SALVAGE CREW - Boys Basketball: Freehold Twp. 60, WW-P South 49 (CJ IV)

By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

    FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP -- A season that started off so promising for Freehold Township and then began to take on a special feeling after some classic wins suddenly fell apart down the stretch. Losers of four straight heading into Wednesday's NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV quarterfinal game against West Windsor-Plainsboro South, the Patriots needed a win in a way that meant more than just advancing to the next round.
    "It's been a while since we won and we haven't been protecting our home court," said junior forward Matt Devine. "After we lost to Freehold (on a last-second shot in the SCT) we tried to move on but it was a numb feeling. We knew if we lost today it would be 10,000 times worse, and we didn't want the seniors to end their season like that."
    Devine certainly did his part by scoring a game-high 20 points and adding nine rebounds. Senior guard Kevin Fischer also scored 20 points as the Patriots erased a three-point halftime deficit to defeat the Pirates, 60-49, and advance to the semifinals. Freehold Township was down 44-41 in the fourth quarter before going on a 16-0 run to open a double-digit lead it would hold onto for the remainder of the game.
    "We knew what the situation was, we really haven't been playing well lately," said junior Steve Talbot. "There was a sense of urgency and we came out and played like it."
    "I"m glad I don't have to think about it anymore, you don't want it to end here," said Patriots head coach Brian Golub. "You don't want to be remembered as the senior class that lost five in a row to end the season."
    The third-seeded Patriots will now play at No. 2 Rancoas Valley in the sectional semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. They got there by sticking to a gameplan that eventually paid dividends. West Windsor South is a team that prefers to play in the half court set and utilize the outside shot. The Patriots took the Pirates away from that with an up-tempo game complete with fast breaks and an aggressive press. The Pirates showed no ill effects of playing outside their comfort zone in the first three quarters, but they scored only four points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter as Freehold Township pulled ahead for good with its best quarter.
    "We hit some shots in the fourth and I think they (the Pirates) were tired," Golub said. "I tired to use nine or 10 players and pressure them every minute because we had a feeling they would only go five or six deep. Holding them to four points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter was the key."
    And so, quite obviously, was hitting open shots. Guards Fischer, Corey Csakai and Tyler McKinnon were able to penetrate and find the open shooter in the first half, but the shots just weren't falling. After the break, the Pats made the Pirates pay for rotating help into the lane by moving the ball quickly and knocking down some big shots.
    "It's all our guards, they do a great job penetrating," Devine said. "Our guards penetrating and kicking and our rebounding to start the fast break was the difference."
    "We really just stepped up our defense," Talbot said. "We got a lot of turnovers and when we're playing well most of our points come off our defense."
    Freehold Township had to do its fair share of adjusting as the game progressed thanks to Pirates forward Austin Witter. He showed his shooting range in the first quarter by hitting a pair of jumpers and draining a 3-pointer. While he did not drift into the paint much on the offensive end, he was a menace around the rim on the defensive side of the ball. He blocked three shots in the first quarter alone and finished with nine for the game. The Patriots were keeping it close, but Witter's nine points and four blocks along with 10 points from Andy McKeever had the Pirates up by three after the first half.
    The team's traded buckets to start the third quarter until Devine made an acrobatic shot while being fouled and then hit his free throw to tie the game at 34. McKinnon then hit a three to give the Patriots their first lead since a 14-12 first-quarter advantage. Baskets by Jack Dennehy and Dan Balevski, and two by Chris Johnson gave the Pirates back the lead at 41-37. Devine and Talbot responded with buckets on consecutive possessions to tie the game again to end the third quarter. Mike Iacouzze began the fourth quarter with a conventional three-point play to give West Windsor South a 44-41 lead. That's when Fischer and the Patriots took over.
    Fischer scored nine of his points during the 16-0 run that put Freehold Township on top, 57-44. Devine, Talbot, Chris Ballester and Max Lit also had points during the stretch. The Pirates were able to cut the lead from 13 to eight on a basket by Witter and a three-point play from Johnson, but Devine connected on three of four free throws in the final minute to give the Patriots just their second win in their last seven games.
    "The team was down and it was just a matter of asking someone to step up," Golub said. "As a senior, Kevin came through for us and Matt also gave us what we needed. People see us losing now but we have a lot of good wins and playing in A North, we're battled tested."


Box Score

(3) Freehold Township 60, (6) West Windsor-Plainsboro South 49

West Windsor-Plainsboro South (49)
Austin Witter 6 0-1 14, Andy McKeever 4 2-2 10, Jack Dennehy 2 0-0 5, Mike Iacouzze 2 1-1 5, Dan Block 0 0-0 0, Greg Quinton 1 0-0 3, Chris Johnson 2 2-3 6, Dan Balevski 3 0-0 6. Totals: 20 5-7 49.

Freehold Township (60)
Corey Csakai 2 0-0 5, Tyler McKinnon 1 0-0 3, Max Lit 2 1-2 5, Chris Ballester 1 2-2 4, Matt Devine 7 4-5 20, Kevin Fischer 7 4-4 20, John Belfiore 0 0-0 0, Steve Talbot 1 1-2 3, Alex Becker 0 0-0 0, Antohny Caraluzz 0 0-0 0, Quinn Spillane 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 12-15 60.

Three-point field goals: (W) Witter 2, Dennehy, Quinton; (F) Devine 2, Fischer 2, Csakai, McKinnon.

West Windsor South (15-10) 16 13 12   8 - 49
Freehold Township (15-8)      14 12 15 19 - 60



E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com