Madison Boys Basketball Now 14-0 After Sluggish Win

It was a win the Madison High School boys basketball team would probably like to forget. But it's highly unlikely head coach Bill Librera will let them.

Aaron Fant scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Dodgers improved to 14-0 with a lethargic 52-43 victory over Parsippany at Madison High School Thursday.

"We didn't play well," Fant said. "We were just a little slow today. We know we have to pick up the intensity."

Madison also improved to 7-0 in Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference-Independence play, but Librera–who was visibly frustrated with his team's play numerous times during the game–thinks the Dodgers can take away more than just a lackluster win.

"This is a teachable moment," Librera said. "Sometimes, you get caught up in what you're doing and lose focus on how to get there. We're gonna make sure we have focus next time out."

The Red Hawks (3-13, 1-6) proved to be a game opponent, answering every Madison run and frustrating the Dodgers with a matchup zone defense.

Madison shot just 40 percent from the field, making just 2 of 13 3-pointers. Jake Meister scored 17 points, but had a rough night from distance, making just one of his 10 3-point attempts. The junior guard shot 5-for-20 from the field, although he did grab 10 rebounds.

Those team shooting numbers, along with 15 turnovers, kept Parsippany in the game until the bitter end, much like in the teams' first meeting–a 51-45 Madison win in Parsippany Dec. 22.

"They didn't play that matchup zone the first time," Librera said. "Once we settled in, there were openings. We just need to make sure we actually take advantage of those openings. We didn't do that tonight."

Madison, which never trailed, led by as many as eight early in the fourth quarter, but Parsippany's switch to a full-court press defense forced several turnovers and the Red Hawks turned them into points.

Mike Ross' fadeaway jumper with 1:36 left pulled Parsippany within 45-42. Fourteen seconds later, Manny Udoh hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game.

The Red Hawks went back to the full-court press to get the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but Madison figured it out on the biggest possession of the game. Fant found Rob Savacool standing on the low block, and as defenders crashed to contain him, Savacool found Fant streaking towards the basket. The Madison point guard laid it in to give the Dodgers a 47-43 lead.

Meister came up with a block on Parsippany's next possession, and Fant hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left. Another free throw from Fant, and two more from Meister, completed the scoring.

The Dodgers appeared set to run away with the game on at least three separate occasions. But they seemed to lack intensity and a killer instinct on this night, and Librera credited Parsippany for doing its part to stay in the game.

"We didn't shoot well tonight," Librera said. "We don't want to exclude Parsippany, they were certainly part of that."

Madison scored the first nine points of the game, drew six first-quarter fouls on Parsippany - including a technical on the Parsippany bench–and appeared to be in control.

But the Dodgers could not put the ball in the basket, going without a field goal for nearly four minutes. The Red Hawks appeared to fluster Madison by switching defenders on all screens.

Parsippany tied it at 12-12 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Ross with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

Meister scored the game's next eight points–including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer following a nifty, court-length drive through traffic–to give Madison a 20-12 lead 90 seconds into the second quarter. But once again, the Red Hawks stayed within shouting distance.

"If we did tonight what we practiced, tonight might've been a different story," Librera said.

Ross scored six points in the second period, including a free throw with five seconds left, to cut the Dodgers' halftime lead to 27-24.

A turnover-filled third period saw Madison take another seven-point lead, 31-24, with 3:12 left. But once again, the Red Hawks responded–this time with a 9-2 run to tie the score with 37 seconds to play.

Mike Haughey hit a 3-pointer 14 seconds into the fourth period, and Fant scored in transition, and again from the free throw line moments later to give Madison an eight-point lead with 6:30 to go.

Parsippany's Pete Gonzalez, Ross and Udoh combined for a 10-4 run that threatened Madison's unbeaten start, but it was not to be.

"We gotta learn to play through it when we're like this," Fant said. "Other teams are going to step on us when we play like this. We need to make sure that it doesn't happen."

NOTABLES
Madison's sophomore starting forward, Matt Gilbert (6.3 points, 3.4 rebounds per game), did not play for the second straight game after suffering an ankle injury in Saturday's win over Morris Hills. According to Librera, he should return Tuesday against Pequannock.

UP NEXT
Madison continues NJAC-Independence play Tuesday when they host Pequannock (7-8, 2-4). Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Golden Panthers, seeded 16th in the Morris County Tournament, will look to get to .500 when they host Whippany Park in the tournament's preliminary round Saturday.

The first meeting between these two teams was a thriller: a 49-45 Madison victory in Pequannock on Jan. 5, highlighted by Matt McHale's block with 41.8 seconds left on what would have been the game-tying layup.

SCORING SUMMARY
Parsippany    12  12  9  10  -  43
Madison          17  10  8  17  -  52

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
PAR- Mike Ross 14, Peter Gonzalez 13, Manny Udoh 11, Jabari Jackson 5
MAD- Aaron Fant 19, Jake Meister 17, Mike Haughey 8, Matt McHale 4, Robbie Savacool 4