RECAPS OF CL PLAYOFFS
QUARTERFINALS
Neumann-Goretti 61, Roman 41
   Where was the upset that everyone was talking about??? I mean everyone said that Roman would win, that they kept close with this team both times and they were finally going to get over the hump.   But did you really expect to see Neumann lose 2 straight games…I know I didn’t.  Neumann’s DJ Rivera was the player of the game tonight; the kid scored 25 points, 5 boards, 2 assists (both were on dunks), and 3 steals.  It was in the second half however when Rivera made the play of the game…Antonio “Scoop” Jardine tossed an alley-oop from half court and Rivera caught it with his back to the basket and dunked it…the play caused the early departure of half the Roman student section.   For Roman it was Mike Ringgold that played great; Ringgold finished with 16 points and 8 boards.  What I didn’t understand was why Roman didn’t give the ball to him every play, this guy couldn’t be stopped he was quick and athletic and always found a clear path on the baseline.
Random Notes
   The over/under on dunks was 4 set by Colin Curtin.   Colin said over with 5 and was right, Rob Pearson went with exactly 4, and I went with 7 (thanks a lot Rivera and Wannamaker).
   After Brad Wanamaker missed his dunk he was immediately yanked. Now I could be wrong on this but I don’t think he came back in.
   Richard Jackson finished with 7 blocked shots.
Prep 60 West 47
   Prep came out incredibly flat in this game even though everyone in the place knew West had no shot.   The thing that I wanted to see however was Reggie Redding.   I hadn’t seen Reggie play since last year’s title game, when I thought that Reggie would dominate the league this time next year.  Reggie got bigger; he posted up a lot more than last year.  However I was right in thinking he would dominate.  He scored 19, while pulling down 15 boards, and dishing out 4 assists.  It seemed as though every play Prep ran was designated for Reggie but he was so smooth, comfortable, and most importantly, unselfish with the ball.  West’s two football stars made things interesting in the first half as Derrell Hand, and Eric Brennan each hit buzzer beaters in the half.  Hand, a DT headed to ND, hit his on a runner at the end of quarter number one to make it a 14-10 game (Reggie had 11 of those 14 in case you were wondering), and Brennan, a frosh who is already receiving some D1 attention (Colorado may be no truth to rumor however), hit his on the wing to make it 24-20 at half.  Prep went on a three point scoring spree in the third and removed all doubt.
Dougherty 55 Ryan 47
   Ziggy will carry Ryan to a W; it’s real hard to beat a team of equal talent three times in one year.   Statements I would agree with.  Too bad Dougherty has more talent (top to bottom) than Ryan, and Dwight Lyons (defensive player of the year) held Zig to 6-16 shooting.  Dougherty proved that they were too athletic and fast for most of Ryan’s players.
Wood 44, Judge 31
   You could say that this game was a classical PCL North contest with 75 points overall.  Wood’s coach Joe Sette made a great move with his triangle and two on Judge srs. Damien Palentino and Mike Briscella.  Sette corrected the mistake he made in the last game of containing only Palentino, that game plan led to Briscella and other role players from Judge torching Wood in the second to last game of the year for the two teams.   Wood looked sluggish on offense, but their defense was so good that they got away with that sluggish D.  Wood’s defense held Palentino to 1-10 shooting for 5 points and Briscella to 7 points.  Wood got solid play from all seven of their guys in the rotation, but three of those guys stuck out.   Matt Spadafora dropped 13 points, Corey Filer scored 10 and had 3 steals, while Rob Pearson scored 10 and finished with 3 swats.   Wood finally got its first playoff win in 12 tries.
SEMIFINALS
SJ Prep 63, Dougherty 48
   REGGIE REDDING had 16 points 6 boards and 5 assists…at the end of the first half.   Reggie ended up with 21 12 and 6 (could have finished with a triple double but a couple of Prep guys missed several open looks created by Reggie).  This one was over before it started…it was 35-8 at one point…Prep had more than 4x Dougherty’s points.  The real story was Sean Barker’s first point for varsity this year.  Barker wasn’t even supposed to play, he wasn’t supposed to run and cut…he didn’t care, he drove to the lane and missed.  He bombed one from the middle of nowhere…it rattled in and out.  Every Prep player on the floor knew they had to get Barker the ball so he could score, and they did.  Barker got the ball one more time and drove to the hole and missed again, but he was fouled.  Barker went to the line to take his first shot…as soon as he released it a Prep fan yelled out “Got it!!” and he did.  Barker finished the game with one point.
Neumann-Goretti 58 Wood 41
   Matt Spadafora hit a three pointer to open up the game, and had the Wackies going nuts, thinking that Wood was going to give another nationally ranked team a lot of trouble.  That was the only positive thing that happened for Wood, a 3-0 lead.  Neumann went right down and scored with ease, and they did it again, and again, and again.  Wood wasn’t as fortunate as the only player who could create any type of space was Spads, but every time he beat his man to the rim another defender was waiting for him and swatted the ball away.  Neumann was always in control of the game, but when they were up by thirteen they let Allen Borovich get an open look from the top of the key.  The ball rattled in and out, and Neumann went down and hit a three of their own.  If that shot had fallen Wood would have been down 10 not 16, that could have been a turning point but it just didn’t happen.
FINAL
Neumann-Goretti 57, SJ Prep 44
   This game was talked about as a game between pure talent and discipline.  Many said that Prep would walk away with a W because Neumann was too selfish, undisciplined, and lazy.  Neumann proved to be none of those.  Their defense was what won them this game, not their offensive talent.  Conor Kennedy held Joe Fox to 2 points, David Burton held Larry Loughery to 7, Corey O’Rourke was held scoreless by Earl Pettis (but that was due more to a broken wrist).   Reggie Redding finished with 23, but 15 of those points came in the first half with around 4 minutes left.  DJ Rivera held Reggie to 8 points from that point on.  Richard Jackson hardly played due to early foul trouble, and the great play of Kennedy, but he finished with 3 blocks to give him an average of 5.3 blocks a game in the playoffs.  N-G also proved that they are very unselfish and balanced offensively.  In the first postseason game Rivera led the way with 25 followed by Pettis with 19.   The second game the Saints were led by Burton’s 18 and Scoop Jardine’s 16.  In the finals all four of those players scored in double digits…Pettis 15, Scoop 15, Burton 12, and Rivera 10.  Pettis also finished with 10 boards 3 assists and two steals and Burton finished with 10 boards.

