 |
Dunellen
Continues To Roll Toward Gold Division Showdown |
By Greg Machos
February 2, 2008RAHWAY, NJ—Boy! What a difference a month makes! About this time during the first week of January, there was some doubt as to whether the Destroyers of Dunellen High School would qualify for the Central Jersey Group I Tournament. After starting the season at 2-6, DHS was in a dire predicament. However, instead of panicking, or throwing in the proverbial white towel, head coach, Bernie Buniak, to his credit, made some adjustments to the way his team had to approach things, particularly from the defensive side of the ball. Buniak, who is a fervent advocate of the man to man defensive philosophy, went against his beliefs and decided to have his team utilize a trapping oriented scheme. The result, nine wins in the last ten games including a 53-50 victory over Old Bridge, and a 64-36 rout of North Plainfield. With the pivotal win streak not only have the Destroyers qualified for the state tourney for the seventh consecutive season, but have also gained some much needed momentum heading into a divisional showdown against Gold Division leader, South Amboy in Guvland on Tuesday, February 5th. Despite the team's dramatic improvement and success, Buniak remains cautious. In response to a question with regard to how he felt his team was doing, the former Rahway coach answered, "I'll talk to you after the game on Tuesday."
In addition, Buniak understands that the work is not done. Especially when it comes to his team's prospects in Central Jersey Group I for 2008. "Our bracket is very tough," stated the third year Dunellen coach. Can't dispute that. In addition to solid GMC teams from the Blue and Gold Divisions such as Middlesex, Metuchen, South Amboy, and Perth Amboy Tech, there are solid squads such as Bound Brook, Bernards, Asbury Park, Create Charter, David Brearley of Kenilworth, Academy Charter, and Florence. However, this year's Dunellen team has not only done something extraordinary in terms of turning its season around, but also doing it against a much tougher out of division schedule that included the likes of GMC foes Carteret, Monroe, Old Bridge, Spotswood, South River, and Highland Park in addition to non-conference opponents such as Union Catholic, Princeton Day, Hackettstown, North Plainfield, and today's opponent, Roselle Catholic. The Lions, which the web site saw in a scrimmage at North Brunswick back in early December, have struggled this season with a below .500 record, and will not be competing in the state tournament for the first time in several years. Nevertheless, a win by the Destroyers over Roselle Catholic, a program that has built quite a reputation in both the Mountain Valley Conference and Union County over the years, would be still a nice feather to put in their cap heading into the game with South Amboy next week.
Another thought to ponder about this year's Dunellen squad is the fact that DHS has been able to put it together without having one of last year's top players, Jim Schleppenbach at full strength. The strong favorite for GMC Hoops Comeback Player of the Year is coming along though with a number of nice performances as the season has progressed. T.J. Wenzel has been his typical self putting up good numbers, but it has also been the play of senior pivot man, Brock Mundy, who has turned in some solid efforts down low this season that has helped Dunellen even when things weren't going well. Nick Francisco, the cousin of former Bishop Ahr standout, Corey Francisco, has been steadily improving at the point and newcomers such as Reggie Thorpe and Jonard Hall have been thrown into the rotation. When, South Amboy met Dunellen at DHS on opening night, the Guvs won easily, 69-50. However, this time around, it could be much different. The Destroyers are playing with much more confidence, and finishing the season strong, which hasn't been a Dunellen trademark in recent years. Case in point, Saturday's opener of the 2008 Kowal Games at Rahway High School. Wenzel connected on his first five shots including four three pointers for 14 of his team's 18 first quarter points as DHS grabbed an 18-15 lead. Then, after a second quarter that saw the Destroyers get only two field goals, both courtesy of Mundy, and trailing 25-22 at halftime, Dunellen fought back with a 33-25 showing over the final two periods for a 55-50 win over Roselle Catholic.
