The Alternative Press

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ - The New Providence boys' basketball team won for the third time in a row to even its season record to 8-8. The Pioneers utilized a press on different occasions and shot well from both the field and free-throw line to outplay the Roselle Park Panthers, 62-51. 

"We're hot," a happy New Providence head coach Art Cattano said. "This is our longest winning streak of the year. I am pleased that we are at .500 (winning percentage) after sixteen games."

The Pioneers blanketed the court with a full-court press at the beginning of the game that created three Roselle Park turnovers. This intense defense resulted in New Providence jumping out to a 6-0 lead just 1:20 into the game. 

Several minutes later, guards Curtis Kyzima and Michael Wilderotter each drained a 3-point shot to increase the Pioneer lead to 14-6. Tyler Curto came off the bench to score a quick four points, ending the opening quarter with New Providence ahead 18-11.

In the second, the Panthers cut the Pioneer lead down to three with 2:22 left in the half. For the remainder of the period, New Providence scored seven unanswered points, with Wilderotter tossing in five of them. At halftime, New Providence took a 32-22 point lead, aided by hitting 40 percent of its 3-point shots and making 67 percent of its 2-point field goals.

"At the half, I told the team not to rely on three point shots so much," Cattano said. "All of them are good shooters. We need to take good shots."

In the third quarter,  the Pioneers surged to a seventeen point lead. Roselle Park came roaring back with Patel scoring 19 points, and Gloria adding 16, leading the way to whittle its deficit to only eight with one minute remaining in the quarter. However, Kevin Haggerty's 3-point buzzer beater gave New Providence a commanding thirteen point lead, 48-35.

The fourth quarter slowed as the first field goal was drained by New Providence's Bryan Joyce with just 4:15 left in the game. For several minutes both squads traded baskets until Roselle Park started fouling the Pioneers to stop the clock, hoping that New Providence would miss its foul shots. However, New Providence responded to these tactics by making 6-8 free throws, including five by Kyle Kroeger, ending the game up 62-51.

Curto, Kroeger, and Wilderotter each had ten points for the Pioneers.

The next game on the schedule has the Pioneers traveling to Summit High School on Friday to take on the Hilltoppers. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.