FEB. 27
REGULAR SEASON AWARDS and NOTES

Northern Division

            Individual Awards

MVP                             Matt Spadafora

Coach of the Year        Joe Dempsey (LaSalle won two more games than expected this year), and Mark Heimerdinger

Best Defender               Dwight Lyons (held MVP to 5 points…impressive)

Sixth Man                     Mike Murnane

Fresh. Of the Year        Mike Topley

      Team Awards

Overachievers               Cardinal Dougherty (the young guys filled in for a team that lost all 5 starters)

Underachievers              North Catholic (so much talent with Adamski, both Edwards, Pomager and Coombs…didn’t get along…didn’t make the playoffs)

Better Than Record        Conwell-Egan (they finished 3-11, but they always played hard and hustled…would have been nice to see them win a couple more)

All-Catholics (based on year, hustle, how team finished, impact on team)

1st Team
           Matt Spadafora
            Joe Zieglinski
            Josh Martin
            Damien Palantino
            Corey Filer

2nd Team
            Richard Womack
            Art Livingston
            Joe Sobocinski
            Mike Murnane
            Roberto Townsend

3rd Team
            Nate Edwards
            Mike Varanavage
            Mike Briscella
            Matt Burns
            Mike Piselli

Honorable Mention

Jon Bruce, Allen Borovich, Mark Kostic, Dwight Lyons, John Adamski, John Little.

