Jays Jump Out Big, Stave Off Sluggish Second Half For A 70-46 Win
DUNELLEN, NJ–With the Blue Jays center and resident high-flyer Nick Fariella injured, the team that could pretty much consider this a home game; within walking distance of MHS had to replace his leaping and rebounding ability and overall senior leadership. Enter Billy Lester, a player many pegged to be holding Coach Feath’s water bottle with 5 returning starters, or so it seemed. With Justin Rojas disciplined for attendance issues, it was Lester’s time to shine. After getting into significantally better shape over the past four years he was now one to lead a fast break rather then sitting behind it. He took the starting job and ran with it, improving himself and becoming a major asset in the selflessness philosophy that is Middlesex basketball. Lester had 6 of the first 8 points, stealing the ball consistantly from Manville guard Billy Fisher and putting it in the other way (think of a pick-6 in football).
The Jays closed the first quarter leading 26-8 with the two guards Lester and junior Mike Perone comprimising most of the scoring. The second quarter saw much of the same with the Jays blowing by the Mustangs in the transition game. With center Ryan Farley and foward Sparky Stockton leading the rebounding effort and getting the ball up to Perone, Lester and John Stockton who would find the open man for an easy lay-up. With about 3 minutes left Manville was being shut out 6-0. Manville mounted a mini run to close the quarter at 12-9 led by Anthony Palovick with four and Brian Rock with three.
The second half saw the starters come out but with much less intensity, a sloppy pass here and a blown defense here and Manville was on the cusp of making it a respectable game down by only fifteen. But the Jays were resiliant and fought back laziness to tie the third quarter 16-16. MHS fan favorite Kyle Paul Adams in the game to give Perone a rest stole the ball and headed for an easy lay-up before getting plowed by Manville’s Brian Rock on a hard but clean foul. His shot then proceeded to travel about 70% of the distance required to enter the hoop. The fourth quarter saw a much more crisper Middlesex team, one that put a major hurting on the Mustangs in the first quarter. With the game out of reach, both teams rested the Varsity en favor of JV. With the victory, Middlesex moves up to 4-0 overall while Manville drops to 0-5. See the box score, Middlesex game stats, and three stars of the game.
Finally, kudos to Greg Machos who made the trip to Faber Elementary School during an unscheduled visit to see the Jays play. Stay tuned to see his summary and statistics which make mine look rather feeble 🙂
Scorecard
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #10 Middlesex (4-0) | 26 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 70 |
| Manville (0-5) | 8 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 46 |
Three Stars of the Game
Billy Lester – Proceded to explode the opening of the game and was able to keep his high level of play throughout the game.
Sparky Stockton – What is there to say about a guy who averages 15-5 and gets 18-9 except to say its another day at the office.
Anthony Palovick – No matter how hopeless the score nor how bleak a play looked, Palovick gave it his all and he was rewarded with fourteen points and four rebounds. This is the kind of play that the pro’s should look at when they say they cant feed their family on only ten million a year.