SP-F Boys Basketball Hangs Tough, But Ultimately Falls to Westfield, 43-36

A fourth straight victory was not that far out of reach for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood boys’ basketball team, yet the gap between the Raiders and arch rival Westfield could widen over the course of the season.

In order to prevent that from happening, Scotch Plains must be in a better position to make shots on the floor and also learn how to make free throws down the stretch.

At times Scotch Plains was right there with Westfield Tuesday night in the championship game of the annual John “Butch” Kowal Tournament at Rahway High School’s Earl H. Walter Gymnasium.

The game was tied at the half and the Raiders twice pulled to within three points late in the fourth quarter.

In contrast, inconsistencies in their performances on offense and defense helped Westfield take the lead again for good in the second half and hold on to it.

Scotch Plains hung tough, but eventually fell to Westfield 43-36, with the Blue Devils taking home the trophy.

The Raiders had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-2, while Westfield extended its winning streak to three and improved to 3-1.

The teams will meet again at least twice more in league contests.

“They played good defense and every little possession was a big possession,” Scotch Plains head coach Dan Doherty said. “They made their foul shots and we didn’t, which was big. I think we were 6-of-17 for the game.”

After making all four free throws in the first half – on four-of-four attempts in the second quarter – Scotch Plains made only one-of-four shots from the line in the third quarter and then just one-of-six in the fourth for a total of six-for-14.

“In a close game like that and a battle like that, it’s every little thing that we have to do,” Doherty said.

Although he did not start, junior guard Chuck Oliver paced all scorers with a 20-point performance that included 10 points in the first and second halves.

Scotch Plains got a bit of a break when Westfield senior center and his team’s leading scorer Pat Sabatino drew his second foul with 2:11 left in the first quarter. Sabatino came out of the game with 1:34 left in the first, missed the rest of the first period and the entire second quarter, and did not come back into the game until the beginning of the third quarter.

However, the game was tied 19-19 at intermission, with the Raiders not really taking advantage of Sabatino being on the bench. Senior Drew Margolis came in for Sabatino and played more-than-capable on defense in his place.

“We tried to pressure them and tried to trap them, but we just couldn’t get things going,” Doherty said. “They did a good job defensively on us.”

Both teams had 6-0 runs in the second quarter, with Scotch Plains’ surge coming second. A free throw by Oliver gave the Raiders their last lead at 19-18.

There were six lead changes and four ties in the first half of a typical Westfield-Scotch Plains slugfest sporting event.

The Blue Devils took the lead again in the third quarter and managed to hold it the rest of the way.

Westfield senior forward Hugo Nolasco made the first of his two 3-point baskets early in the third to provide the Blue Devils with the lead for good at 22-19.

Westfield gradually extended its advantage to six points at 30-24 by the time the third quarter ended and then outscored Scotch Plains 13-12 in the fourth.

Although he played in only three quarters, Sabatino still managed 13 points and seven rebounds. He entered the game with 61 points in his team’s first three games.

Junior forward Ryan Hess led Westfield in scoring for the first time this year, pouring in 15 points. He made only two field goals, but connected on 11 free throws, including seven-of-eight in the pressurized fourth quarter.

Westfield head coach Kevin Everly noticed that Scotch Plains went to a zone in the third quarter. Scotch Plains 6-4 junior center Matt Manns did not score, but he grabbed nine rebounds and did the best he could in guarding Sabatino and trying to rattle him when Scotch Plains was in man-to-man coverage.

A three-point basket by Scotch Plains junior guard Patrick Dougher - his first and only of the game - with 2:15 remaining pulled the Raiders to within 37-34. However, Scotch Plains did not get the ball back down by just one possession with a chance to tie.

Westfield came back with one point when Sabatino scored his final point after making one of two free throws.

When Scotch Plains pulled to within three points for the final time at 39-36 with 32 seconds left on the third driving-through-the-lane bank shot by Oliver, Westfield managed to score the game’s final four points – all on free throws, the first two by Hess, the third by senior guard Jaraad Rogers and the fourth by Nolasco, who finished with seven points.

Dougher also finished with seven points.

Junior guard Tim Bonacum, who poured in 42 points in Scotch Plains’ first four games, made just one field goal – a 3-pointer on his first attempt of the game in the first quarter. He missed his next five 3-point attempts in the first half and was held to even less field goal tries that also didn’t go in during the second half.

His shots – which were not easy to come by – just didn’t fall on this night. That happens. Expect Bonacum to come back like all good shooters do.

NOTES: In upcoming Union County Conference-Watchung Division play, Westfield is scheduled to host Scotch Plains Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. and then Scotch Plains is set to host Westfield Feb. 4 at 4 p.m., which will be two days before the state playoff cutoff date of Feb. 6 – which is also the day before the Super Bowl in Miami.

“I don’t look forward to playing them twice again, but to leave December 3-2, I’m happy about that,” Doherty said.

Scotch Plains will begin the January portion of its schedule with a very challenging road game against conference rival Elizabeth Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Dunn Sport Center.

JOHN “BUTCH” KOWAL TOURNAMENT TITLE GAME

AT RAHWAY HIGH SCHOOL’S EARL H. WALTER GYM

WESTFIELD (3-1)                                           10       9    11      13 - 43

SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD (3-2)             10       9        5     12 – 36

WESTFIELD (43): Hugo Nolasco 0-2-1-7, Jaraad Rogers 0-1-1-4, Ryan Hess 2-0-11-15, Pat Sabatino 4-0-5-13, Joe Kasmarsky 0-1-1-4, Drew Margolis 0-0-0-0, Tim Younger 0-0-0-0, Max Fusaro 0-0-0-0. Totals: 6-4-19-43.

SCOTCH PLAINS (36): Patrick Dougher 2-1-0-7, Chuck Oliver 5-2-4-20, Ian Johnston 0-0-0-0, Doran Nelson 1-0-2-4, Tim Bonacum 0-1-0-3, Matt Manns 0-0-0-0, Alfredo Pawid 1-0-0-2. Totals: 9-4-6-36. 

JOHN “BUTCH” KOWAL TOURNAMENT AT RAHWAY

Sunday, Dec. 27:

Scotch Plains 45, Holmdel 41

Westfield 53, Rahway 49

Tuesday, Dec. 29:

Consolation: Holmdel 47, Rahway 37

Championship: Westfield 43, Scotch Plains 36