All Booch Ball

Team

PG Matt Spadafora, SG Damien Palantino, SF Joe Zieglinski, PF Mike Briscella, C Art Livingston
Bench (actual bench players): PG Mike Topley, SG Mike Murnane, SF Roberto Townsend, PF Pat Binder, C Joe Rod

Hustle Player of the Year (in case Jack in the Box forgets to do an end of year report)
            Corey Filer and Jon Bruce
Player that makes the Most out of his talent
            Mike Piselli
Most Unfortunate Player
            Joe Sobocinski
Best Junior
            Joe Zieglinski
Best Soph
            Josh Martin
Best Pure Shooter
            Damien Palantino
Best Dunker
Roberto Townsend (in game) and Matt Spadafora (reigning dunk contest champ) . . . Hon Mention (Rob Pearson)

Wood's Regular Season Final Stats (led team if bold)

Spads   13.4 ppg…4 rpg…4 apg…1.5 spg…51% FG…70% FT
Files     10.9 ppg…1.5 apg…3.1 rpg…1.4 spg…45% FG…76% FT
Mearns 8.6 ppg…1.5 apg…1.9 spg…2.2 rpg…50.7% FG…82% FT
AL       6.9 ppg…5.2rpg…2.2apg…32% FG…64.9% FT
Piselli    5.6 ppg…5.1 rpg…2 apg…49.3% FG…82% FT…8 TO
Rob      5.3 ppg…5.3 rpg…1.1 bpg…41.5% FG
JMal     1.6 ppg
Binder  1.6 ppg…1 rpg…100% FT

FEB. 20
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Wood a lot, La Salle hardly any
    I read Ted’s report after this game and I was amazed when he said that there were not many stats in this game.  I found plenty, but I’ll talk about that later.   The first quarter of this game was like watching paint dry. I was actually thinking about leaving the game and catching the second half of my nine year old sister’s game. I mean, at least they can put up more than nine total points.  5-4 at the end of the first you gotta be kidding me. Wood had to be able to score more than 5 points in a quarter against La Salle. I mean, come on, my CYO team could put up five in a quarter against this team.  Thank God for the second quarter, a quarter in which Wood scored 14 points to La Salle’s four.  Matt Spadafora picked up the play for Wood in the second quarter with four points three steals and four boards.  Wood broke this game open in the third quarter outscoring La Salle 22-4 in the quarter to take a 41-12 lead after three.  In the third Spadafora continued to play great mixing 8 points with two boards a block and another steal.  Spads got a lot of help in the quarter as Wood shot 10-11 from the field in the quarter including 2-2 from long distance…both threes were from Allen Borovich.   With a 29-point lead after three Wood played all of their backups in the final frame.  For all of the Wackies in attendance the only thing that was on anyone’s mind was holding La Salle under 20 points.  When the quarter started it looked as Wood was in good shape allowing 4 points in each quarter…La Salle scored 7 in the fourth with about 4:30 left to give them 19 for the game. La Salle went on to miss two open layups which sealed the deal 19 points…PATHETIC.
JV/Random Notes
JV lost…hard to win without three of your best players
LaSalle finished with 7 steals…6 of those steals were actually bad passes by Wood…one was an actual steal by Marshall
Mike Topley…the smallest player in the PCL…did not attempt a single shot but finished with three assists and one TO
Joe Migliarese, LaSalle’s other frosh. finished with 4 pts and 4 boards
STATS
I know that Ted said there were not many stats in this game but I found plenty of stats (smile)
Wood shot 53% from the field going 4-10 from three and 16-28 from two…La Salle shot 2-19 from three and 6-20 from two to finish 21%
LaSalle finished with 14 TOs and only 5 assists
Wood out rebounded LaSalle 35-16 (Wood’s bench had 15 boards, 1 fewer than LaSalle’s total)
LaSalle only took FOUR free throws all game…they made one
Wood only needed to score one point in the second half top win this game
Matt Spadafora and Mike Murnane combined for 21 points more than LaSalle’s 19

