Old Tappan led comfortably 47-34 heading into the 4th quarter against the Pascack Valley Indians but cold shooting from the outside coupled with tenacious man to man and double team defense allowed the Indians to get back into the game. The Golden Knights first points did not come until 4:56 off a free throw from Junior Chris Baker. Pascack Valley’s Matt Vassel who scored a game high 17 points for the Indians nailed a 3-point jumper with 40 seconds tying the contest up at 51-51. However, Old Tappan senior point guard Luca Casemnto dropped in 5 of his 13 points including two free throws with 10 seconds remaining putting the Golden Knights up for good at 54-51.

“They put the pressure on us and changed the pace of the game” said Old Tappan Head Coach Craig Ferraro. “Luca is a tough player and wants the ball at the end of the game,” added Ferraro. “He looks for it and hits those shots”

In the 2nd quarter, Junior Justin Minaya took over scoring 12 of his game high 23 points as the Golden Knights broke loose from a 19-19 tie with 6:30 left outscoring Pascack Valley 14-3 the rest of the quarter establishing a 33-22 cushion at halftime. Old Tappan built its lead with 2nd chance opportunities, fast breaks and transition points.

“The guys got a lot more comfortable with the defense in the 2nd and 3rd quarter plus Justin started stepping up and when he decides to turn it on he is hard to stop” said Craig Ferraro. “He was outstanding for that stretch of time and made big offensive plays” added Ferraro. “Offensive and defensive rebounds, finishing plays and he did all of the little things we needed him to do to help us win”

“A good game and I like the way we came out strong then they hit some shots but we persevered,” said Justin Minaya. “I know I had to get in the lane and get some fouls,” added Minaya.

Minaya did not stop attacking the paint and glass in the 3rd quarter scoring 11 more points as the Golden Knights built the leas to 44-30 with 2:22 left. Baker fed Minaya on two sensational back door layups.

“We try to find a balance between pushing it up and moving the ball around plus being smart and working possessions in the 2nd and 3rd quarter” said Craig Ferraro. “A great win for us since we are a young team and have only two returning starters from last year” added Ferraro. “There are really no guys with varsity minutes and got a taste of it plus stepped up today doing a lot of good things” “We’re fortunate to come out with it and will take it”

Pasack Valley jumped to a 10-4 lead aided by three 3-point jump shots and 8 points from Dedrick. The Golden Knights stormed back in the last 4:30 of the quarter outscoring the Indians 9-3 including a jumper from junior Brett Frankling tying the game up at 13-13 with 00.5 seconds remaining. Casamento almost matched Dedrick in points scoring seven.