Superb Second Half Lifts Undefeated Madison Boys Basketball Team

This year's Madison High School boys basketball team has a certain swagger, evident in both their on-court success, and their postgame remarks.

Case in point: Madison's 51-42 comeback victory over Pequannock Tuesday afternoon at Madison High School.

The Dodgers rebounded from a 10-point first-half deficit, dominating the game's final 18 minutes after a lackluster first half.

Matt McHale led Madison with 13 points, while Aaron Fant added 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Madison (15-0, 8-0 NJAC-Independence) looked every bit the confident, talented team that made it unbeaten into the season's final month, disposing of a Pequannock team that took them to the wire back on Jan. 5 in Pequannock.

"They wanted it more than we did in the first half," McHale said. "And we wanted it more than they did in the second half."

And, according to McHale, that unbeaten record is not weighing on the Dodgers.

"We're playing loose," he said. "We don't think about it. We think we're the best team in the county, but we're kind of going about it with quiet resolve."

But it appeared in the first half as if the Golden Panthers (8-9, 2-5) were set to spoil Madison's perfect record. Steve Boyd hit three 3-pointers and Jordan Tabakman scored seven first-half points as Pequannock led, 28-18, with 1:30 to play in the first half.

The Golden Panthers used a 2-3 zone to hold Madison to long jumpers. And it was fairly effective since, on this night the Dodgers' shots were not falling–Madison was 2-for-15 from 3-point range for the game, and most of Madison's first-half points came from short jumpers and free throws.

Layups by McHale and Jake Meister (11 points, seven rebounds) cut Madison's deficit to 28-22 at halftime.

But Madison coach Bill Librera said he stressed that he doesn't worry about shots. In the first half, he was more worried about Pequannock's penchant for recovering loose balls and making hustle plays.

"They came out tougher and more intense than us," Librera said. "Our kids didn't like that. And then we came out and played, maybe, the best 16 minutes of defense we've played this year."

Pequannock made just two field goals in the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter, and the Golden Panthers' numerous turnovers led to cheap fast-break points for Madison.

Fant's gorgeous full-court drive and up-and-under layup ended a 15-2 Madison run which gave Madison a 33-30 lead with 1:44 left in the third quarter.

After Pequannock tied the game at 33-33, Madison took the lead for good on a short Mike Haughey turnaround jumper with 22 seconds left in the period.

The fourth quarter saw Pequannock close within 39-36 with 3:51 left, on Tommy Sackmann's 3-pointer.

But rather than look to run the clock and escape with the victory, Madison continued to look for–and find–easy buckets. Two McHale layups and Matt Gilbert's layup on a no-look pass from Meister gave Madison an unassailable nine-point lead.

Kenny Brunda pulled Pequannock back within 45-39 with 1:46 left, but that would be as close as the Golden Panthers would get. Twelve seconds later, Fant made a layup on an inbounds play, and free throws extended the Dodgers' lead to 12, 51-39, until Boyd hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left.

"I never tell my kids stop," Librera said. "They've earned my trust to go out and try to do whatever they're capable of. We didn't play at all out of our element in the last minutes."

With the win, Madison sweeps the season series, avenging Pequannock's two wins last season, when both teams were members of the Northern Hills Conference.

"It's a big rivalry for us," said senior forward Rob Savacool, who held Tabakman scoreless over the game's final 14 minutes. "We battle. They beat us twice last year. We were inexperienced then, now we're a better team."

The Dodgers also stayed one game ahead of Independence Division rival and second-place Hanover Park, which is 7-1 in the league. The two teams play in East Hanover next Tuesday.


NEXT UP
The Dodgers will look to improve to 16-0 Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Morris Catholic. In the teams' first meeting earlier this season, Madison picked up a 58-51 win on Jan. 7 in Madison. That was the first of two games Madison played without starting forward Savacool. Fant scored 17 points in Madison's victory.

SCORING SUMMARY
Pequannock   13  15    5    9  -  42
Madison          8   14  13  16  -  51

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
PEQ- Steve Boyd 17, Jordan Tabakman 9, Kenny Brunda 9, Joe Vedvodino 4, Tommy Sackmann 3
MAD- Matt McHale 13, Aaron Fant 11, Jake Meister 10, Rob Savacool 7, Matt Gilbert 5, Mike Haughey 5