FEB. 11
CATHOLIC NORTH
Wood 62, McDevitt 37
   The first half of this game was very boring -- Wood came out incredibly flat -- but needs to be mentioned.   The only reason Wood kept up with McDevitt in the early going was MVP candidate Matt Spadafora.  Spads dropped nine points on 4-5 shooting while recording 1 steal, board, and assist in the first quarter.  That first quarter showing from Spads was the only thing that was a positive for Wood early on…the third quarter is when things really started to happen.  Wood was only up by 6 at the half, a stat that doesn’t sound that bad until you remember that Wood was up 20 on this team at the half in their first meeting.  Wood needed to get something going; they needed somebody to step up.  This game it was Allen Borovich’s turn to turn in a big-time game.  Allen just went off in the third quarter, dropping 7 points while recording 4 boards 3 assists and a steal in the third.  Wood outscored McDevitt 19-4 in the quarter and took a 45-24 lead and never looked back.
JV/Random Notes
Jim Malatesta hurt his back today in the JV game and could barely move…this injury hurts the JV squad because they are now without 3 of their better players.
Womack dropped a game high 21 points, more than ½ of BM’s total points tonight
McDevitt turned the ball over 14 times and only had 4 assists and shot 20% from the field tonight.
Report Card
Spads (B)             18 points but only 3 assists and 2 rebounds-2 steals
Allen (A+)            12 points all in the second half 5 assists 10 boards
Rob (B)            3 blocks were sick
Corey (B)            8 points but starting to play a more complete game with 5 boards and 2 steals
Piselli (B+)            9 points 4 assists 4 boards
Mearns (B-)             6 points but only shot 4 times (all shots from 3 point)

FEB. 9
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Wood 58, Conwell-Egan 48
   Wood’s starting to make a habit of playing pretty pathetic in the early going of games.   They have been able to get away with it all year but there is absolutely no chance that they can play like this against anybody come playoff time.  Egan scored 9 points in the first quarter which is neither good nor bad, but it was great compared to Wood’s TWO . . . which were scored by Matt Spadafora.   Wood played better in the second quarter, as they were jumpstarted by Mike Murnane’s eight 2Q points.   Mearns has been the best sixth man in the North, and in this game he was by far the best player on the court.   The third quarter was boring until Mike Piselli made a lay-up which seemed to give Wood a spark in the third and really got things rolling as Means hit two more three’s and Spadafora dropped 7 in the quarter.  Egan tried to get back in it by fouling constantly in the fourth as Wood shot 24 FTs in the final frame, Murnane made 7-8 in that last quarter to give him a total of 21 points, a career high.
JV/Random Notes
   Fran “Chise” McGlinn and FB superstar Chris Lorditch have both been lost for the year, I have been told.  McGlinn has an ankle injury and has been wearing a boot, while Lorditch may have torn a ligament in his foot but is not positive.  Lorditch’s basketball career is probably over as he will concentrate on track and more importantly FB.
All of my stats have been provided by assistant coach/JV coach Robert Schmalbach
Wood shot 23-32 (72%) from the line, 19-24 (79%) in the fourth
Report Card
Mearns (A+)             21 points 3 steals 2 boards 2 assists
Spadafora (B+)        15 points 7 boards no TO but only 3 assists
Piselli (B+)               7 points 5 boards 2 assists steal
Filer (B)                   only 7 points on 1-5 shooting but 4 boards 3 assists 2 steals are above avg for Filer
Borovich(B-)             6 points 5 boards block

