January
4, 2004
March 21,
LITTLE FALLS - Although Passaic Valley came into Saturday's NHC-Skyline Conference contest without a win, Wayne Valley head coach Joe Leicht knew that the Hornets were like no team that his team had played yet this season and that they were dangerous.
Passaic Valley is a young team, but possesses at least four 3-point shooters on the court at all times. Leicht knew that an adjustment was necessary if the Indians were going to hold on to their halftime lead and avoid the upset.
Passaic Valley cooled off while Indians' forward Brad Dragone stayed hot to the tune of a 30-point, 11-rebound performance as Wayne Valley cruised in the second half to a 64-48 triumph.
"We want to fast break and force turnovers," said Leicht. "Sometimes you don't have it and you have to pull out and start the offense. Our whole defensive philosophy is to rebound and get up and down the floor. We did a much better job of rebounding and staying patient on offense."
Dragone wasted no time in heating up as he scored 13 points in the opening quarter, but the Hornets stayed within striking distance behind the long-range shooting of Kyle Kober and Giovanni Cavenza and PV was down only three at the end of the first quarter, 16-13.
Wayne Valley forced three straight turnovers to start the second quarter and Chris Gesualdi stroked a three-pointer from the corner to cap an 11-2 run for a 27-15 lead.
Stephen Tuohey hit a short jumper to pull the Hornets within seven and they had the ball with seconds to play in the half before Isais Tartak made a steal and a lay-up at the buzzer to push the Wayne Valley lead back up to nine, 35-26.
"I knew they weren't going to just go away quietly," said Dragone. "They have good outside shooters and we had to get out on them and put a hand in their faces to make the shots tougher. We played under control for most of the second half and they weren't getting the open looks they got in the first half."
Kober and Tuohey hit three-point bombs to keep the Hornets hanging around, but Dragone, Tartak, and steady point guard Paul Scarpa proved to be too much as Wayne Valley (3-1) broke the game open in the fourth quarter.
Scarpa ran the show with efficiency and completely controlled the tempo of the game and PV never got within double digits in the fourth quarter.
"I just try to do my job and get the ball to the right people," said Scarpa. "I think we're most effective when we can rebound and start the fast break. Brad (Dragone) had the hot hand so I tried to look for him as often as I could."
Dragone led Wayne Valley, which outrebounded the Hornets 36-19, with his 30-point showing on 12 of 21 shooting from the floor. Scarpa finished with seven points, six rebounds, and nine assists to only three turnovers. Tartak chipped in with 15 points and four steals.
Passaic Valley dropped to 0-5, but got solid performances from Tuohey, Kober, and Cavenza. Kober led the team in scoring with 17 points, including four threes. Cavenza ended up with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, along with three steals and three blocks. Tuohey finished with 10 points and six assists.
"We are a young team, so we just have to take our losses and try to get better from them," said Tuohey, a senior. "I have to be more of a leader and we have to stay positive. We are improving and getting better, now we have to turn that into wins. I know we can, we just have to keep working hard."
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