Madison Boys Basketball Edges Morris Catholic to Remain Perfect

The Madison High School boys basketball team is living dangerously this season. But as long as the wins keep piling up, the Dodgers won't complain. Madison defeated Morris Catholic, 58-51, in an NJAC-Independence Division game Thursday to keep their 2009-10 record perfect.

Aaron Fant led all scorers with 17 points for Madison (6-0, 3-0), which won its fifth straight game by eight points or less.

"We hate to lose more than we like to win," said junior forward Matt McHale, who scored 11 and grabbed five rebounds.

The Dodgers did it with a shortened rotation and a greater reliance on starters Fant, McHale and Jake Meister (15 points, seven rebounds).

But minus a starter, the Dodgers went about their business in usual fashion, winning with defense, points in transition, and timely buckets in the fourth quarter.

Madison led through much of the first half, but needed a 12-4 run at the close of the third quarter to pull ahead. In the fourth quarter, an 8-1 run gave the Dodgers an insurmountable 11-point lead with 3:18 to play.

Fant and Meister scored the Dodgers' first 12 points, all on layups, as Madison jumped out to an early six-point lead. But the Crusaders' press began to give Madison problems. Morris Catholic used a 10-1 run, capped by Brett Bially's acrobatic layup with 3:26 to play in the half, to take their first lead, 20-19.

Morris Catholic took their largest lead, 29-24, three minutes into the third quarter after Francis Mancho's 3-pointer. It was shortly after that when Librera made a change on both offense and defense.

"The difference was our one-and-dones (on defense)," Librera said. "Our box-and-1 gave them trouble, because it's not something they see too often. And then we switched to our attacking offense, which rose our energy level."

Mike Haughey was assigned the task of guarding Bially as part of the box-and-one. And to beat the press, Librera sent Matt Gilbert deep on inbounds plays to receive long throws from inbounder Fant. The tactical changes made an impact immediately.

Meister and McHale made layups to pull Madison within one, 29-28, with 3:46 to go. Haughey, a reserve guard pressed into service in Savacool's absence, hit a huge 3-pointer with 3:18 left in the third quarter to give the Dodgers the lead. It was Madison's only made 3 (1-for-9 on the night), but the Dodgers never trailed again.

Fant's steal and acrobatic mid-air adjustment for a layup with 19 seconds left capped Madison's 13-2 run to extend the lead to 37-31 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter turned into a series of mad dashes up and down the court as Morris Catholic's press forced a quick tempo. But the Dodgers stood firm, expanding their lead from 42-38 (with 5:29 left) to 50-39 (with 3:18 left).

"We had to make good passes," McHale said. "You know, don't get freaked out. Find out where the open man is. We were a little shaky in the beginning, but we figured it out."

McHale was key to the press break, and he was rewarded by scoring six of his 11 points in the final frame. He also came up with a perfect bullet of a pass to set up Gilbert for another layup, one of McHale's three assists.

"He's the quarterback on Madison's football team, so he certainly knows how to throw it," Librera said. "We love to put him in situations like that, where he can take advantage of his athleticism."

In the meantime, Mancho, Morris Catholic's leading scorer with 16, was doing all he could to keep the Crusaders close. He scored seven straight Morris Catholic points to pull the Crusaders within 52-46 with 1:55 left. A 3-pointer by Bially made it 54-49 with 1:28 to go, and the Morris Catholic guard had an open look to cut the Madison lead to 3, but it clanked off the side of the rim with 46 seconds left.

Madison wasn't out of the woods yet, though. Fant missed the front end of the ensuing 1-and-1, and Meister was called for an over-the-back foul on the rebound. Steven Fisher made it a one-possession game, 54-51, with 43.1 seconds to go, but Meister and Fant each hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to provide the final margin of victory.

"We're playing teams of similar ability," Librera said. "Morris Catholic is a good team. They're well-coached and they have talent. We're asking the kids to step up. They did, and that's why we're 6-0."

UP NEXT

Madison faces an important week of NJAC-Independence games next week, both at home. The Dodgers host unbeaten Hanover Park (6-0, 2-0) Tuesday night, and then rival Chatham (4-2, 1-1) Thursday night. The Cougars' league loss came to Hanover Park on Tuesday, 59-49. Both opponents are good bets to finish in the top half of the seven-team Independence Division.

SCORING SUMMARY

Morris Catholic    8  14    9  20  -  51

Madison                14    6  17  21  -  58

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

MC- Francis Mancho 16, Brett Bially 12, Robbie Drexel 7, Steven Fisher 7, Darius Osorio-Vega 5, Jeff Rogers 2

MAD- Aaron Fant 17, Jake Meister 15, Matt McHale 11, Matt Gilbert 10, Mike Haughey 5