Wednesday, December 23, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Junior Sammy Elias made a jumper to tie the game and another to give Old Tappan the lead for good with 4:11 to play in the Knights' 68-55 win over Paramus Catholic on Tuesday night.

OLD TAPPAN -- Already trailing by nine points against one of Bergen County's most high touted teams when Thomas Messina, its only senior starter, picked up his third foul just 5:27 into the game, the Old Tappan boys basketball team was facing its first bit of adversity in this young season. After losing three starters and seven other contributors from last year's Bergen County Jamboree and state sectional semifinal team, Old Tappan was about to find out how its new-look roster would perform in less than ideal situations.

And it had to be more than a little encouraged by the answers it got. Sammy Elias’ pull-up jumper with 5:06 to play in the fourth quarter erased Paramus Catholic’s last lead of the game and his jumper from the baseline the next time down the floor gave Old Tappan the lead for good as it scored 30 fourth-quarter points and 49 in the second half of a come-from-behind 68-55 triumph in Old Tappan on Tuesday night.

“In the first half I didn’t get that many looks, but I didn’t try to force it and in the second half I got a few more opportunities. I know what my game is and I know that I can only take good shots and in the second half they started to fall,” said Elias, a 6-2 junior who scored all 10 of his points after halftime. “Shane [McLaughlin] and Thomas [Messina] are our only two returning starters and we know we can turn to them in tough spots, but the rest of us also have to step up if we want to be a good team.”

Justin Harris scored a game-high 20 points for PC.

Paramus Catholic showed just how good a team it is as it took a nine-point lead by the end of the first quarter and went up by double digits for the first time at 18-8 when Justin Harris made a free throw to open the second quarter. The Paladins led 28-19 at halftime and opened their biggest lead of the game when Brandon Perez made a steal and JonBerry Badio followed him to the other end for the clean up basket that put PC in front 30-19 19 seconds into the second half.

But when Old Tappan (2-0) responded with an 11-0 that ended with Messina’s follow-up basket that tied the score at 30 with 4:22 left in the third quarter, it was a whole new ballgame.

”Nothing was falling, I got myself in foul trouble and it was tough for us in the first half,” said Messina, who was held to a single first quarter field goal in the first half before scoring 10 of his 12 points in the final two quarters. “But as long as we kept it pretty close I figured we would have a pretty good shot at it. I was surprised that we matched them [athletically] and we played well as a team, which shows in the result.”

Shane McLaughlin finished with a game-high 25 points for Old Tappan, which improved to 2-0 on the season.

The game was tied at 30, 32, 34 and 36, but it wasn’t until Messina finished off a drive to the basket with four second to go in the third quarter that Old Tappan was able to take its first lead of the game at 38-36 and it carried it into the fourth quarter.

There were three more ties and PC led at 40-38 and 42-40, but that was when Elias made the first of his two consecutive jumpers that were sandwiched by a charge drawn by Bianco that was the third personal foul on Harris, who led Paramus Catholic (1-1) with 20 points. Elias’ second bucket gave Old Tappan the lead for good at 44-42 with 4:11 to go.

“I got a bunch of them,” said Bianco, a junior, when asked how many floor burns he picked up in hustling for loose balls and throwing his body in front of opposing players. “But it is all worth it. When you go hard after the ball and make the effort on every play it usually works out for you in the end.”

It sure did as a game that started with Paramus Catholic looking like it was going to win in a rout in the first quarter turned into a possession by possession battle in the middle two periods finished with Old Tappan scoring 22 points in the final 3:50 to win by double digits.

JohnBerry Badio had 8 points for PC, which fell to 1-1 on the season.

While his fellow returning starter was saddled by foul trouble and his new teammates wading into the “Big Game’ category for the first time as varsity players, McLaughlin was steady throughout for Old Tappan. The junior point guard made the game’s lone three-pointer, finished with a game-high 25 points and was aggressive in going to the basket, which got him to the free throw line where he made 11 of his 12 attempts. He also had six assists against just one turnover.

“The nice part of it is I think you saw what some what the other kids can do tonight, too. Not to take anything away from McLaughlin,” said Old Tappan head coach Dennis Rossi, who then went on to do the opposite of taking something away from McLaughlin. “I think that he is the best point guard in Bergen County. I really believe that. I said it even last year toward the end of the year in the Teaneck game [a loss in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional semifinals] against [Javae-King] Gilchrist.”

McLaughlin’s 11 made free throws were a part of a broader standout effort from the stripe that Old Tappan used to put the game away. The Knights were a combined 23 of 27 as a team, 19 of 22 in the second half and 12 of 13 in the final 2:08. OT had four players finish in double figures as Tom Brophy made all seven of his free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to help wrack up his 14 points and join McLaughlin, Messina and Elias as double digit scorers. In addition to his work on the defensive end where he battled Harris most of the way, Bianco added 7 points for Old Tappan and Dan Brogan also made a field goal.

Thomas Messina, OT's only senior starter, scored 10 of his 12 points after halftime.

Harris’ 20 points led Paramus Catholic, which used 11 players in the first half alone and spread out its scoring. Andrew Blackwood finished with 15, Badio had 8, Ray Flores and Eddie Johnson each made two field goals and Jordan Wade and Adien Collins split PC’s other four points.

While it was only the second game of the season for each team, the result was an eye-opener as Old Tappan proved that, even with its graduation losses, it is an elite Bergen County team, while Paramus Catholic was welcomed into the NBIL with a loss in its first road game. It will certainly impact the race for the NBIL Division 1 title, but whether or not it sends a message on a county wide level remains to be seen in what is the longest of high school seasons.

“I don’t know what it means in the county. Some people might be surprised when they see the final score, but there is a long way to go,” said McLaughlin. “It’s important for our confidence more than anything else. We have a lot of new kids and this win helps them, but we can’t take anyone lightly. We can beat anyone, but we can lose to anyone, too, and we know that.”

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