Similar to their seasons, the Livingston and West Essex boys basketball teams headed in different directions Friday night.
Just when the Knights came storming back, the Lancers pulled away.
On the cusp of qualifying for the state tournament, Livingston posted a 57-45 win in the Super Essex Conference game to improve to 9-9, while West Essex fell to 2-16.
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"They are a very good shooting team and we had the advantage inside," Livingston coach Dave Cohen said. "I thought we played very well defensively."
West Essex coach Mike Tierney said that he was encouraged by how his team came back in the second half, but the Knights were doomed by turnovers.
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"We started rushing the ball and turning over the ball," said Tierney, whose team, like many high school programs, like to push the ball. "We have to be more patience and slow it down. We try to preach ball control, but these are high school kids."
Livingston's interior offense was dominant early on as Alex Kalmus scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
Just when Kalmus cooled off in the second half, guard Matt Fung caught fire from the perimeter for the Lancers with 11 of his team-best 13 points after halftime.
Cohen credited another one of his big men, Sam White, for feeding the likes of Fung, Sam Abam and Dan Abrahams.
"I think Sam White did a great job passing the ball," the coach said. "We were getting good open shots."
Junior guard Joe Fusco led the Knights with a game-high 16 points, including 10 in the second half. Junior guard Pat Dyer added nine points, but was held scoreless in the second half.
Livingston, which grabbed an 18-7 lead after the first quarter, held a 28-21 advantage at halftime.
But the Knights stormed back in the third quarter. Fueled by an 11-3 run, spurred by Fusco and Miles Young, West Essex climbed to within 34-32 with just under three minutes left in the period.
The Knights even had an opportunity to tie the game, but yet another turnover thwarted the third-quarter rally as the Lancers quickly extended their lead to 41-33 heading into the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Sam Butensky.
Livingston then put the game away with an 8-0 run to start the period for a 49-33 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