FEB. 4
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 69, Wood 57
            I have to question the coaching of Joe Sette in this one. Wood's defense in the first half was pathetic, and when they finally got out of it, they tried to press Dougherty.  I was told it was a 2-1-2 press but it looked a lot more like a 3-1-1. Now usually I like the press, but Allen Borovich was playing in the middle, which meant he was the trap man. Allen is a good player, but he is not that fast.  Your trap man needs to be someone who can fly from sideline to sideline without getting tired.  Wood has two players that are perfect for this job, Mike Murnane and Corey Filer.  Every time Wood pressed it resulted in a Dougherty 2 on 1 against Mike Piselli, and Dougherty usually converted.  Meanwhile, nothing was done to get go-to guy Matt Spadafora open, or to free him for one-on-one situations. Spadafora was bothered all night by Dougherty. Every time he stepped in the lane he was smothered. Dougherty did an amazing job on Spadafora, holding him to 5 points.   The only player who could hit a shot was Corey Filer, who finished with 28 points (6 treys). He needed to be given the ball all night, yet it didn't happen. There were two other huge factors that contributed to the loss -- turnovers and officiating.   Turnovers are the one stat that I don’t keep but Wood must have had about 30 of them.  The officiating was actually the turning point in the game, when one of Dougherty’s players disagreed with a foul called on him he started to get in the ref’s face.  Not only did the kid get in his face: he was cursing and bumping the ref…that is an automatic technical foul that would probably give Wood the ball and two points.  The worst call that was made all night was when Robert Townsend took a pass on the wing just in front of the arc and made a lay-up and Piselli was called for a foul to give Townsend a three-point play.  Doesn’t sound like a terrible call right there but then again I forgot to mention that Townsend never took a dribble, instead he took three or four steps to get to the basket.  This was such an obvious call that 15 or 20 fans jumped from the bleachers onto the court and were yelling as loud as they could at the ref.  Even coach Mark Heimerdinger knew that Dougherty had gotten away with one there…Wood was down five at that point after fighting their way back from 13 down…the call gave Dougherty an eight point lead from which Wood could not recover.
            I really shouldn’t take anything away from Dougherty’s players as they are the fastest and most athletic team in this division.  They didn’t miss from the foul line, and made the best turnaround of the year after losing to LaSalle to beat #1 Wood who is now 8-1.

 Report Card
Spadafora (D)             5 points 2 assists and went 1-8 from the line may have been Spadafora’s worst game ever
Filer (A+)            Filer made three point play after three point play behind the arc driving and it didn’t matter he wasn’t going to miss until it was already over
Piselli (B)            10 points 7 boards too bad that Filer was the only one that Piselli’s intensity rubbed off on
Borovich (C)            he had 8 points but he struggled from the field when Wood really needed him
Mearns (C+)            4 points 2 steals Mearns was another player who couldn’t buy a shot
Pearson (D+)            4 boards but they were all in the first half just couldn’t keep up with speedy Dougherty team
Dougherty
Lyons (A)             he had 9 points 2 steal and 2 assists and plays point…not great stats right?  He’s the one that held Matt to 5 points
Martin (A-)            Heimerdinger knew who to give the ball to 22 points 5 boards 2 steals
Mumford (B+)            he scored for Dougherty when everyone else was struggling for CD
Townsend (A-)            14 points led team with six boards and had a huge block late in the game
Simpson (C-)            didn’t really stand out except for his constant whining

