Thursday, December 20, 2007

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Mike Librot, playing in his first game of the season, scored 10 of his 12 points in the final 2:05 of the game as Northern Highlands improved to 3-0 with a 52-45 win over Ferris on Wednesday night in Allendale.

ALLENDALE -- Through its first two games of the season, the Northern Highlands boys basketball team had proved that it could win high-scoring games against familiar opponents. The Highlanders scored in the 70s twice in knocking off Ramapo and Demarest in league play to start the season, but were faced with a whole different set of challenges against a stingy Ferris defense on Wednesday night.

Ferris came out and scored 14 of the game’s first 18 points and did not commit even a single turnover in the first quarter, protecting the basketball and building a 10-point lead in the process.

It was actually Highlands that wanted to push the pace of the game and when it finally forced some turnovers, it coincided with a 12-0 run that got it back in the game. The teams stayed close through the middle quarters and late into the fourth before Mike Librot, playing in his first game of the season after an ankle injury, made his mark down the stretch.

With his team holding a precarious 40-36 lead, Librot took over on the offensive end. He hit a pull up jumper from the baseline, nailed a three-pointer from the corner and scored on the fastbreak off an assist from Taylor Barrise all in the span of 59 seconds. He scored 10 of his 12 points in the final 2:05 to push Highlands to a 52-45 win and a 3-0 start to its season.

Senior guard Shawn Brazemore finished with 11 points to lead Ferris.

“Mike Librot came off the bench and did some outstanding things. He scored some critical points in key spots. He stepped in and played with confidence,” said Highlands head coach Michael Stone. “It’s a long season and there are going to be chances for everybody to contribute. And when we get balanced scoring, it obviously opens up a lot of things for us.”

Balance is a key for the Highlanders because it keeps a defense from shifting too much of its focus Barrise, the senior forward. Barrise is a tough matchup already because of his ability to shoot from the outside, post up smaller defenders and put the ball on the floor, and if he has only one defender in front of him when he has the ball, it makes the Highlanders all the more effective.

“I don’t know if having other guys score down the stretch is part of any real strategy, it is more a matter of everybody knowing their roles and when to step up,” said Barrise, who finished with a game-high 16 points. “We have a lot of guys that can score and it is really everybody’s responsibility to get people shots when they are open no matter what the situation is. It’s worked out well so far.”

Taylor Barrise shooting the tough jumper that gave Highlands the first points of the fourth quarter and a 35-34 lead.

Highlands used that 12-0 spurt that started in the first quarter and ended with Tucker Diestel’s three-pointer 45 seconds into second to take its first lead at 16-14. Ferris retook the lead and had it back up to seven points at 24-17 before Highlands reeled the Bulldogs in again.

The Highlanders forced turnovers on consecutive Ferris possessions late in the first half and got a putback by Dave Reyneke and a jumper from Diestel (5 points) to draw within 24-23, but settled for a three-point deficit at the break after Ferris’ Brandon Spann hit a jumper just before the buzzer.

“The way the first half went didn’t surprise me because in a game between two good teams it is going to be a game of runs,” said Ferris head coach Dave Masciale. “We had one early, the answered us and it was what happened after that that determined the outcome.”

Barrise hit a jumper from the wing to put NH up 33-30 with 3:42 to go in the third quarter, but Carlos Marte, Ferris’ junior power forward who was a non-factor in the first half because of three personal fouls, scored two baskets inside to give the Bulldogs the 34-33 lead they held after three quarters.

Andrew Weinzoff's three-pointer with 3:53 to go in the game gave Highlands the lead for good.

It got tougher for Highlands when Barrise was whistled for his third foul, a charge called with 1:16 to go in the third that forced him to the bench. The positive was that no points were scored either way while Barrise caught a quick breather and when he returned early in the fourth quarter, he hit a key basket, a tough hanger with hands in his face that gave NH a 36-35 lead with 5:53 to play. Marte, who scored all eight of his points after halftime, grabbed Ferris the lead back the next time down the floor, but it did not last long.

Andrew Weinzoff (8 points) hit a three-pointer from the wing with 3:53 to go that gave the Highlanders the lead for good and Reyneke (9 points, 11 rebounds) scored on a put back to put his team up 40-36 before Librot’s late offense sealed the deal.

Senior Shawn Brazemore, who hit three three-pointers, led Ferris with 11 points and was the only Bulldog to finish in double figures. Kalid Jones had 9 points, Marte finished with 8 and Andre Tucker and Brandon Spann each added 7 for the Bulldogs, who fell to 0-2 with loss and are in the middle of a grueling early schedule that has five of their first six games on the road.

Highlands, meanwhile, is off to a fast start and will play Wayne Hills on Thursday night with a chance to get to 4-0 heading into the Holiday Tournament that it hosts.

“Win or lose, this game tonight was nothing but a positive for us. We played a tough team that battled and we are going to play more teams like that down the road that push up on you, that ride you, that are athletic and make you work for everything,” said Stone. “It would have been a win in terms of what we took away from here regardless, but to gel together, to get contributions from everyone and to pull out a win, it is all the better.”

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