Omar Ali scored all eight of his points in the first half for Wayne Valley which won it's first-ever Passaic County tournament title with a 44-38 win over Paterson Eastside on Saturday afternoon.
WAYNE - After walking off its own home court after a 29-point drubbing at the hands of Paterson Eastside in the Passaic County tournament final last year, longtime Wayne Valley head coach Joe Leicht knew he had to get a message across to his junior-laden team. He got their full attention and told them that if they worked as hard as they could that they would get another shot at being county champions. As fate would have it, the two teams met again with Passaic County supremacy at stake. It was a game the Indians' senior starting five had been dreaming about. With one shot to get it right, they poured all of their hard work over the last year into 32 minutes of hard-nosed basketball.
There were several heroes on this afternoon, but the biggest one of all might have been the most unlikely. Jason Soto had been saddled with foul trouble all game long and nearly fouled out. But with the game on the line, he pulled down two big defensive rebounds and went 3-4 from the foul line as second-seeded Wayne Valley finally added a county championship banner to the walls of its gymnasium, winning its first-ever Passaic County tournament title with a 44-38 victory over defending champion and top-seeded Paterson Eastside on Saturday afternoon at Wayne Valley High School.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game but we've been ready for this game for a year now," said Wayne Valley senior Anthony Apicella. "Everyone played a part in this. It was the biggest game we've ever played in and we wanted to bring home the county title. I love this team and we had to keep doing what we've been doing all season."
Paterson Eastside had a size advantage in the paint and was effective in using that to its advantage in the first quarter. Frederick Mateo and Nyreek Clyburn both scored down low to help the Ghosts to a three-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 11-8.
Nyreek Clyburn went a perfect 6-6 from the foul line for Paterson Eastside.
The Indians made the adjustment and rotated quicker to minimize any damage and take the Ghosts out of the flow they were in to start the game. Wayne Valley, which generally relies on its starting five for most of its scoring, had to go its bench with a couple of players in foul trouble. Omar Ali provided senior leadership with some key baskets when the offense was scuffling. Luke Rubino and Tyler Veale came off the bench to score consecutive baskets to help the Indians grab a one-point halftime lead, 20-19.
Paterson Eastside got the ball to start the third quarter and Exavier Cuevas scored to put the Ghosts in front. But less than two minutes later, the Indians had seized control of the game. On three straight possessions, Caden Flower knocked down a corner three-pointer, followed by another three before a pull-up elbow jumper from Hudson Devine to turned a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
"We've dealt well with ups and downs all year and we were prepared for this," said Devine. "We really wanted to be the first (boys' basketball) team to ever win a county title at Wayne Valley. Even when things got a little ugly, we pulled it together and fought our way out of it."
A Paterson Eastside timeout did little to generate momentum as Flower had the hot hand. He knocked down another corner three, then scored on a layup for the lone double-digit lead of the game, 35-25.
"We didn't play our best offense in the first half, and I wasn't hitting, but (Devine) said he was going to keep driving and kicking to me so I had to keep taking those shots," said Flower. "We were confident that we'd pick it up and play our best basketball when we needed to. I knew if they rotated late that I had to get to the corner and knock down those shots."
Jason Soto (right) hit two free-throws with 22 seconds left to ice the game for Wayne Valley.
Midway through the fourth quarter Soto was stunned after a foul was called near him and he thought he was called for his fifth foul. But the foul was on Devine and Soto knew that this was a sign.
"Thought I fouled out for a second, but it didn't; I had to keep my cool and stay on the floor," said Soto. "We made some bad decisions in the fourth quarter, which we usually don't do. Coming into this year we had a lot of trust in each other, and we just had to stick together."
The Ghosts were not about to give up their title without a fight. They scratched and clawed their way back into a one-possession game after a free throw by Jariel Garcia with just under a minute to play.
Paterson Eastside had a pair of chances to tie or go ahead with a three-pointer. Apicella took a charge on one play and on another the Indians got the rebound and Soto was able to leak out for a layup attempt. It did not go in, but he was fouled on the play and went to the foul line with 22 seconds left and the game on the line. It was exactly where he wanted to be.
"I had two free-throws earlier in the game and knocked them down, so I felt confident going that I was going to make the ones in front of me," added Soto. "To me it was simple, if I hit these free-throws we win and we're county champs. I cut the crowd noise out of my mind, I trusted my shot, and I know (Leicht) trust me to hit them, He's put his life into this game and into this team, I wanted to do this for him and my teammates more than anything."
Soto took a deep breath before both shots and hit them both to make it a two-possession game. From there, it was just a countdown until the final buzzer sounded as Leicht and the Indians were finally able to celebrate a Passaic County championship on their home court.
Flower was the only player on either team to reach double-figures in the scoring column with 12 points, all coming in the second half for Wayne Valley (20-5).
Cuevas led the way for Paterson Eastside (18-8) with nine points and Clyburn went 6-6 at the foul line to finish with eight points.
The year 2024 has been a great one for the Indians. Since the turn of the calendar, they have won 12 in a row and 17 out of their past 18 games, with their lone loss coming to Bergen County finalist, Ramapo. Although their hopes of a North 1, Group 3 state section title are ahead, the main focus was on Leicht's words from one year ago coming to fruition through hard work and playing for each other.
"I've been coaching for nearly 50 years and this is the best win I've ever had here," said Leicht. "Exactly 52 weeks ago, we came in against this team and we got waxed. We sat in this classroom after the game and talked about what it takes to get back and to win it. It's the first county championship, this particular group of kids deserve it, and I couldn't be happier to be here at Wayne Valley."
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