Madison Boys Basketball Improves To 10-0

When starting guard Mike Haughey came off the court with 2:52 to play Wednesday, it represented something different for the Madison High School boys basketball team. For the first time since their season-opening win over Kittatinny Dec. 19, all five Madison starters could end the game on the bench, a win safely secured long ago.

Aaron Fant scored 14 points and dished out five assists as Madison cruised to an easy 61-45 non-conference win over the Jaguars at Madison High School.

Fant was one of four players in double-figures for Madison (10-0), which equalled the 2005-06 team's season-opening unbeaten streak, the school's longest in recent memory.

Madison had won its last eight games by eight points or fewer, but this win came much easier for the Dodgers.

Despite leading by just four entering the second quarter, the Dodgers delivered the knockout blow fairly early Wednesday, outscoring Arts 23-4 in the period due in large part to an effective 1-2-1-1 full-court press defense.

"We needed to wake up," said head coach Bill Librera. "We thought that the press would do that for us, and it did. It turned out to be a pretty good choice for us."

The defense held Arts (0-10) without a point from the 1:44 mark of the first quarter–when Carlos Cabrera tied the score at 8-8 on a putback layup–until the 2:18 mark of the second quarter, when Arts beat the press and Joel Joly made a layup. In between, the Dodgers scored 19 consecutive points to take control.

"Coach (Bill Librera) is always preaching fundamentals to us," Haughey said. "We sort of played down to their level for a while, our shots didn't go in. But defense is what got us through, and we know that defense is how we're going to win games."

More than half of those 19 came off Arts turnovers. The highlight play of the half came after Haughey (10 points) made a steal, pushed the ball up the court, and found Fant standing on the low block. Without missing a beat, Fant one-timed a pass to Rob Savacool, who was waiting unguarded in the paint and converted the layup.

"That's who we are," Librera said. "We don't run plays, we don't have kids who get a quota of shots. They really have gotten used to playing within the team. For many of them, an assist is just as good as a made shot."

When the Dodgers weren't making plays in transition, they found Arts' 2-3 zone somewhat troubling to deal with. Librera said Madison played too passive, settling for long jump shots instead of penetrating the zone and finding seams.

But eventually, the Dodgers started to hit those long jump shots, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Matt Gilbert and Fant increased Madison's lead to 30-10 with 1:39 left in the half.

"We haven't played against a 2-3 much this year," said Jake Meister, who scored 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting. "It took us a little off our rhythm."

Arts switched out of the 2-3 in the third quarter and began to run a press of its own, resulting in a up-tempo third quarter. The two teams combined to make 9 field goals and four free throws over a 3:26 span midway through the third period, an average of a made shot every 13 seconds. Madison's lead went from 38-14 to 49-27 by the 2:30 mark of the third quarter.

The Dodgers reached the largest lead, 45-20, on a Haughey 3-pointer four minutes into the period.

The fourth quarter proved stress-free, and Librera pulled Fant, Meister, Gilbert, and Matt McHale with well over four minutes to play, a 20-point lead in hand.

UP NEXT

Madison continues its three-game homestand Friday night at 7 p.m. when the Dodgers host NJAC-Independence rival Dover. The Tigers (1-10, 1-4) are the only division rival Madison has not played yet this season. Dover's last game was a 60-56 home loss to Parsippany Tuesday. The Dodgers also face Morris Hills (6-5) Saturday night.

Should they win both games and improve, the Dodgers can expect a very high seed in this year's Morris County Tournament when the bracket is voted on and released Sunday afternoon. Last year, Madison was seeded 10th and made the championship game.

SCORING SUMMARY
Arts (0-10)             8    4  20  13  -  45
Madison (10-0)  12  23  17    9   -  61

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
ARTS- Carlos Cabrera 12, Darrell Fields 9, Reginald Norris 8, Joel Joly 7, Antoine Bell 6, Omar Evans 3
MAD- Aaron Fant 14, Rob Savacool 11, Mike Haughey 10, Jake Meister 10, Matt McHale 6, Matt Gilbert 3, Austin Lein 3, Eddie McAndrew 2, Brian Williams 2