Black Beats Red, Advances to Modick Park Championship

The Black team is going to the finals to face the original Black squad.

The Black team defeated the Red club, 64-62, in dramatic fashion in the Hopatcong Men's Basketball League semifinals at Modick Park Tuesday night.

The Black team will face the league's original Black squad in the championship Thursday at 8 p.m. The Black team is expected to wear its usual hot pink jerseys to the final.

Hopatcong Patch editor Brendan Kuty plays for the original Black squad, which reached the championship by drawing a bye after beating the White team in the quarterfinals.

Matt Tobin sealed the win with two free throws as 16.5 seconds remained on the clock. Mike Juskus fouled Tobin, putting Black in the bonus despite the score being 62-all.

But Red still had a shot.

Mike Tobin, a senior power forward at Division II East Stroudsburg University and Matt's older brother, went to the line with three ticks remaining after driving the lane and getting fouled by Kyle Henderson.

Mike Tobin clanked his first free throw, and missed his second on purpose. It almost worked as Mike Tobin leaped toward the hoop and caught the ball, but was unable to put up a clean shot.

Then time expired and both teams quickly fled the court.

It looked like Black was en route to a romp midway through the fourth, twice extending its lead to 10 points.

But Red rallied, going on an 11-3 run, which started with a Rob Casey layup at 3:23 and ended with Mike Tobin's put-back layup at 18.5, tying things at 62-each.

Mike Tobin had an opportunity to give Red the lead at 28.7. The former Hopatcong star pump faked on the right wing beyond the three-point arc, drawing a foul from Matt Tobin, a Hopatcong senior closing in on the basketball program's all-time points record.

Mike Tobin missed all three foul shots before nailing the final tying layup.

Red held a 18-14 lead going into the second, which became a 34-32 halftime lead. Black went ahead in the third and entered the fourth up, 48-45.

That's when Black seemed to run away, scoring eight straight points as Matt Tobin hit a layup and a step-back three-pointer and guard Ivan Bertrand sank a layup for a 55-45 cushion.

Then things got intense before the Black team punched its ticket to the finals.