Wednesday, January 9, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Mike Librot going up for the game-winning layup with 6 seconds left in No. Highlands' 67-65 win over Old Tappan on Tuesday night.

ALLENDALE -- Northern Highlands has more than a few things going for it. The Highlanders are talented, they are experienced and they are versatile. Because it is all of that and because all of those assets were needed on its final possession in what was a tie game on Tuesday night against Old Tappan, Highlands is still undefeated on the season through its first eight games.

Three seconds after Max Blank hit a driving layup to tie the game, Northern Highlands used its final timeout to set up a play that it thought would start with an inbounds pass near halfcourt in front of the scorer’s table.

Problem was the ball was to be in-bounded from underneath Highlands’ own basket and with no time outs left, Highlander head coach Mike Stone had to call a set play on the fly and hope his players could execute it.

“We were told that the ball was to be in bounded on the sideline, so we utilized our timeout to draw up a play that we have based on that spot,” said Stone. “So, needless to say, we were a little thrown off when we came out and they changed the inbounds spot to the baseline.”

Max Blank's layup with 16 seconds to go in the game brought Old Tappan all even at 65.

That was where his team’s experience came in. With four seniors on the floor, the Highlanders got into a press-break set and their versatility and talent showed up when the play broke down even before the ball was put in play.

Dave Reyneke, Highlands’ 6-6 center, was the only open player available to take the inbounds pass from Tucker Diestel before a five-second violation could have been called. Reyneke took a lob pass over a defender, gained possession and dribbled up the middle of the floor. With Highlands’ biggest player now leading an impromptu fast break, its shooting guard, Mike Librot, positioned himself under the basket looking for an entry pass or possibly an offensive rebound.

Reyneke got to the top of the key, saw Librot’s defender take one step forward and made the pass that led to the layup that provided the winning points in Northern Highlands’ 67-65 win that was only secured when Diestel blocked Old Tappan’s last second jumpshot from the opposite baseline as the buzzer sounded.

”Tucker [Diestel] made a great pass to Dave [Reyneke] over the top and Dave was driving. I was hanging in the corner and I saw Dave was coming down and that he was going to kick it off,” said Librot. “He made a nice little bounce pass and I made a box layup and put it in.”

Highlands' Dave Reyneke scored 11 point, pulled down 8 boards and had the game-winning assist.

It was Reyneke who made it easy for Librot and he, like every other Highlander in the starting five, has the green light to take the ball up the floor no matter the situation.

“We had a set play but it kind of fell apart. Tucker threw me the ball, I took it up and I saw Mike in the corner. He took the ball and he finished,” said Reyneke, who had the thought of taking the ball to the basket all by himself. “But then I saw the defender and he was going to take a charge on me and I might have blown it.”

But he made the right play and Diestel’s last second block put the capper on the Highlanders’ 8-0 start to the season and a game that was entertaining from start to finish.

Old Tappan led 13-9 after the first quarter, and it was 19-all when OT's Michael Soumas hit a three pointer with 5:33 to go in the first half, but Highlands seemed to take control shortly thereafter. Taylor Barrise’s foul line jumper and Evan Katsikiotis basket inside capped a 12-3 Highlander run that put them in front, 31-22, with 1:22 to go in the first half.

The lead was still nine points when Andrew Weinzhoff hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds to play before the break, but Blank’s two free throws drew Old Tappan to within 34-27 at the break.

Bryan Stankiewicz scored a team-high 19 points for Old Tappan, which fell to 6-2 on the season.

Highlands built its biggest lead at 43-29 when Diestel hit a jumper from the wing just over three minutes into the third quarter, but five straight points by Blank, a three-pointer and a back door layup courtesy of a feed from Bryan Stankiewicz, started Old Tappan’s comeback.

Northern Highlands led by double digits for the last time when Barrise hit a jumper from the corner, was fouled and added the free throw to make it 48-38 with 2:40 to go in the third quarter and Highlands led 52-45 heading into the fourth.

Stankiewicz and Casey Miller combined to score the first four points of the fourth quarter to get OT within 52-49 and once the Knights got that close, they stayed right on the Highlanders’ heels as Anthony Messina heated up. Messina hit two fourth quarter three-pointers for Old Tappan, the first brought his team to within 58-55 and the second got the Knights to within 59-58 with 3:36 left.

The teams then traded two-point trips on four straight possessions before Old Tappan could finally draw even for the first time since midway through the second quarter when Stephen Martinez made a free throw with 55 seconds left to square the game at 63.

Librot then hit a jumper to put NH back in the lead, but Blank answered with the driving layup that tied the game for the last time with 16 seconds to go. That led to Highlands' final timeout, its ill-fated set play and its unlikely fastbreak that led to Librot’s winning layup.

Taylor Barrise scored a game-high 24 points for Highlands, which stayed perfect heading into Friday night's matchup against Pascack Hills.

“We tried to pull away a little bit but we couldn’t get away. They did a good job of keeping their composure,” said Barrise. “Everybody stepped up. We have eight seniors on the team and three different seniors stepped up in the fourth quarter and we won a close game at home, which is huge.”

Stankiewicz, the lone junior in a starting five that includes four seniors, led Old Tappan with 19 points and Blank finished with 14. Messina got hot late and scored 10 of his 13 points in the final quarter and Soumas scored all 9 of his points on three three-pointers for the Golden Knights, who fell to 6-2 on the season.

Barrise led all scorers with 24 points and Librot had four-three pointers and the game-winning field goal among his 23 points. Despite foul trouble that plagued him for most of the second half, Reyneke finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds for Highlands, which can now turn its attention to Friday night’s NBIL crossover showdown against Pascack Hills, the Division 2 leader that is also unbeaten and coming off a 58-36 win over rival Pascack Hills on Tuesday.

Northern Highlands handed Pascack Hills its first loss last season in what was considered an upset at the time, but this year there will be no clear cut favorite when the Highlanders pay a visit to Montvale.

“I would say that it would be hard for either team to be an underdog in that game,” said Stone. “They have great guard play, they have good size and they have experience. We are obviously playing well, but to go over to their place, they get that place rocking, they fill that place up and I think it is going to be a great night. I think it will be a great night for high school basketball.”

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