BOOCH REFUSES TO PUT DATES ON HIS REPORT. I'M TOO TIRED TO LOOK IT UP.
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Wood 58, North 49
            Spadafora, Borovich, Murnane and Filer…all three of these Wood players have led their team in scoring in a game.  But Mike Piselli?  The guy whose specialty is bringing intensity, defense, leadership, and most importantly rebounding?  Piselli hardly ever shoots because he never really has to…when he does shoot it is usually a mid range jumper or a lay-up after he gets a pass from a driving teammate.  Tonight Piselli was absolutely incredible he shot 7 of 9 from the field and finished with 14 points.  Piselli was hitting shots from everywhere…mid range, baseline, just inside the arc and underneath.   North jumped out to an early lead, just like everybody else is against Wood lately, led by Jeremy Coombs.  Coombs dominated in the first five minutes but then he disappeared for the rest of the game, he had 4 points and 6 boards…I think he had 4 and 3 in those first five minutes.  North did a pretty good job of keeping superstar Matt Spadafora from scoring as Spadafora finished with 2 first half points which came on a break away dunk.  It looked like Corey Filer’s struggles would continue as he missed his only first half attempt.  The second half was completely different than the close first half…Wood broke it open again against North.  Wood got solid play from Allen Borovich, Spadafora, and Rob Pearson, who combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds in the game.
JV/Random Notes
    Jim Malatesta scored 17 points in the JV game, which pretty much forced Joe Sette to give him some playing time in the varsity game.  Malatesta missed a three and was immediately taken out.  J-mal needs some more playing time in my opinion because he can handle the ball as good as anyone in the league and he can play D shoot and has good speed. Finally Wood is playing a little bit better…ever since the La Salle game Wood was playing worse and worse.  This North game they didn’t play good but they didn’t get worse. They got a little better.
   Paul Breen, a k a The Breen Scene, was in attendance at the game, Paul recently said things like Matt Spadafora is overrated compared to Joe Zeglinski “the best player in the league," I should reconsider my pick of Corey Filer as a midseason all star, and that the Wackies are overrated.
Spadafora/Zeglinski
     Well, if Matt Spadafora shot as many times as Joe Zeglinski did in their two meetings this year he would have scored 17 points in the first game and 32 in the second game.  Spadafora is also a more complete player right now averaging about 6 assists and over 4 rebounds and over 2 steals a game.  Zeg is an incredible player and is only going to get better, but right now Spadafora is the MVP.
Filer
           My pick for Filer was a good one and I would never think about reconsidering it.  The second game against Ryan was not included in my thoughts for these picks and even if they were it would be one bad game, everyone has bad games even the best including superstars like Spadafora (2-8 in first game of year) and Zieglinski (15 missed shots in his first game).
Wackies
           In the words of Wood Sr. Joe Taylor, “The day you quiet the Wackies is the day we cease to exist.  We are in a league of our own at this point.   We walked into your gym and chanted things such as ‘This is our house,’ and ‘Undefeated’.”
            Special Thanks to Puck who once again gave me his stats at the end of the game.
Report Card
Matt Spadafora (B+)             10 points 8 assists 7 rebounds and 3 steals…4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio
Mike Piselli (A+)     14 points 5 rebounds 2 assists 7-9 from the field
Allen Borovich (B)       12 points 6 rebounds 2 assists
Rob Pearson (B-)      10 points 6 boards on 4-7 shooting
Mike Murnane (C)       6 points 2 assists
Corey Filer (C)            6 points 3 assists 2 rebounds and a steal
John Adamski (B)       16 points 7 boards 3 steals but 5-16 4-13 from long range
Andrew Pomager (C)             6 points and 4 boards
Jeremy Coombs (B-)             4 points 2-2 field and 6 boards
Nate Edwards (B)       9 points 4 boards 3 assists
Hanif Edwards (A-)     7 points 7 assists 4 rebounds 2 steals

