by Frank Caggino
The Newfield Wolverines and West Islip Lions have both been struggling since the start of the New Year. Coming into this game Newfield was on a six game losing streak while West Islip was on a nine game losing streak. Both teams desperately needed a win which led to a very physical game that featured many fouls and diving for loose balls. These teams played early in the season and Newfield won 52-41 and were looking to have the same result this time.
Colin Cassara was able to get the Wolverines’ offense starting by making several outside shots in the first quarter. Newfield was also double teaming the ball handler and able to force turnovers. After another three pointer from Cassara, The Lions called for a timeout. Following the timeout, the Lions were able to find their rhythm and take an 18-13 lead after the first quarter.
One of the reasons why West Islip was able to get the lead is the inside scoring of Kevin Rion. Fouls started to rack up for the Lions as they saw their lead slipping away. Newfield was able to generate offense by getting steals and running to the basket in transition. The continuous fouling from the Lions put the Wolverines in the bonus where they were able to take the lead on free throws. After another steal and layup for Newfield courtesy of Chandler Giovinco, it gave them a 28-25 lead on halftime.
The end of the second quarter by Giovinco, was a preview to the big second half he had hitting three triples in the third quarter, and ended up finishing the game with a team high 23 points. Two of those three pointers were on back to back offensive positions, which put his team up by double digits. West Islip’s offense started to stagnate as they were launching several contested three pointers. After the game Newfield’s head coach Anthony Agostino, said the team switched up their defensive scheme by trying to stop Mark Regan from scoring inside and force West Islip to try to beat them from the three point line. Those defensive adjustments allowed the Wolverines to maintain their double digit lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, both teams were now struggling on offense and Ziggy Hoe made a fast break layup to get Newfield’s offense back to where they were. The fast break offense continued to pay off for the Wolverines, as Xavier Martinez was able to get a wide open layup by running down court of a missed shot. This forced a timeout from West Islip because of how open Martinez was. Martinez followed it up with a steal and layup. Newfield found themselves in the bonus once again and sealed the game on free throws to win 53-46. Coach Agostino knew his team had been struggling this month and said he told the team the importance of staying together when the team hits a rough patch. With both times playing very physical because of how badly they needed to win, Agostino again said that staying together in that type of environment is the key to winning. That in fact was the key and it helped the Newfield Wolverines snap their six game losing streak.
