Falcons cohesiveness leading to victories in boys hoops
By: Redd E. Patrick
Matt Gigliello and Chris Felix, as expected, have been lighting it up for the Monroe High School boys basketball team this season, but contributions across the board have the Falcons off to a flying start.
Monroe took a 3-1 record into the 2002 portion of the 2001-02 season, which began Thursday night at Spotswood, a team off to a 4-1 start.
"We’ve done some pretty good things,” said Monroe coach Pete LoPresti. "I’ve been pleased in the early going, things are starting to come together.”
After losing to Highland Park in their second game, the Falcons went on to capture the Piscataway Tech Holiday Tournament, walloping the host school 74-37, while defeating South River in the final, 72-60. Gigliello led the charge in the final with 26 points, Felix added 21, while Tom Woolfolk came through with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
Gigliello, a 5-11 senior guard, is averaging 20.5 points per game, while his backcourt mate Felix, a 6-2 senior point guard, is at 17.5. Eric Gaston, a junior swingman, is averaging 11.2 points per game, while 6-4 senior center Woolfolk is at 10.0. As a team, Monroe is averaging 70.2 points per game, while yielding 55.5.
"Matty and Chris have been constants for us,” said LoPresti. "We’re getting accustomed for them getting points for us offensively either on the break or in the half-court or defensively with a steal. They’re doing it on both ends of the floor.
"We’re also getting some really good nights from Eric Gaston and although his minutes aren’t quite there yet, Marcello Henriguez is really going to help us. Tommy Woolfolk has been coming around. Against South River in the final, he had the big game scoring and rebounding, which was great to see. Now we need to get Mario (6-1 senior Mario Zygadlo) into the groove.”
In years past, depth has been a problem for Monroe, but this season, LoPresti is going 10 deep as players such as seniors Jim Gaston and Richie Narvaez and juniors Peter Grad and Danny Palma have chipped in.
"We like to play up-tempo offensively and frantic defensively,” said LoPresti. "So you have to have depth to play that style. Even if a kid comes in for two minutes, every minute counts so we can keep fresh bodies out there.”
So while Gigliello and Felix have been doing the bulk of the scoring, everyone has been getting into the act for Monroe Falcons.