For the game, Wenzel ended up shooting 9 of 16 from the floor including a 5 of 8 effort from beyond the arc for a game high 23 points while grabbing 9 rebounds, and collecting 2 assists, a steal, and a block. Mundy ended up with a double-double of 16 points on four field goals, and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line, and 12 rebounds along with 2 assists, and a steal. Meanwhile, for Roselle Catholic, seniors Matt Henn and Brendan Trelease both shared a team high 12 points as Henn connected on three field goals, a three pointer, and three foul shots while Trelease connected on 5 of 7 shots including 1 of 2 from three, and made one of two at the line. Henn also grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots, and swiped a steal while Trelease collected 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. For the rest of the Dunellen individual stats, check out the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. Looking at the team statistics for the game, Dunellen made 21 of 54 shots for 38.9 percent overall including 5 of 11 from long range for 45.5 percent. At the free throw line, the Destroyers were 8 of 12 for 66.7 percent. Meanwhile, the Lions shot 18 of 49 from the floor for 36.7 percent including 6 of 16 from three point land for 37.5 percent while also making 8 of 12 attempts at the charity stripe. In other statistical areas, Roselle Catholic scored in double figures in each of the four periods while Dunellen did that in only three. However, the Destroyers more than made up for that with 18 points in the first frame, and 21 in the last to get the win.
The rest of the statistical departments broke down like this: RCHS got the slight edge in turnovers (20-21) while Dunellen won the battle on the boards 37-25 including a 13-6 edge on the offensive boards. Assists (14-14), steals (7-7), and charges (0-0) were even while the Lions enjoyed a 3-1 advantage in blocks. Roselle Catholic also only managed to get eight points off Dunellen turnovers including six on the fast break while getting no second chance points. In the first quarter, both teams came out firing offensively as DHS made 5 of 13 shots including 4 of 7 from downtown, and went a perfect 4 of 4 at the line while the Lions made 6 of 12 shots from the floor including 1 of 3 from deep, and netted both their free throws. Each team committed five turnovers. Wenzel actually ended up going 5 of 7 from the floor overall including 4 of 5 from three point land for his 14 points. The Lions got out of the blocks running with a 5-0 run in the first 1:07 on a three pointer from the left corner, and a layup in the left low block. However, the Destroyers got going again thanks to Wenzel, who got his team on the board with a foul line extended jumper off a setup pass by Nick Francisco at the 6:30 mark. Wenzel then hit two three pointers to cap the 8-2 run for an 8-7 lead with 5:08 to go in the period. The senior forward, who moonlighted as quarterback for the school during football season this past fall, canned two more treys for a 14-4 run, and a 14-9 lead at the 3:04 mark before the Lions trimmed the deficit to three with two foul shots that made it 14-11.
Roselle Catholic then scored again as Henn blocked a Cianfrone shot, and sprinted downcourt for an eventual layup that made it a 4-0 RCHS run, and a 14-13 Dunellen lead at exactly the two minute mark. Mundy then began to take over with the final four DHS points of the opening stanza including a putback attempt following an offensive rebound of a missed Wenzel three for two free throws at the 1:45 mark, and then another two foul shots with 32 seconds left for the three point, 18-15 lead entering the second. In the period before the half, Dunellen made only 2 of 12 shots, and attempted no threes while Roselle Catholic clicked on 4 of 13 shots including 1 of 6 three ball attempts. Both teams combined for 9 turnovers in the frame with RCHS having a slight edge (4-5). The Lions began the second with a 10-2 spurt over the first 5:10 of the period for a 25-22 lead. The Union County based school closed the gap to one with a field goal that opened the period scoring before Mundy replied with a basket of his own for a 20-17 lead. Roselle Catholic then tied the game at 20-20 with 5:20 left in the half on a three pointer from the top of the key. A little more than thirty seconds later, Henn scored on a layup off the fast break for his team's first lead since 7-5 at about the 5:30 mark of the opening period. Leading 22-20 at the 4:49 mark, the Lions were able to increase their lead thanks to a missed one and one by Hall at the 3:48 mark, and then one of two foul shots with 3:25 to go before the intermission followed by a Trelease steal for a layup, and a 25-20 lead with 2:50 left in the half.
