Boys Basketball: Scotch Plains-Fanwood tops South Plainfield

SOUTH PLAINFIELD - The Scotch Plains-Fanwood boys basketball knew it wanted to emphasis rebounding and defense against South Plainfield in the 11th annual Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament final on Friday afternoon. 

The Raiders (2-1) managed to implement their strategy and saw it pay off with a 56-49 victory over the Tigers (1-3) to win the tournament championship. 

"We just wanted to show our toughness and show was Scotch Plains was all about," said senior Justin Grey, who was named the tournament MVP. "So we just went out there, we played hard, put an emphasis on rebounding and we played our game."

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South Plainfield didn't make it easy for the Raiders. The Tigers fought back and managed to pull to within five, 50-45, with 1:19 remaining in the game, but Raul Lugo and Matuesz Sierant each went to the line and sank both pairs of free throws to put the Raiders ahead 54-45 with 44.5 seconds left. 

The Tigers' Destiny Nwankwo hit two free throws of his own and Moshood Adebule scored to cut the lead to 54-49 with 19.2 seconds to play, but Lugo scored as time expired for the 56-49 final. 

"We definitely expected this to be a hard game, they came out with a really tough zone and they had some good shooters, especially in the previous game we saw," Scotch Plains-Fanwood's Justin Fletcher said. "So we came out ready to defend hard, lock up their shooters and really push the ball in transition."

The game started slow offensively, as the Tigers' Peter Marotta scored the first points of the game three minutes into the contest. 

"It happens, but we were playing long possessions of defense and they weren't scoring, that's all you can really ask for," Fletcher said. 

The first quarter ended in a 10-10 tie, and the Raiders opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead with 5:59 left in the half. Josh Bradley snapped a three-minute scoring drought for South Plainfield, which cut the lead to 16-12, but four-straight points from the Raiders made it a 20-12 game with 3:58 remaining in the half. 

The Tigers then ended the first half on a 7-2 run, thanks to baskets by Josh Liberato and Bradley and 3-pointer from Dylan DeLisa for a 22-19 game at the half. 

"We just have to keep in our heads that they have their runs," Fletcher said of how the Raiders handled South Plainfield's comebacks. "It's our time, we're in control of this game, this is our game. They're competing but it's our game to lose and we're in control." 

Scotch Plains-Fanwood opened the third quarter on another 6-0 run and took a 28-19 lead with 5:17 left. The Raiders outscored the Tigers 13-9 that quarter and opened a 35-28 lead at the end of three. 

"We just played to our strengths," Grey said. "Just tried to play good defense, make good passes."

Scotch Plains-Fanwood out-rebounded South Plainfield 39-13 and sank 23-of-39 free throws. The Tigers went to the line 13 times and sank eight. 

"I think we were really efficient from the foul line and I'd like to say our effort was there on every single play," Fletcher said. "I saw a lot of guys chasing people down the court, going for blocks, I include myself in that, but I really like to see my teammates do that. That stuff will continue throughout the season."

Grey led the Raiders with 14 points and eight rebounds. Sierant contributed 11 points. Fletcher totaled 11 rebounds and five points while Liam Mahr pulled down 11 rebounds. Lugo chipped in nine points. 

For South Plainfield, DeLisa led with 12 points on four 3s. Adebule finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Liberato contributed eight points and Nwankwo added seven points. 

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego