Senior Nick Baldini made a late 3-pointer to help No. 2 Tenafly hold off No. 18 Lyndhurst, 58-57, in the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Jamboree on Saturday.
TENAFLY – Tenafly's resume as the No. 2 seed in the Bergen County Tournament has been built on winning close games against good teams. In its 15-game winning streak to start the season, the Tigers have been pushed to the limit numerous times only to find a way to pull though every time.
It speaks to Tenafly's preparation for late game situations, its togetherness and its ability to execute under pressure. The Tigers also have a bunch of good players willing to step up. First it was senior Nick Baldini's turn.
After Lyndhurst, the No. 18 seed that took a two-point lead on an Avery Cano layup with 2:03 left in regulation and after a Tenafly timeout, Baldini found himself open in the corner with both feet behind the 3-point line.
"I knew we needed it and, honestly, I had no doubt in my mind that it was going in," said Baldini, "Big shots; I have been there before and I practice those. And I made it."
That was clutch bucket No. 1. Then, after Lyndhurst retook the lead when Johnny Chaname no-doubted two pressure packed free throws with 1:10 left, Tenafly senior Adin Goldschneider drove right and scored with his left hand to edge the Tigers back in front for good.
Lyndhurst got off a potential game-tying 3 in the waning seconds and made a layup off the offensive glass, but it left the Golden Bears one-point short. Tenafly's 58-57 victory makes it 16 wins in 16 games and secures a spot in the Jambo quarterfinals opposite No. 7 Don Bosco Prep, next Sunday on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University.
It was the second time this season that Lyndhurst gave Tenafly all it could handle after a five-point tussle back on January 3. This time around the largest lead for each team was 6 points and it got there in one drastic swing in the second quarter. Tenafly ran off 8 straight points on a 3-pointer by Caleb Berkowitz, another by Nick Lewin and two free throws by Goldschneider to make it 23-17 with 4:20 left in the first half.
Johnny Chaname finished with a game-high 22 points for Lyndhurst, which gave unbeaten Tenafly all it could handle for the second time this season..
Lyndhurst immediately responded with a Cano 3 from the wing that kicked off a 12-0 run the other way. Filoteo Mosca scored in transition, Chaname nailed a 3 from the corner, Josh Lorenzo grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup Sam Ijeh made a jumper from the free throw line with 1:42 to go in the period, Tenafly was down 29-23 and needed a timeout.
"We knew coming in that we were the underdog, but we played them earlier in the year and we felt like we had a chance," said Lyndhurst head coach Perrin Mosca. "The kids stuck to the game plan the whole way against a great team, a well-coached team like Tenafly."
A Baldini free throw and a bucket inside by Jase Harris stopped the bleeding and got Tenafly to within 29-26 at halftime. There were three ties in the third quarter, which ended with the Tigers in front 46-43. The last tie of the game came at 51 with 2:48 left in regulation after a Cano free throw and his driving layup gave Lyndhurst it's last lead before Baldini stepped into the void.
"Nick Baldini's 3 was huge. We called a timeout to get the guys rested and get them to understand what we needed to do. It's what I always expect from this group, they were focused," said Tenafly head coach Jeff Koehler. "We are like every other team at this time of the season, a bunch of them are sick, some of them are fighting through injury, but it is nice that they find a way to get it done."
The fun thing from a fan's perspective was that neither team was trying to hide anybody on the offensive side of the floor. The defenses were made to pay for doubling and helping and the open player got the ball. Both teams moved the ball, shared it and attacked at every opportunity. The difference was on the margins.
Josh Lorenzo fouled Goldschneider down 1 with 11 seconds to go. Goldschneider hit both to make it a 3-point spread while Lorenze headed to the bench with his fifth foul. His replacement had not been on the floor for more than few seconds when, on Lyndhurst's final possession, Tenafly threw everything at Chaname to force the ball out of his hands, Chaname reversed the back to where the help came from, but the 3-pointer was well off the mark and the Bears only had time for the putback, which fell through the hoops with just over 1 second remaining. With no time outs left, Tenafly did not have to inbound as the final buzzer sounded.
Adin Goldschneider scored a team-high 20, including the go-ahead bucket, for Tenafly, which will face Don Bosco Prep in the quarterfinals.
Chaname led all scorers with 22 points and Cano (15) and Filoteo Mosca (10) also finished in double figures for Lyndhurst, which is now 12-8 on the season. Lorenzo (7 points) and Ijeh (3) rounded out the scoring for the Bears.
Tenafly was also balanced as Goldschneider shook off a cold start from the floor to finish with a team-high 20 points, including four 3-points and 4 makes in 4 opportunities at the free throw line. Baldini (14 points) and Lewin (12) made it three Tigers in double figures, Harris (4 points) battled Ijeh to a near draw inside and Berkowitz made two 3s and finished with 8 points.
"To have a chance to win that game against a team like that, I am proud of the boys," said Perrin Mosca, whose team "upset" No. 15 Ramsey in the opening round and is going to be a player in the state sectional tournament. "We scheduled a lot of tough games, we got a lot of tough games in and we did that all to get ready to make a big run in the states. Games like this are only going to help us down the road."
The dream season continues for Tenafly (16-0) as they are still unblemished heading into league games against Northern Valley/Old Tappan and Pascack Valley this week before facing Bosco at FDU.
"There is always adversity, but we found a way to win. There are some things that we struggle with, but we talk to each other as a team and we just never give up. We are 16-0, so we have proven that we can play with anyone," said Lewin, one of four seniors on the Tenafly roster. "Our coaching staff works so hard and Koehler never gives up on us. He is always teaching us, always coaching us and looking for every advantage and he is my biggest shoutout for today."
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