Mundy then closed out the first half scoring with a field goal that made the score, 25-22 as both teams went into their respective locker rooms. Looking at the first half scoring, Wenzel, who had not scored since the three minute mark of the first, still had 14 opening half points on 5 of 9 shooting including a 4 of 5 effort from beyond the arc. In addition, the senior compiled four rebounds and a block. Mundy chipped in with 8 points on 2 of 5 shooting from the floor, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the foul line while picking up 4 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. On the other side of the ledger, Henn made 2 of 4 shots for 4 points, 2 blocks, and a rebound while Trelease added four of his own on 2 of 3 shooting to go along with 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Moving on to the halftime stats, Dunellen was only 7 of 25 from the field for 28 percent including 4 of 7 from three point land for 57.1 percent while making 4 of 5 foul shots for 80 percent. On the other side of the scorebook, Roselle Catholic was 10 of 25 from the floor for 40 percent including 2 of 9 from downtown for 22.2 percent, and made 3 of 4 free throw attempts for 75 percent. Turnovers were even although the Lions enjoyed a slight edge at 9-10. Rebounds (13-13), assists (7-7), and charges (0-0) were even while the Destroyers had more offensive rebounds (5-3) and RCHS had more steals (5-2). Returning to action in the third quarter, DHS would gain a slight edge in the period to close the gap to one point at 35-34 heading into the fourth. However, things did not start out that way as the Lions scored the first three points of the new half.
At the 7:12 mark, Roselle Catholic made one of two at the line for a 17-8 run over the last 11:52 for a 26-22 lead. Forty seconds later, Trelease scored again on a layup off a drive to his left across the key for a 19-8 tear, and a 28-22 lead with 6:22 left in the third. Dunellen then embarked on a 10-4 over the next 4:45 that squared the game up again at 32-32 with 1:37 to play in the period. Mundy began the assault with a drive for a layup at the 5:35 mark. Mark Palka then got into the act with a steal off Trelease for a layup as he was fouled, but then the junior guard missed the bonus free throw, and the score remained 28-26 with 5:22 to go in the third. A little more than a minute later, Roselle Catholic went back up by five as Trelease struck for his only three of the game on a shot from the right side that made the score, 31-26 at the 4:14 mark. The Destroyers then reeled off the next six points over a span of just 1:34 to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the second quarter. Highlighting the rally was a Nick Francisco drive through the middle for a layup that made it 31-30 at the 3:16 mark, and then a Palka pass to Wenzel for a high arching midrange jumper from the right baseline that capped the run at the 2:37 mark for a 32-31 lead. The score was Wenzel's first field goal since midway through the first period. Following a Roselle Catholic timeout at the 2:09 mark, the Lions roared back with four straight points including one of two at the line with 1:37 left, and then a three point play set up by a Trelease assist with 42 seconds left for a 35-32 lead. Thorpe then got his only points of the game on a layup off a feed from Wenzel that made the score, 35-34 at the end of three.
In the fourth, both teams combined for the highest single period output of the contest with 36 points. Fortunately for Dunellen fans, their Destroyers got the lion's share with a 21-15 edge for the five point victory. Forty seconds into the fourth, DHS took the lead again as Wenzel connected on a jumper for a 36-35 lead. After Roselle Catholic missed a chance to go back ahead, or at least tie as it missed two free throws at the 6:32 mark, the Destroyers added to their lead with four more points including an offensive rebound and putback by Mundy off a Palka miss, and then two free throws by Mundy at the 5:59 mark for a 40-35 lead. Dunellen then outscored Roselle Catholic by a 7-5 margin over the next 1:29 for a 15-5 tear, and a 47-40 lead with 4:30 left in the game. Capping the run was Wenzel's first three pointer since the opening period, and his final one of the game from the left wing off an assist from Nick Francisco. Ten seconds later, Henn tried to get his team going again with one of two at the line that closed the gap to 47-41, but the Destroyers scored four of the next six including a Wenzel steal for a layup, and a 51-43 lead with 2:41 to play. With under a minute remaining, Schleppenbach put the icing on the cake with his only points of the game on two free throws for a 53-44 lead. Roselle Catholic would then outscore Dunellen by a 6-2 margin the rest of the way, but it was too little, too late as DHS came away with the 55-50 win.
With the victory, Dunellen has now won 10 of its last 12 games, and improves to 12-8 overall. The Destroyers have also compiled a mark of 2-3 overall against non-conference teams with their second straight win against an opponent outside the GMC. Roselle Catholic falls to 5-13 overall in 2007-08.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Dunellen (12-8) |
18 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 55 |
Roselle Catholic (5-13) |
15 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 50 |
RETURN TO THE GMC HOOPS HOME PAGE
If you are finished viewing the GMC Hoops Summaries, and would like to see other parts of the website. Click below to return to the GMC Home Page.
Return to the GMC Hoops Home Page
If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.