Madison Boys Basketball Wins On Senior Day

MADISON -- All season long, the Madison boys basketball team has had someone different step up at the right moment. So it was fitting that the Dodgers needed a key play in the final minute to clinch victory in their regular-season finale. 

With Madison leading by two points with 17 seconds left and inbounding the ball under their own basket, Mike Haughey broke free and ran uncovered across midcourt. Inbounder Matt McHale threw a perfect pass, Haughey caught it, and easily laid it in.

That clinched the Dodgers' 44-40 win Saturday afternoon at Madison High School.  

Madison's victory was a callback to the Dodgers' early-season stretch of eight wins in a row by eight points or fewer. But this one - on Senior Day, clinching Madison's 20th win of the season - was a little more special.  

"I joked around about us being undefeated at the beginning of the year," said senior Robbie Savacool. "We've had a couple of close losses, but I really thought we'd lose more than three games. Our record shows how hard we've worked all season."  

"All season long we've had well defined rolls and every kid has made big plays," said coach Bill Librera. "It's a new season for us. Twenty wins is a nice plateau that lots of high schools don't get to."  

Madison (20-3), which opens its North 2, Group II playoff campaign Tuesday, took control of the game with a 4-0 mini-run on layups by Fant and Matt McHale, putting the Dodgers ahead, 36-32, with 5:41 to play.  

But the Dodgers could never quite pull away, as both teams traded turnovers and missed shots over the next three minutes.  

Morris Knolls (8-16), which kept the game close with a halfcourt trapping defense - a similar look that caused Madison problems in the loss to Morristown Tuesday - began a full-court man-to-man press. But at the game's most crucial moments, Madison beat it.  

"We're not really used to teams playing that kind of defense against us," Savacool said. "We had trouble in the beginning. I think we did a little better at the end of the game."  

Fant made an uncontested layup on the press break with 26 seconds left to put Madison ahead, 42-38. Tyler Daniel responded in kind to cut the lead to two with 17 seconds left. But Haughey's layup on the ensuing inbounds play gave Madison an insurmountable four-point lead with 10 seconds to go, and Morris Knolls couldn't convert on its final possession.  

Prior to the game, Madison honored its six seniors - Savacool, Qawwee Harris, Joe Racanelli, Austin Lein, Brian Williams and Tony Napolitano - with a short ceremony. Librera's starting lineup included the first five, and the unit performed admirably in their limited court time in the first quarter.  

"It was nice to get a little bit of a reunion from freshman year," Savacool said. "We all played together on the freshman team, and then after a year or two we all got split up. I feel like we've built a bond out there."  

Williams scored a layup for Madison's first points, and Savacool's driving layup gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. Morris Knolls didn't make a field goal until the 4:44 mark, at which point Librera made his first substitution - Fant for Williams.  

"It's a nice day for us, and we wanted to make sure we honored our seniors," Librera said. "And they gave us good minutes today. I hope they recognize that the program is better off now than they came in."  

Morris Knolls led after one quarter, 12-9, and neither team could manage much of a lead. Madison's largest, 20-13, came at the conclusion of an 11-0 second-quarter run, keyed by four points from Jake Meister and three from Matt Gilbert.  

It was an excellent quarter for Madison, though Morris Knolls' Mike Boylan's off-balance three with two seconds to play cut the Golden Eagles' deficit to 20-18.  

"It's been a tough week for both teams, with the snow," Librera said. "We needed a little time to get our blood flowing, and that showed in the second quarter."  

The teams traded leads during the third quarter, with Morris Knolls taking their final lead with 3:04 to play on Marc DeFeo's 3-pointer. That lead lasted all of 90 seconds, as Meister put Madison up, 30-29, with 1:43 to play.    

NEXT UP

The Dodgers enter the NJSIAA North II, Group II playoffs as the top seed, knowing they'll have homecourt advantage for up to three games prior to the sectional final, which takes place on a neutral court March 9.  

Madison's first-round game will be against 16th-seeded Parsippany, Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Madison High School. The Dodgers took both regular-season games from their NJAC-Independence opponents, winning 51-45 on Dec. 22, and 52-43 on Jan. 28.  

The Red Hawks (7-16) come in playing their best ball of the season, winning three of their last four games, including upsets of Chatham and Pequannock and a 43-37 loss against Hanover Park.    

NORTH II, GROUP 2 PLAYOFF BRACKET

First Round - Tuesday

[16] Parsippany at [1] Madison; [9] Bernards at [8] Newark Tech; [13] Rutherford at [4] Lodi; [12] Ridgefield Park at [5] Garfield; [14] Fort Lee at [3] Cliffside Park; [11] Hackettstown at [6] Caldwell; [15] Newark Science at [2] Hanover Park; [10] Lincoln at [7] Chatham  

Quarterfinals - Thursday

Madison/Parsippany winner vs. Newark Tech/Bernards winner

 Lodi/Rutherford winner vs. Garfield/Ridgefield Park winner

Cliffside Park/Fort Lee winner vs. Caldwell/Hackettstown winner

Hanover Park/Newark Science winner vs. Chatham/Linden winner  

Semifinals - Saturday

Final - March 9    

SCORING SUMMARY

Morris Knolls   12   6  12  10  -  40

Madison               9  11  10  14  -  44  

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

MK- Marc DeFeo 12, Esaun Mobely 9, Niko Kotoulas 8, Mike Boylan 6, Tyler Daniel 5

MAD- Jake Meister 13, Aaron Fant 11, Matt McHale 6, Robbie Savacool 5, Mike Haughey 4, Matt Gilbert 3, Brian Williams 2