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Fariella Leads Balanced Jays Attack In Rout Over Woodbridge, 64-39 |
By Greg Machos
January 12, 2008MIDDLESEX, NJ—Three years ago as freshmen, who would have thought that the current group of seniors on the Middlesex High School basketball team would be so good. On February 12, 2005, the Little Jays consisting of the likes of John Stockton, Nick Fariella, and Billy Lester took on J.F. Kennedy in a Freshmen Game of the Week. Back then Kennedy had a team that ended up the second seed in the 2005 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament, and eventually survived the rash of upsets in that tourney to defeat South Brunswick for the Championship. And, on that day in February, the Little Jays were no match for the Little Mustangs with the likes of Galadyk, Seymour, Jelani Davis, Brian Reilly, and Jonathan Toczynski. Since that time though, some of those names on the JFK roster that day have disappeared while Stockton, Fariella, and Lester stayed together. Then, add to the mix juniors such as Mark Stockton, Mike Perone, and Ryan Farley, and you have a Middlesex team that is not only off to its best start since the 2000-01 season, but could even surpass that team in terms of what it could accomplish this season.
Although the elder Stockton struggled from the field, and ended up with just two points, Fariella carried the load with 8 of 14 shooting from the floor, and a 2 of 5 effort from the foul line for 18 points along with 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, and a block while the younger Stockton chipped in with 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting, and a 2 of 3 showing at the line to go along with 8 rebounds, two steals, and an assist in a 64-39 pounding of a Woodbridge team that upset then second ranked Colonia less than ten days ago. The key would be a strong second quarter surge by the Jays to take a commanding 38-21 at halftime. After falling behind early, and making only 5 of 18 shots including 2 of 10 from three point range in an opening quarter that saw them ultimately end up on top, 13-11, the Blue Jays made 10 of 18 from the floor in the second including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc, and 3 of 4 free throws for a 25-10 surge. Fariella was instrumental in the effort with half of his game high total in the frame while Perone (13 points) and Lester (8 points) added five each. Middlesex's defense also played a key role in the quarter as it limited Woodbridge to only 4 of 13 shooting while forcing the Barrons to commit six turnovers. For the game, Woodbridge made only 16 of 52 shots for 30.8 percent including 2 of 15 from three point range for 13.3 percent while making 27 miscues.
Dave Silvasadder was the lone bright spot for Woodbridge. The senior forward, who was on the JV roster last year as a junior, continued to make a strong bid for GMC Hoops Most Improved Player of the Year with a team high 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the floor for 85.7 percent including a three pointer. Outside of Silvasadder, the Barrons shot the ball as if there was a lid on the rim making just 10 of 45 from the floor for 22.2 percent. For the rest of the individual statistics, check out the contest stats page in the Game Stats section. Comparing the team stats, Middlesex connected on 24 of 53 shots for 45.3 percent including 5 of 18 from long distance for 27.8 percent. At the line, the Blue Jays made 11 of 18 shots for 61.1 percent while Woodbridge made only 5 of 8 from the charity stripe for 62.5 percent. In other statistical departments, the Jays had more rebounds (34-30), and assists (16-7) while making fewer turnovers (21-27). On the other hand, the Barrons won the battle in other statistical categories such as steals (11-9), blocks (3-1), and charges (1-0). Middlesex scored in double figures in every period while Woodbridge did the same for only three of the four quarters. The Blue Jays outscored the Barrons in every quarter as well, but the second period was the one with the greatest disparity.
Like the Edison--South Amboy matchup earlier in the week, the contest shaped up to be a classic small school vs. big school in the GMC. Middlesex, a Group I school, and memeber of the GMC Blue was facing a Woodbridge squad from Group IV, and the GMC White. But, in a similar twist to the Eagles-Guvs game, the contest would turn into a lopsided debacle determined by a huge second quarter by the smaller school after a good showing by the larger school in the opening frame. The Barrons began the game by utilizing some zone defenses, and Middlesex, which does have some solid perimeter shooters, couldn't get the shots to fall early. The Blue Jays misfired on their first six or seven shots while the Barrons took a 4-0 lead on two baskets by Silvasadder before Middlesex got on the board at the 4:39 mark when Mark Stockton grabbed an offensive rebound of a missed three pointer by Perone, and followed it back in as he was fouled. Although the younger Stockton missed the bonus free throw, the Jays cut the deficit in half to 4-2. Forty-two seconds later, Middlesex took the lead at 5-4 as Farley passed the ball out to Lester on a kick out, and the senior guard nailed a three pointer from the left wing for a 5-4 lead at the 3:57 mark. In a quarter, where there were eight lead changes and two ties, the Barrons would take the lead back as Silvasadder pulled down an offensive board, and made a jumper on the follow off a Graham miss for a 6-5 lead at the 3:14 mark.
