a losing effort last night there is hope for future success at Bergen Charter. After losing by 48 against the Lions last year, being in a competitive game is the first step towards learning how to win close games.
“Let’s start by saying that we don’t accept losing and we’re upset that we lost, but we can hold our heads high,” added Bank. “We battled for 32 minutes and gave it our all. We’re a young team, we’re going to keep working hard, and we’ll keep improving because of how hard we work. Now we have a taste of what it feels like to be in a game like this and we want that again. We’ll learn from this game and be better prepared on how to handle it the next time we’re in this situation.”
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