Boys Basketball
By: Mike Molaro
The Hopewell Valley Central High School boys basketball squad is making it pretty tough for opponents to stop them.
If you want to fast break and run-and-gun, the Bulldogs will be happy to oblige. If you want to slow things down to a deliberate pace, HoVal can pull back on the throttle and walk the ball up the court.
In Tuesday’s 43-41 home triumph over West Windsor-Plainsboro North, the Bulldogs (5-3 overall, 3-2 in the Colonial Valley Conference) played the slow-down game. The Bulldogs never got frustrated and did not try to take what wasn’t there.
Sophomore guard Jeff Molinelli, who had 13 points, hit both ends of a one-and-one with 1.4 seconds remaining to provide the winning points. The conference’s leading scorer, senior forward Brett Reese (23.0 average), led all scorers with 18 points, dished out four assists and grabbed eight rebounds.
"This game featured good defense by both teams," Bulldogs coach Tony Mormile said. "(West Windsor-Plainsboro) North slowed the tempo a little bit on us. They controlled the tempo and it was hard for us to score.
"They (the Knights) have a real nice backcourt, but we hung with them and didn’t panic. This game showed me another positive aspect about this team."
West Windsor-Plainsboro North had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but HoVal senior center Jim Gilroy played superb defense on the Knights’ Ryan Moore, forcing him to miss an easy shot. Molinelli grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and calmly sank both free throws for the Bulldog triumph.
"This was nip-and-tuck all the way," Mormile said. "We led throughout the game, but never by more than six points. We led 36-30 after three quarters, but only scored two points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter."
The Bulldogs connected on 13 of their 14 free-throw attempts, which proved to critical.
"In a two-point game, we were able to take advantage of every one of those opportunities," Mormile said.
Gilroy had eight rebounds and sophomore center Brendan Rutledge added eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
"Whenever you can pull one out at the end, it helps the next time you are in a similar situation," Mormile said.
Hopewell Valley fell at Trenton 82-45 last Friday in a game much closer than the final score indicates. The Bulldogs led 15-14 after one quarter and trailed 34-26 at halftime.
Reese topped HoVal with 18 points including 14 in the first half and junior forward Saphish Naadimuthu had nine.
"We did a nice job of getting their big guy, Eric Smith, in foul trouble," Mormile said. "Trenton’s press wore us down at the end. Our guys scrapped.
"The guys who finished the game had a real tough job and played very well at the end. I’m proud of my guys."
Despite having the game in control, the Tornadoes continued with their pressure defense until the final buzzer.
"I think (Trenton coach) Randy Morrison paid us the ultimate compliment by keeping his starters in and pressing us full-court even though we took our starters out midway through the fourth quarter," Mormile said.
With games at home against Steinert on Friday and at Allentown next Tuesday, the Bulldogs are starting to look like a team ready to make a serious run at the CVC Valley Division crown.
"This team (Hopewell Valley) has given a great effort every game," Mormile said. "They always come out with a lot of intensity and that helps us quite a bit. This team has a lot of character and always seems to bounce back from adversity. These guys are a lot of fun to coach.
"Steinert is a very good team. We have a challenge coming up on Friday. We’ll be ready for them."
Whether the Spartans push the ball up the court or work the clock, the Bulldogs will have an answer.

