Clarkstown North Boys Basketball Falls to Spring Valley in Final Game of Regular Season

The Clarkstown North Rams fell to the Tigers of Spring Valley, 72-56, at home Monday.

The first quarter was neck and neck, however, the Tigers began pulling away in the second quarter and continued to build on their lead in the second half.

“Last time they played real hard against us, I think we came with a little bit more energy this time and kind of took them out of their rhythm,” said Spring Valley’s head coach Willy Worsley. “You’ll notice too, I played the big guys together and then I came with the little guys, so what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to get everybody to play there.  So if we’re lucky enough to be going to the sectionals, you never know who you’re going to play.  I’m trying to give every kid a chance to play.”

Following the game, the Rams head coach, Danny Goldberg, identified the primary factor in Monday’s game.

“Definitely transition defense,” said Goldberg.  “We took a lot of early three pointers and long shots with the long rebounds.  They get out in transition very well.  I think the last time we played them, we really limited that and we were in control most of the game but once they get started it’s hard to get them to stop.”

Clarkstown’s Anthony Barbetto agreed with Goldberg, saying, “We didn’t get back on defense and then they beat us in their transition game.  We tried throwing the press at them, but they just beat it every time going down the court.”

Another major factor in Monday’s game was Spring Valley’s size, which seemed to give the Rams trouble down the stretch.  Coach Goldberg outlined his strategy for taking on this challenge.

“We were going to play a 1-3-1 zone and really look to trap them, force them into bad positions and turnovers,” said Goldberg.  “That’s exactly what we did last time, we had a little deja vu, but it didn’t work this time.  They’ve got a lot of talent and today they just outplayed us.”

“We were just trying to limit them to one shot but since they had kids who were 6’5, we had to get a body on them,” added Barbetto.  “Since we didn’t, they got a lot of offensive rebounds and they just put it back up.”

Not only was their size an issue on the offensive end, but on the defensive end as well, which Goldberg agreed contributed somewhat to their difficulty finishing later on.

“I definitely think so,” said Goldberg.  “There was a time when they blocked two or three straight shots and I’m sure that plays in the back of their mind.”

The first quarter went well for both teams.  Both moved the ball well as the Tigers used their size to pound away inside while North fired back with their impressive speed.

“Our quickness is a huge advantage for us,” said Goldberg.  “I think we get in the paint very well, we draw and kick very well, it’s just about us converting.”

Victor Lleshaj and Barbetto led their team in the first quarter with six and five points a piece, respectively.  Dwayne Foreman led the Tigers with eight.  The quarter ended with the Rams trailing trailing 16-14.

The Rams continued to play well in the second, however, the Tigers played better.  Spring Valley hassled North into turnovers and tough shots, which they had difficulty getting to fall.  Meanwhile, the Tigers continued to score in transition as they outscored North 2 to 1.  Terry Brutus came alive on the offensive end to score 10, half of his team’s points that quarter.  Zachary Jarrett led the Rams with four points in the quarter.  North ended the half trailing 37-25.

“In the beginning, we were just communicating, passing the ball very well, stopping their transition offense and playing good transition defense,” added Barbetto.  “Then we just finished everything in the first half.”

The Tigers kept the momentum going in the second half as they built their lead up to 19 by the end of the third quarter.  Foreman led the Tigers again with eight points.  Lleshaj nearly matched Brutus as he led the Rams with seven points.  The Rams ended the quarter trailing 61-42.

Try though they might, the Rams could not gain on the Tigers in the fourth.  The two teams played hard to the end, but the Tigers would win it 72-56.  Joseph Feinberg led the Rams with seven points.

“We were finishing, we had a lot of opportunities, even after the first quarter,” said Goldberg.  “We had lay-ups that we missed, shots that they came in and closed out on us a lot.  We were converting and finishing and finishing the play all the way through, whereas the end, we kind of got a little too wound up and were short a little bit on some jump shots.”

“If we were to finish those lay-ups, we would have gotten ourselves back in the game,” added Barbetto.  “We would’ve been more hyped and we would’ve got back on like what happened with South and we would’ve come back and had a nice run there, but we just couldn’t finish our lay-ups.”

Barbetto and Lleshaj led the Rams in scoring with 14 points each on the night.  Foreman and Brutus led the Tigers with 20 and 16 points, respectively.

Both teams are now 7-11 for the season.  North finds out who they play on Wednesday at the playoff’s seeding meeting.  Depending on the results, they will be playing next either Thursday or Friday.