Middletown North Lions Roar Into Shore Conference Tournament Round Of 16

Photo above: Lions John Swift and St. Rose’s John Krotulis get set for opening tipoff

MIDDLETWON – Trailing 18th-seeded St. Rose by two points with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, Lions guard Matt Pinckney drilled a three-pointer for a one-point lead.

Pinckney’s shot set off a barrage of fourth quarter three’s that ignited a 32-point Middletown North fourth-quarter which turned a see-saw game into a 20-point rout as the Lions flattened St. Rose 77-57 to advance into the Shore Conference Tournament round of 16.

After John Krotulis momentarily gave the lead back to St. Rose, 46-45, with a tip-in to start the fourth quarter, the Lions went on a 14-3 run to open up a 10-point lead, 59-49, with 5:18 remaining in the game. Marc Cerbo hit a jumper from outside the key before Pinckney, Cerbo and Dave Campbell all nailed three’s and Pinckney finished off the run with a drive to basket and two points off a bank shot.

“St. Rose shot the ball well in the first half and I don’t think we did,” Middletown North head coach Mike Iasparro said. “Our big focus is getting great shots; we want to take great shots. We have guys who can make shots. So long as we’re taking great shots, we’ll eventually make shots in a 32 minute basketball game. We haven’t had a home Shore Conference Tournament game since 2012, so just to get the home game was big for us.”

The 15th-seeded Lions outscored the Purple Roses 32-13 in the fourth quarter as both Cerbo and Campbell went for nine points in the quarter with Pinckney adding seven. Middletown North ended up with four players in double-digit scoring led by Cerbo’s and Campbell’s team-high 18 points, freshman guard Rob Higgins’ 15 and Pinckney’s 13 points. Junior John Swift added eight points – six in the first half.

Middletown North (14-8) put the game to sleep with eight straight points to go up 73-65 before both teams emptied the benches in the closing minutes.

“They’re hard to guard,” Iasparro said of St. Rose. “They run that patient offense and they swing it and swing it and lull you to sleep and they gas you; it’s hard to defend for an extended period of time. They controlled the tempo in the first half. That was big for us going into the game; we wanted to control the tempo. We want to go up-and-down, score in the seventies. They wanted to score in the forties. It was a battle of tempo and I really feel like in the second half we garnered the temp a little more, getting out on transition and getting stops.”

Lone senior Colin Frawley was a big factor in that transition game for the Lions as his rebounding and outlet passing helped set the stage in the fourth. Frawley finished with 13 boards and three assists while commanding the paint, especially in that decisive fourth quarter. But it’s his senior leadership on the court and in the huddle that is so vital to this team’s success.

“I definitely consider myself a leader on this team,” Frawley said. “But they’re a great group of guys and it’s easy to lead. I thought we were playing their tempo in the first three quarters and then we started playing our brand of basketball and won the game. I try to do my best on the boards and get it out as quick as possible. This was a great step in the right direction for this team.”

“Colin’s been playing since he was a freshman,” Iasparro said. “Last year he sat out the whole year after tearing his ACL and I think him watching games last year really helped his growth as a basketball player - as crazy as that sounds. He’s been tremendous for us. On-and-off the court he’s been a leader and role model for the younger players; and he can play too. Tonight I don’t think he scored a lot but his presence off the glass and inside defense and his leadership on timeouts and huddles was fantastic.”

Middletown North had won four straight games before losing to Rumson-Fair Haven last Saturday as the Bulldogs Brendan Barry torched the Lions for 50 points.

“We ran into a buzz saw on Saturday,” Iasparro said. “Barry is a fantastic player but I don’t necessarily think it was that was the reason we lost the game. Our offense was not what we wanted it to be in that game. Our possessions were not good, we threw the ball away 21 times, we shot a very low percentage and didn’t get great shots or looks. We’re a young team and had won four in a row; the loss kind of brought us back to earth. It was a loss and you never want to lose a game but I think it was something maybe we needed.”

Up next for the Lions on Thursday in the SCT round of 16 is Christian Brothers Academy. The Colts (18-3) are ranked second in the Shore Conference and seeded No.2 in the tournament. The Lions fell hard to CBA in the first meeting between the two, 76-44, so this will be a stern test for Middletown North.

“I felt like in the first game we got off to a bad start and once you go down early against those guys, it’s tough to get back in the game,” Iasparro said. “They made shots, we didn’t make shots. It’s a make-or-miss game. We got down by 15, then 20 and our energy and our enthusiasm went down. I feel much more confident going into this game.”

“We’ve got CBA next and it’s going to be tough,” Frawley added. “But we’re ready for them. We’ve played them in the regular season, we’ll be prepared and we’ll be comfortable playing them; it’s going to be a great matchup.”

Senior Billy Frost led St. Rose with 13 points with 10 coming in the first half. Frost was the only double-digit scorer for the Purple Roses (13-10).

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