JAN. 28
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Archbishop Wood 43, Archbishop Zeglinski, er, Ryan 40
            I thought this would be Wood’s toughest test in the second half of league play because Ryan was a good team with decent size and speed.  I did not; however, expect Wood to play as bad as they did.  Ryan jumped out to an early 9-2 lead and was playing pretty good but not great.  Mike Varanavage led the team with ten points in the opening quarter while Jon Bruce was setting the tone for the Raiders with great hustle.  In the second quarter Wood started to play a little bit better than their horrendous first quarter display.  Matt Spadafora, Allen Borovich, and Mike Murnane led a balanced attack as they chipped away at the Raider lead.  Wood ended both the first and second quarters trying to hold for the last shot but turned the ball over both times.  Despite their worst half of the year Wood found themselves trailing by a mere four points at the half.    The third quarter was an overall boring quarter in which Ryan scored 6 points and Wood scored eight.  The fourth quarter belonged to Spadafora and Borovich as Spadafora scored all of Wood’s first eight points in the quarter.  Ryan kept hitting shots in response to Spadafora and was up 38-37 with little time remaining.  Wood desperately needed a stop but Ryan’s superstar Joe Zeglinski had the ball.  Corey Filer, one of Wood’s best defenders, tried his best to stop Zig but ended up committing a foul.  (It was later pointed out to me that it wasn’t such a bad thing that Zig was fouled.  My stat man Jim Malatesta, father of jr. PG Jim Malatesta, told me that Joe missed three straight FTs in the first half…Mr. Malatesta and I both saw Joe play at Calvary coming from Rhawnhurst and neither of us could remember him missing three straight FTs ever) After Zig hit both attempts, Wood was down 40-37.  Wood looked to Spadafora again but he couldn’t get an open look so he kicked it out to Borovich who drained the three over 6’8” Kevin Hudgeons.  Not only did Borovich hit the three he was drilled by the oncoming Hudgeons who was called for the foul.   Borovich stepped to the line for a rare four-point play and hit the free throw to give Wood a one-point lead.  Varanavage attempted a three pointer but it fell short…the rebound; however was pulled down by Hudgeons who tried to sneak around the other side of the basket on somewhat of a reverse lay up to take the lead and maybe win the game.  What Hudgeons did not expect was the most amazing block I have seen all year from C Rob Pearson.  Pearson made the block out of nowhere but the ball then proceeded to bounce off of the leg of Hudgeons and give the ball back to Wood.  Ryan was forced to foul Matt Spadafora with fifteen seconds left…Spadafora hit both and put Wood up by three.   Zeglinski had two chances to tie the game with threes but missed them both.   On the first attempt Zig had a good look and got a clean shot off but it bounced out.  Zieg’s second attempt was a rushed shot as he only had five seconds to get the ball down court.

Report Card

Spadafora (A)       had 18 points on only eight shots and pulled down five boards.  His 10 fourth quarter points were huge

Borovich (B+)       came through clutch with his four-point play to win the game finished with 11 points.

Pearson (A-)          Rob only scored four points but his 12 boards were huge and his block on Hudgeons was the defensive play of the game

Murnane (B)           Mearns kept them close in the early going again, without Mearns Wood could very easily be 5-2 instead of 7-0

Zieglinski (A-)         went 7-14 from the floor, a big improvement from his 5-20 performance at Wood -- 18 points 10 boards but couldn’t come up clutch in the end

Hudgeons (C+)       four points six boards; not the greatest numbers

Varanavage (B+)     13 points to give Ryan a big lead early

Bruce(B+)              It looked like Bruce was the only player on Ryan that was hustling on the court.

JAN. 28
Midseason Report

Thoughts on Teams
Arch. Wood
   As expected they are the best team in the division; best team because they can be led by just about anybody, from Spadafora to Filer to Borovich to Murnane. (6-0)
Arch. Ryan
   Zeglinski having another great year has had solid help from Mike Varanavage, Kevin Hudgeons, and Jon Bruce. (5-2)
Dougherty
   I thought they were too young and thought that a couple of guys would be selfish players but I was dead wrong, Mark Heimerdinger has done a great job…maybe the most athletic team in the division. (5-2)
North
   They haven’t been as good as I thought they would be as they were blown out by Wood, lost to Ryan and barely squeaked by Judge and Dougherty and only beat a bad Egan team by three.  Despite their poor play North is still 5-2 and has been hurt by injuries (Nate Edwards) and a suspension (Jeremy Coombs)…they’ll still make the playoffs I think. (5-2)
Judge
    They’ve lost a couple of close ones including at home vs. Wood and against North.  Palantino has played great from behind the arc and Art Livingston looks dominant on the boards.  They have a shot at the playoffs but I think it’ll be hard to overcome 2-4.
McDevitt
     Looked good early on but have been hurt big time by the loss of PG Gregory Stitt.  Don’t be surprised if they lose to LaSalle or Egan…actually I would be surprised. Egan’s bad…La Salle is pathetic (sorry). (2-5)
Egan
     They’re bad but they play hard and keep games close every so often (1-5)
LaSalle
     My uncle will never hear the end of this year…worst BB team I’ve seen since I’ve been in HS…can u say 0-14????

