Wednesday, February 17, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Sophomore Chris Orozco scored a game-high 19 points as Tenafly led wire-to-wire in a 58-26 rout over Cliffside Park that put it in sole possession of first place in the BCSL-American.

TENAFLY – Blowing a 16-point, second-half lead and eventually losing on an NBA-range three-pointer at the buzzer to River Dell last week was a crushing blow for the Tenafly boys basketball team. All of the hard work the Tigers put in this season toward winning a league title was put in jeopardy as they slipped into a tie atop the BCSL-American Division with rival Cliffside Park. But instead of looking at the situation as a negative, the Tigers took it as a lesson and got the chance to apply what they learned on Tuesday.

With Cliffside Park in town and looking for sole possession of first-place, the Tigers took another big halftime lead and this time they did not give it back. As he has all season, Tenafly sophomore Chris Orozco led the way. He scored a game-high 19 points as the Tigers led wire-to-wire in a 58-26 rout over the Red Raiders at Tenafly High School.

“How we lost to River Dell was tough to deal with, so we were really hungry to get a big win here,” said Orozco. “You can’t let (Cliffside Park) get on a roll early. I thought we played great defense and really pressured the ball well.”

Jonathan Fagel got things going for the Tigers with consecutive baskets, including a three-pointer for a 12-5 lead. With an early lead, it allowed the methodical Tenafly squad to control the pace of the game at both ends. Fagel scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half as Tenafly was in control with a 33-15 halftime lead.

“Tenafly is a team you have to start fast against, you can’t afford to let them take a big lead,” said Cliffside Park head coach Brian Cameron. “They opened up a big lead and were able to sit in their half-court offense with a point like (Chris) Orozco who isn’t going to get rattled by pressure. Tenafly came here ready to play and they played well. For us, we have to focus on the league games we have left. To put up a performance like this is unacceptable and we have to play better than this from here on out.”

Tenafly has a one game lead in the league standings with three games left against teams it has already beaten.

In the loss to River Dell, Tenafly allowed an early third-quarter run and that gave the Hawks a spark for their miraculous comeback. The Tigers clearly learned their lesson by opening the second half on an 11-0 run, putting to rest any ideas of another comeback.

The most telling moment of the game came on the final play of the third quarter with Tenafly inbounding the ball at mid-court with 1.4 seconds on the clock. Somehow, the Red Raiders were confused as in what defense to be in. Meanwhile, Orozco snuck behind everyone and Jon Sobo hit him for a wide-open layup at the buzzer to make it 48-16.

“I’m definitely happy with our effort, especially on the defensive end,” said Tenafly head coach Jon. “We came out with a lot of intensity and the early lead gave us confidence. It allowed us to play our style and loosen up their defense a little bit.”

Orozco went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and also had six assists and four steals for Tenafly (17-3), which is also the top seed in the upcoming North 1, Group 2 state tournament. Dan Brodsky and Kevin Mantel each added eight points. Koko Karejelian struggled from the floor, but finished with a team-high nine points for Cliffside Park (12-6).

If the Tigers wins their next three games over Westwood, Dumont, and Englewood (three teams the Tigers have already beaten), they will lock up their first BCSL-American Division title in over a decade and the last one ever to be handed out before the NJSIAA realignment next season.

“We really want to win the league, it has been a goal of ours since day one,” added Orozco. “Blowing a big lead against River Dell was tough, but we learned from it and used that today. We have to play hard and make good decisions for a whole game, not just a half.”

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