Andrew Del Rey scored 20 points, for Waldwick, which advanced to the North 1, Group 1 state sectional final with a 53-46 win in a packed gym in Emerson.
EMERSON – When Waldwick junior Antonio Miccinilli scored the final five points of the third quarter and then the first basket of the fourth, it looked like he might have settled the issue. His personal 7-0 gave the Warriors an 11-point lead with 7:54 left to play against an Emerson team that had scored just 24 points through the game first 24 minutes.
That, however, was not the case at all. Miccinilli's big game bona fides were needed again six minutes of game time later.
In front of a standing-room-only crowd jammed into Emerson's gymnasium, the home team ripped off a 13-2 run with back-to-back baskets by John Kennedy off back-to-back Waldwick turnovers completing the surge and tying the game with 2:13 left in regulation.
The place was going bananas when Miccinilli got the ball in front of his team's bench about 23 feet from the basket on the Warriors' next possession. And he let it fly.
"Once I got the screen and [the defender] didn't come up I knew I was going to let it go. I was definitely shooting that," said Miccinilli. "I have put in too many hours to not shoot those shots in those situations. I am going to take that shot every single time with confidence."
Miccinilli buried it then made a steal and a free throw for a personal 4-point run in the span of 24 seconds that tilted the game back in Waldwick's favor for good. With a 53-46 win, the third-seeded Warriors advance to the section final for the first time since 2013 and, as a bonus, they will be the host after No. 4 Pequannock knocked off No. 1 Cresskill in Wednesday night's the other semifinal.
"Composure. Our guys have composure. Our guys made some foul shots when they needed to and we played the way we wanted to play with a defensive mindset all game," said Waldwick head coach Greg McBain, who is in his first season coaching the boys team at his alma mater. "We have been talking all year about getting back to a section final and now we are going...and now I have to figure out what to do."
Senior John Piccirillo scored a team-high 18 points for Emerson.
The game was a tribute to small public school basketball. Both teams draw their players from single towns, both know each other well and their respective communities showed out to add to the spectacle. Capacity was reached well before the tip; the doors were closed to latecomers and Waldwick put its plan into motion from the get-go.
Even with proven scorers like Miccinilli and senior Andrew Del Rey, who is well over the 2,000-point mark in his career, Waldwick was committed to slowing the pace and was comfortable in the half-court offense. Del Rey scored the first five points of the game to get the Warriors out of the gates and they led just about the entire way.
Emerson's only lead of the first half came at 11-10 when John Piccirillo scored on the fastbreak to open the second quarter scoring and its only lead of the third quarter came when Ryan Dauble's 3-pointer broke the 18-18 halftime tie.
Waldwick stayed patient, but Del Rey made the most of his opportunities in an efficient third quarter. His step-back 3 answered Dauble's and retied the score and he teamed with Miccinilli for all of the points in a 15-3 run that lasted for the remainer of the period. Del Rey scored the first 8 and Miccinilli the last 7 to give Waldwick a commanding 33-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter and then Miccinilli made it 35-24 6 seconds into the final stanza.
"It was a good run, but we knew that no lead was going to be safe, not in the states, not against a good team and not on the road," said Del Rey. "We knew they were going to have their runs and we had to stay composed. That is what we work on every day."
That run came and that composure was tested as the Cavos hit desperation mode to try to keep their season alive. A Kennedy putback with 6:12 to play kicked off the 13-2 spurt the other way. Piccirillo's fastbreak finish got Emerson to within 41-37 before Kennedy's two straight baskets created by full court pressure tied the game at 41 with 2:13 to go.
Antonio Miccinilli scored a game-high 22 points for Waldwick, which will host Pequannock in Saturday's section final.
Then Miccinilli stepped up with his triple and ensuing steal that took the air out of the Emerson comeback. Waldwick went 8-for-10 from the free throw line inside the final 1:21 to keep the Cavos at bay.
"This was the best game to play in, I loved it. The tensions were high, the pressure was up there, the crowd was into it," said Del Rey. "Those are the best games. That is what we put all the work in for."
Emerson's outstanding season came with an end with a 21-7 record. Piccirillo, a senior 1,000-point scorer, finished with a team-high 18 points in his final high school game. Kennedy added 17 points, Dauble made two 3-pointers, Leone chipped in with 4 points and Marcos Kersul had the other point for the Cavos.
Miccinilli led all scorers with 22 points and added 9 rebounds, while Del Rey added 20 with 4 3-pointers and he made all 4 of his free throws. Connor Kasperowicz added 9 big points as a supplemental scorer and Lou Manuppelli added a field goal for Waldwick, which improved to 20-9 heading into the section final on Saturday.
"It's the whole team that has got us there. It is not just me and Andrew. We are a whole team, we play together. It is always us five, not us two. Without everybody on this team, starters and bench, we would be nothing, but with them we are everything," said a fired up Miccinilli, who then added the understatement of the year heading into the championship game. "I am pumped!"
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