Saturday, January 31, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

JERSEY CITY – The dead-eye shooter, the dazzling point guard, and the imposing big man are all types of players fans love to see when watching a high school basketball game. It is the little guys that only care about the final score that often get overlooked. A quintessential example of that is Hoboken’s Orlando Martinez. The 5-6 reserve guard is not going to blow by a defender, or shoot his way to a 20-point performance. His value comes on the defensive end where he prides himself on making an impact on each game.

With first place in the HCIAA-Seglio Division on the line and the Red Wings’ potential elimination from a state tournament berth on the line, Martinez was willing to do whatever it takes to help his team find a way to win. Although he did not score a single point in yesterday’s game against HCIAA-Seglio rival St. Mary’s (J.C.), Martinez changed the game with his play on the defensive end until his teammates got their legs underneath them on the other end of the floor.

St. Mary’s guard Ed Garcia lit up the Red Wings in the first half as the Ramblers grabbed a 13-point halftime lead. That was when Hoboken head coach Buddy Matthews took a chance and put the scrappy Martinez on the 6-0 sharp-shooting guard. Martinez, a junior, did not score a single point in Friday’s game, but was as valuable as anyone on the floor. The adjustment changed the face of the game and was the eventual turning point in Hoboken’s biggest win of the season.

Martinez held Garcia without a single field goal in the second half, while teammates Eddie Canary and Cory Willis provided the offensive firepower in the comeback. Canary finished with a game-high 27 points as Hoboken moved into a first-place tie in the HCIAA-Seglio Division with High Tech by earning a 55-52 road win on St. Mary’s home floor.

“This was the game we needed to have,” said Hoboken’s Canary. “I thought the big thing was that we didn’t get down on ourselves or each other. We kept our cool and focused on just playing defense. No matter what, if you wear a Hoboken jersey, you never give up. We didn’t give up and we saw what can happen when we don’t.”

Garcia hit a pair of three-pointers and Emmanuel Holmes added another as St. Mary’s used an 11-2 closing run to lead 19-10 after one quarter. The Ramblers stayed hot from the perimeter when another three from Garcia. Holmes added one of his own as St. Mary’s led by as many as 15 before taking a 39-26 halftime lead into the locker room. Garcia, a sophomore, hit 7-9 shots from the field for 18 first-half points. Matthews knew he needed to make a change and decided to put go man-to-man with Martinez shadowing the red-hot Garcia.

“Orlando and Ray (Maldonado) dictated the game defensively in the second half,” said Hoboken head coach Buddy Matthews. “I had to make some adjustments to start the second half. We had to stop (Tahmir Sowell) from penetrating and dishing to the open shooters, which Ray did a great job of. Orlando in turn did his job of giving Garcia no open looks. We made a few stops in a row and that allowed us to make a run and make it a close game.”

Hoboken whittled away at the Red Wings’ lead until finally taking it back for the first time since the first minute of the game on a Willis putback of his own miss for a 46-45 lead with 4:25 to play. The Ramblers took the lead back before Rafferty Rodriguez came off the bench to hit two straight baseline jumpers to put Hoboken ahead to stay.

It was still a one-point game in the final minute with St. Mary’s having the ball and a chance to take the lead. But they missed a tough jump shot and Rodriguez scored on a layup to make it 53-50 with 38 seconds left. Canary, who had 21 points earlier in the week in a win over High Tech, hit two free-throws with seven seconds left to ice the game.

“We didn’t make enough plays throughout the second half, but especially down the stretch,” said St. Mary’s head coach Tom LoLicato. “I think they were more physical than we were and they wore us down in the second half. Take nothing away from Hoboken, they made nice defensive adjustments and played outstanding defense in the second half. This is a tough loss for us. But we will learn a lot from this and it will make us better with the playoffs coming up in a few weeks.”

Canary hit 11-19 shots from the floor to notch his game-high 27 points for Hoboken (6-10, 5-2 HCIAA-Seglio). Willis had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his eight points. Rodriguez scored all of his eight points in the second half, while Maldonado held the talented Sowell without a point in the second half.

Garcia took just three second-half shots, but finished with a team-high 20 points for St. Mary’s (9-7, 6-3 HCIAA-Seglio). Holmes and Miquel Aviles added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

With four games before next Saturday’s cutoff for the state tournament, the Red Wings are still alive for the state tournament berth if they can run the table. More importantly, they knocked St. Mary’s down into second place and pulled into a first-place tie in the league with High Tech.

“They were walking all over us in the first half and we came out hungry in the second half,” said Hoboken’s Orlando Martinez. “I knew I had a big job ahead of me, but I had to come in and do it. We were filling our own heads up with stupid stuff early on. In the second half, we stayed strong both physically and mentally. This is a great win for us because it keeps us going for both the counties and the states. But if we are going to do anything, we have to start playing like we did in the second half for all four quarters from now on.”

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