Talen Zitomer made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 27 points for Cresskill, which advanced to the North 1, Group 1 state sectional final with a 72-59 win over West Caldwell Tech on Friday night..

CRESSKILL – West Caldwell Tech presented a style that top-seeded Cresskill has not seen all that often this season and there was going to be a period of adjustment as the Cougars got used to the pace that WCT wanted to play at. It took exactly 4:22.

At 3:38 of the first quarter of Friday night’s North 1, Group 1 state sectional semifinal, Cresskill sophomore Omer Tal scored off an assist from Talen Zitomer that ended the Eagles’ 7-1 run to open the game. Zitomer’s hoop was his first on what became a career night for the senior forward and the first two points in an 11-0 run the other way that put Cresskill in the lead for good.

Cresskill doubled up West Caldwell Tech in the second quarter, 18-9, opened a double digit lead by halftime, 30-19, led by as many as 25 in the second half, 56-31, and cruised to a 72-59 victory that gives them a home game in the section final on Monday against Paterson Charter.

“Our keyword tonight was fundamental - be smart, take our time,” said Cresskill head coach Dan Egorow. “They were going to trap us so that would present opportunities. We just had to exploit them and take advantage of those things. 

“That’s a great team. They are up and down, they are in your face. If you are playing into it, it could be a very long night. We settled down, we found guys open and guys got to their spots. Credit to my guys - they listened in practice and they came out tonight and executed.”

Egorow sent in junior Jack Hayward and senior Jimmy Connelly to try and stem the early game tide.
Hayward responded with a basket to close the gap to 7-5 and Connelly’s only basket of the game, a rebound and putback, gave the Cougars a 9-7 lead, a lead that would not relinquish the rest of the game.

West Caldwell Tech's Jesus Koudou finished with a game-high 33 points.

“I had to come in and do my role,” Hayward said. “The nerves were a little high in the beginning but once I got that first basket I got confident.”

“My job is to play good defense,” added Connelly. “I’m not really a good scorer. I kind of stay away from that part.”

From there Zitomer, a senior co-captain, took over. He hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go in the quarter to give Cresskill a 12-7 lead. He drained three more treys in the second quarter and with 5 points from senior co-captain Cody Song the Cougars took an 11-point lead into halftime.

Song added a three to open the second half and when the Eagles began to press the Cougars, opportunities to drive to the basket opened up. Zitomer scored three times that way, while senior Sean Reiner and junior Marko Radovich drained two free throws apiece after they were fouled going to the basket.

“The bench came out,” Egorow said. “Jimmy Connelly, I can’t say enough about him. A football player, he came out and rebounded well. Omer [Tal] played big for a sophomore starting. Jack (Hayward) and Rocco [Webster] and even Sean (Reiner] coming in and knocking down two foul shots. Everyone contributed to this and we’re led by our two senior captains, Cody (Song) and Talen (Zitomer). Talen went off tonight.”

“It came down to believing in each other, believing in the coaches,” said Zitomer, who finished with a team-high 28 points. “Coach told us to calm down. We calmed down and once the jitters were gone things went from there.”

Cody Song finished with 10 points for Cresskill, which will host Paterson Charter in the final on Monday.

“We watched them on film and saw they were athletic,” Hayward said. “We saw the flaws that they had so we thought we could take advantage of them.”

In the meantime the Cougars used a rarely-used zone defense to try and slow the Eagles down.

“They live off the second-chance points so we had to box them out all game,” said Connelly. “It was tough, it was challenging.”

“We knew they were really athletic and they would be a problem on the inside,” Zitomer added. “We needed to box out and play straight up defense. That’s (zone defense) not something we normally do but matching up with them would not be in our favor. We have to adapt every single game in the playoffs and that’s what we did.”

The Cougars were also spurred on by the larger than normal crowd in attendance.

“I love that,” said Connelly. “It brings energy to the team, gives us momentum. It’s Cresskill sports. It’s amazing here.”

“We had never played in an atmosphere like this,” Zitomer said. “It was a great atmosphere, so much fun. I loved it.  It’s what I live for.”

With the loss West Caldwell Tech finished the season with an impressive 19-10 record. Junior Jesus Koudou tallied a game-high 32 points and all eight of the Eagle players who entered the game scored at least two points.

“Today was a good game,” Eagles coach Robert Cole said. “They were a much better team and they were a lot more athletic than I thought they would be. They knew how to pass the ball; they knew how to move without the ball. Their seniors controlled the game. 

“Cresskill was the best team we have played all year and we’ve played a lot of teams. They were well-balanced, they shot the ball very well and they were unselfish. We have an inexperienced team - five juniors and two sophomores. We have done a lot of things that nobody has ever done. This is the best team West Caldwell has ever put together.”

In addition to Zitomer’s 28 points, Song chipped in with 10, and junior Marko Radovich contributed 9, all in the second half. The Cougars move on to play Paterson Charter at home Feb. 27 for the sectional title.

“[It’s an] unexplainable feeling,” said Connelly. “I never thought we would be here. We worked so hard this year. Eighty days of basketball leading up to this point. It’s amazing.”

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