Madison Boys Basketball Falls to Morristown

MORRISTOWN – Madison High School boys basketball coach Bill Librera is using the final week of the regular season to prepare his team for the state playoffs.

But against a talented and athletic Morristown team Tuesday night, the Dodgers weren't tested. They were, in their words, embarrassed.

The Colonials used a 20-1 third-quarter run, part of a larger 40-10 run, to hand Madison their third loss of the season, 61-42, at Morristown High School.

"They took it to us," Librera said. "We didn't respond well."

"We didn't come out tough enough," said senior Robbie Savacool, who led Madison in scoring with 11. "We didn't do what coach asked us to do."

Over the final two and a half quarters, Madison (19-3) had no answer for Morristown on either side of the ball.

The Dodgers' defense simply could not stop the dribble penetration of Shawn Bell (19 points) and Kurt Davis (20 points), leading to a number of layups. Two-thirds of the Colonials' points came on layups and putbacks.

"We knew what we expected," Savacool said. "We knew they'd be quicker, faster, that they'd jump higher. It's not like we were ill-prepared. We just didn't do it."

Meanwhile, Morristown's aggressive halfcourt trapping defense–called the "Big Dog" defense by Morristown coach Ricky Osborne–forced numerous turnovers and suffocated Madison.

The Dodgers didn't make a shot from the field from the 3:51 mark of the third quarter–when Aaron Fant's hook shot cut Morristown's lead to 37-36–until an Eddie McAndrew layup with 3:23 left in the fourth. By then, the game was already well out of hand and Librera had removed his starters out of frustration.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before," Fant said. "We just didn't execute. I take responsibility for that, as the point guard."

Librera's frustration was evident early on. He earned a technical foul, his first of the season, for arguing with an official at the 3:18 mark of the third. At that point, Morristown led, 40-36, and had begun to assert its will–including some physical defensive play, which the referees let go.

"I felt as if I was trying to bring a little spark to the team from the bench," Librera said. "I don't usually look for the T, that's not the type of coach I am. But I felt that we needed a spark. I don't think it really worked."

Indeed, the Colonials ran away with the game after the technical. James Pisciotto converted the ensuing free throws, and Davis and Bell added three layups to give Morristown an insurmountable 12-point lead after three quarters.

The normally-stoic Dodgers appeared rattled, and Morristown continued their onslaught in the fourth quarter, eventually reaching a 20-point lead, 57-37, with 4:48 to play, before both teams lifted their starters.

"This is why I put this game on the schedule," Librera said. "It's our first time seeing this kind of athleticism and length. We did enough good things to know that we can deal with this type of team. But it's a good reminder at what happens against a good team when you don't execute the gameplan."

The ease of Morristown's victory was quite a shock given that,  as late as the four-minute mark of the third quarter, Madison appeared to be the better team.

The Dodgers started off flawlessly, opening up leads of nine and 10 points during the first two quarters. They did so by beating the Colonials (11-9) at their own game, playing at a frantic pace and converting on layups after beating the overly aggressive Morristown defenders.

In both the first and second quarters, Madison jumped out to big leads, only to see Morristown respond with a run of their own.

The Dodgers did an excellent job containing Morristown early, reaching an 11-2 lead 5:40 into the game, but the Colonials closed that gap to 13-9 by the end of the quarter.

Savacool scored on four consecutive Madison possessions in the second quarter, all on open looks. His layup with 3:23 to go in the first half gave Madison its largest lead, 27-17.

"Sometimes it's as simple as hitting shots and getting stops," Librera said. "We did that early. And in the second half we did neither."

But Bell scratched and clawed to get Morristown back in it. He took over during the final three minutes of the half, penetrating into the lane with ease and hitting three shots, including a tough floater in the final minute to tie the score at 27-27.

Madison got off to a decent start in the third quarter, taking the lead on Savacool's 3-pointer on their first possession.

The teams traded buckets for several minutes after that. Matt McHale gave Madison its final lead, 36-34, with 5:10 to play.

The Colonials beat Madison down the floor on the ensuing possesion, though, and Davis tied the score 10 seconds later. The Morristown guard gave his team the lead for good, 37-34, at the 4:26 mark with a 3-pointer.

It was at that point that things fell apart for Madison.

The Dodgers have now lost three of their last five since starting the season 17-0, though in the other two losses, Madison was tied or leading in the final minute.

With a win, Madison would have achieved its first 20-win season since 2005-06. The Dodgers won 22 games that season, 20 prior to that year's state playoffs.


NEXT UP
Madison closes out its regular season Thursday night at home for Senior Night against another Group IV school, Morris Knolls. In contrast to the helter-skelter, fast-playing Colonials, Librera said he scheduled the Golden Eagles (8-15) to give Madison a look at a slow-paced, zone look.

Prior to the game, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip, Madison will honor its six seniors–Savacool, Qawwee Harris, Austen Lein, Tony Napolitano, Brian Williams and Joe Racanelli. Madison will also celebrate the school's field hockey team, which captured the state Group II championship last fall.

Madison opens its North 2, Group II playoff campaign Tuesday, March 2, with a home game against 16th-seeded Parsippany.


SCORING SUMMARY
Madison      13  14   9    6  -  42
Morristown    9  18  21  13  -  61

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
MAD- Robbie Savacool 11, Matt McHale 10, Jake Meister 5, Aaron Fant 4, Mike Haughey 4, Matt Gilbert 2
MORR- Kurt Davis 20, Shawn Bell 19, James Pisciotto 12, Derek Newman 4, Marquis Mitchell 2, Cesar Coronado 2, John Cusate 2