Morris Knolls Holiday Tournament Final Day Recap
By Andrew Sidebottom
Game 1: Mountain Lakes Whips Parsippany Hills, 58-52
In opening game of the final round of the Morris Knolls Holiday Tournament, Mountain Lakes cruised to 58-52 victory over Par Hills. Mountain Lakes controlled the first three quarters but in the final session, the Vikings closed the gap to make the score less lopsided.
After a 12-11 Herd lead back and forth first quarter, Mountain Lakes pulled ahead with an aggressive defense. That defense produced four steals in the second quarter that helped to propel the Herd to a 19-8 advantage in the second quarter. The Lakes defense forced the Vikings to long jumpers and those misses lead to easy points for the Herd. The score at half time was 31-19 Mountain Lakes.
In the third quarter, Parsippany Hills employed the full court press in an effort to cut into the deficit but the press proved ineffective due to the arm of Jake Tripucka. As the inbound man, Tripucka launched long full court passes that gave his team easy buckets. The third quarter ended with Mountain Lakes on top 44-29.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings began to mount a comeback but it was too late. Despite over ten points from Greg Solimine in the final few minutes. The final score was 58-52, which was much closer than the game itself.
Mountain Lakes prevailed due to a stingy, hustling defense and an efficient offense. Chase Winter added ten for the Herd and Tripucka added 15 points and six assists to the cause. Parsippany Hills struggled all game offensively missed jump shots and lay-ups. Solimine finished with 23 points most of them in the final period.
Morris Hills Wins Championship in a Thriller
In the de facto, championship of the Morris Knolls Tournament, Morris Hills beat Jefferson 57-56 in the battle of the only 2-0 teams in the tournament. This game went back and forth especially in the final quarter.
In the opening stanza, Morris Hills jumped out with an 11-1 run to open the game. The main method of scoring was dribble penetration and quick pass for an easy lay-up. Jefferson managed to score some points and bring the score to 19-11 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second frame, the Falcons got on track as Derek Hall got open for a few easy baskets. Jefferson won the quarter, 14-7, but the Knights were leading the half 26-25.
In the third quarter, Morris Hills regained their dribble drive scoring touch as the outscored Jefferson in that period, 12-9, and lead 38-34 entering the climatic fourth quarter.
In the final period, the Falcons opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to give them a 44-40 edge. Jefferson extended their lead to nine with three minutes left in the game. Then, the Knights began their march back. Andy Katz was on fire nailing three consecutive three pointers. Jack Champion answered with two threes of his own. Next with one minute to go, Katz missed a three but Justin Doniloski drove the lane to bring the score to 56-54 with thirty tics left. Jefferson inbound but with ten seconds left, John Hiland was fouled. He missed both free throws, and then the Knights got the rebound but fumbled it out of bounds. Jefferson inbounded again and Mike Kern was fouled with 6.6 seconds left. He missed both foul shots and Doniloski got the rebound. He then raced down the court and near – but what looked like inside - the three-point stripe, he launched up a shot as he fell towards his right. The shot hit the rim and went in as the buzzer sounded. Right after, the officials gathered and decided that the shot counts and would be worth three points, giving Morris Hills the win and tournament title, as the players celebrated. Jefferson had missed three shots in the final quarter before missing four straight foul shots with under tens seconds to go in the game.
Jefferson falls to 4-2 and Morris Hills is now 6-0. Jefferson was lead by Hall’s 24 points and Champions’ 12. Morris Hills was paced by Katz’s 13 and Doniloski’s 14. Morris Hill might challenge for the Iron Hills basketball title as they did for football and soccer.
Montville Overcomes Morris Knolls, 53-50
Montville battled back from a half time shortfall to beat the tournament hosts in the last game of 2007 in Morris County. Montville’s comeback was due to a control of the glass, rebounding Knolls by a wide margin.
In the first quarter, the Golden Eagles harassed the Mustangs and forced turnovers. The Knolls defense was swarming to the ball and that lead to easy buckets for the home squad as they jumped out by an 18-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the following period, both teams were cold as ice from the field, struggling to score many points. After a 10-9 Montville favored quarter, the game went to the half with score 27-19 Golden Eagles.
In the third session, Montville came out hot with an 8-3 scoring run right out of the gate. Montville then applies some of the pressure they faced early towards their opponents. This strategy worked causing turnovers and preventing the home squad from clicking offensively. The Golden Eagles despite playing on their home court struggled to get a bounce from the rims. Montville tied the game, 35-35, at the end of the quarter on a Joe Kim buzzer beating three pointers.
In the fourth quarter, Montville used their rebounding advantage by scoring multiple second and third chance points. In the first three minutes, Montville had built a five-point lead that remained until the final minute of the game. Morris Knolls made it a one-possession game twice in the final minute but Montville made their foul shots to preserve the 53-50 lead.
Montville was without their leading scorer, Travis Warech, for the entire tournament and only managed to win one game. Montville was lead by Ryan Gajdos who scored 18 points and had four steals. Morris Knolls was paced by JJ Boylan who chipped in ten points.
Morris Knolls hosted a great tournament, the facilities were great, the food and service at the snack bar was great, and the basketball was fun to watch. Good Luck to all teams in 2008.