Games to Watch
1)        Wood @ Ryan: January 28, 2005 8pm (can Wood stay unbeaten in toughest test left in the second half)
2)       Judge @ North: January 28, 2005 7:30 (can North squeak by again or will FJ keep their playoff hopes alive)
3)       La Salle@ Conwell-Egan: Friday, February 18 7:30 (will La Salle stay winless)

All Booch Ball
North                                            South                                       Overall
PG Matt Spadafora                     Scoop Jardine                         Jardine
WG Corey Filer                           Reggie Redding                      Redding
WG/F Joe Zeglinski                    DJ Rivera                               Zeglinski
F Joe Sobocinski                          Malik Perry                            Perry
F/C Art Livingston                      Mike Ringgold                        Ringgold

 Awards
Matt Spadafora                         MVP
Mike Murnane                           6th Man
Dwight Lyons                            Best Defender
Mark Heimerdinger                 Coach of the Year

 Other Stuff

Corey Filer                        Hustle Player of the Year (Jack In the Box)
Joe Sobocinski                 Most Unfortunate Player of the Year
Damien Palantino             Best Pure Shooter

Other Teams

Rebounding Team
Piselli
Sobocinski
Livingston
Borovich
Minter

Little Guys Team (Undersized Players)
Piselli               6’ PF
Livingston        6’2” C
Minter               5’11” PF
Rogers             5’6” G
Topley             5’5” PG      

            WOOD
Wood will win their first playoff game and compete with SJP and Neumann-Goretti for the title this year.  This is possible because Wood has a great starting five the best bench player in either league, they can pass (Spadafora, Mearns, Filer, Jmal, Piselli from the post), they can rebound (Spadafora, Piselli, Rob, Borovich), defend (Filer Piselli and Spadafora are some of the best in the league), they can handle the ball better than anybody (Spadafora, Filer, Borovich, Mearns, Jmal, Crawford), they can all run the floor, and they can score; Spadafora, Mearns, Filer, Borovich, and Crawford have all led the team in scoring this year Piselli can score when needed, and Rob could lead them in scoring in an upcoming game.

Other Favorites

N-G
   best starting 5 I’ve ever seen but lack depth
Prep
   Speedy is the best PCL coach maybe ever and he has a great talent in Reggie Redding, but will that be enough?
Roman
   maybe deepest team with Wood and are tall and incredibly athletic
Ryan
   outside shot but not great; Zig has as much talent as anyone and seems to have a decent supporter each night but can be a little inconsistent

 Midseason Report Card

Matt “Moose” Spadafora (A)            14.2 ppg 5.5 ass. 4 reb 2.2 steals             has done a great job running this team and has become a complete player and can dominate in any way the MVP in the entire league

Corey Filer (A-)             12.5 ppg 3 reb 1.5 steals 2.5 assists             absolutely incredible early in the year scoring at will has slowed down in the last two games

Mike Piselli (A-)             5.5 ppg leads team with almost 7 reb a game 2.2 assists             playing great down low and has been a very intense player which boosts Wood throughout the game

Allen Borovich (B+)             5.3 ppg 4.5 reb             has been great at knowing when to shoot and when to let his teammates take control he really understands the game and is unselfish… whatever it takes to win he says

Rob Pearson (B-)                   6.2 ppg 5.2 reb            getting better and better each game; big game against the North’s biggest guy Kevin Hudgeons