On the very next Blue Jay possession, the home team wrestled the lead back when Lester gave an entry pass to Fariella for a drive to his right into the paint for a 7-6 score with exactly three minutes to go in the first. The Barrons would knot the game up though as Graham made one of two at the charity stripe for a 7-7 tie at the 2:25 mark. Three more lead changes ensued as Graham scored on a layin for a 9-7 lead, and then Middlesex went back on top with a three pointer by Perone for a 10-9 score. Woodbridge went back on top with another basket that made the score, 11-10 before Farley was fouled on an offensive rebound and putback attempt at the 30.4 mark. The junior reserve forward made only one of two shots to tie the score at 11-11, but when Woodbridge missed a shot at the other end of the floor, Mark Stockton grabbed the rebound, and proceeded to head back upcourt for a layup, and a 13-11 lead heading into the second. Gaining the momentum at the end of the first stanza, the home team proceeded to essentially put the game away in the second with solid team play at both ends of the floor. The period began with Middlesex increasing its lead to 14-11 just 16 seconds into the period as Fariella swiped a steal, and was fouled by Gerard Bullock on a layup attempt, which resulted in one of two from the foul line. Farley followed that up with a rebound and a coast to coast drive of his own for a 16-11 lead at the 7:13 mark. Over the next 3:17, MHS outscored Woodbridge by a 7-4 margin for a 10-4 spurt, and a 23-15 lead. Highlighting the spurt was a three pointer by Perone off an assist by Farley.
Then, came a pivotal moment in the game, where the spurt turned into a avalanche. Almost twenty seconds after Perone's three, the Woodbridge bench was assessed a technical foul as head coach, Scott Sienkiewicz came out on the floor to protest to an official. Lester then made both his free throws to follow a Fariella putback of a Mark Stockton miss for a 27-15 lead. The Blue Jays continued to pour it on as John Stockton got his only points of the game on a baseline drive for a layup at the 4:09 mark to make it 29-15. After Middlesex got another basket to make it an 18-4 surge and a 31-15 lead, Woodbridge put a temporary halt to the onslaught with layups by Kirk Zambrana and Bullock to trim the deficit to 31-19 at the 2:38 mark as Blue Jay head coach, Brian Feath called a timeout. Following the stoppage, the Blue Jays proceeded to end the first half with a 7-2 spurt including a three pointer by Lester from the right side off an assist by Perone with about five seconds to go in the half for a 38-21 lead at the intermission. Looking at the halftime statistics, the Blue Jays were 15 of 36 from the floor overall for 41.7 percent including 4 of 15 from beyond the arc for 26.7 percent. Meanwhile, Woodbridge was shooting 9 of 25 from the field for 36 percent including 0 of 4 from downtown. At the line, Middlesex was 4 of 7 for 57.1 percent while the Barrons were 3 of 4 for 75 percent. Turnovers were a huge factor though as Woodbridge committed 14 while the Jays made only 10.
Rebounding was fairly even as both teams grabbed 18 boards each in the opening half, but Middlesex had a slight edge in offensive rebounds (9-7). Moving on to the halftime scoring, Fariella led the charge for a balanced Middlesex attack with 11 points on 5 of 9 field goals, and 1 of 2 from the foul line to go along with 6 rebounds (4 offensive), and two steals. Perone and Lester each chipped in with 8 points each as Perone made 3 of 6 shots including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc while connected on 2 of 4 three point attempts as well to go along with 2 of 2 at the line. Mark Stockton added 6 points on three field goals, and grabbed six boards (3 offensive) as well as collected a steal. For Woodbridge, Bullock and Silvasadder stood out as the former made 3 of 6 from the floor for 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block while Silvasadder was a perfect 3 of 3 for his 6 along with 6 rebounds. The second half would be fairly even as the Jays outscored the Barrons 26-18 in the second half. As late as the fourth quarter, the home team had eleven turnovers. In the third, Middlesex put out any of the fight left in Woodbridge with 6 of the first 9 points of the second half for a 45-24 lead at the 4:05 mark. John Stockton found other ways to contribute as he got the ball in the paint to his younger brother Mark for a layup, and then handed out another assist on a layup underneath by Fariella as he was fouled, but the senior forward, missed the bonus free throw.
Woodbridge tried to make things more respectable in the balance of the third with five of the final eight points for a 48-29 Middlesex lead. Paul "P.J." Moore came off the bench for the Barrons to try and give a spark with several steals in the latter portion of the second half, but it wasn't enough as the Blue Jays closed out the 64-39 win with a 16-10 fourth period showing. With the victory, Middlesex improves to 9-1 overall, and 6-1 in conference play while Woodbridge falls to 2-8 overall, and 1-7 in the GMC.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Middlesex (9-1) |
13 | 25 | 10 | 16 | 64 |
Woodbridge (2-8) |
11 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 39 |
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