HHS boys salvage split in holiday tourney

Team enters New Year with 4-2 mark

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   The Hillsborough High boys’ basketball team salvaged a split in the Hopewell Valley Tournament to enter the New Year with a 4-2 record. Although the Raiders are in much better shape than last year at this time, second-year head coach Ian Progin hasn’t been completely satisfied with the team’s recent play.
   HHS opened the 2004-05 campaign with three straight solid wins against Phillipsburg, Union and North Hunterdon but dropped its first game of the season against New Brunswick two days before Christmas. A defensive breakdown cost the Raiders in their first holiday tournament game vs. Lawrence, forcing them to settle for a consolation victory over St. Peter by the Sea of Long Island.
   "I’m much more pleased with our start this year," said Progin, whose team went 2-4 in its first six games last winter. "We’re doing a lot of good things and these kids play their butts off. I’m a little disappointed that our two losses are against teams I thought we should have beaten."
   The Raiders played two tight games in the Hopewell Tournament, falling 42-41 to Lawrence on a buzzer-beating layup before holding on for a 47-43 triumph over St. Peter by the Sea in the consolation. As indicated by the point totals, the team has been playing solid defense but struggling a bit at the offensive end.
   "We’re doing a decent job defensively holding people down, but we’re not playing well offensively," Progin said. "Our offensive execution hasn’t been there. We’re forcing things and rushing things and we haven’t been getting the ball inside. You have to at least be a threat in there or the other teams are going to put too much pressure on your guards."
   Ironically, it was a defensive breakdown that cost the Raiders against Lawrence. Senior guard Chad Barbieri, who is averaging over 13 points per game to lead the team, hit two clutch free throws to give the Raiders a 41-40 lead. Lawrence moved the ball across the half-court line and called time-out with 4.5 seconds to play.
   The Raiders didn’t properly execute Progin’s defensive plan on the final play, which called for a man on the ball and a man on Andre Brackett. When Brackett got the ball, the Raiders double-teamed him and he found an open man under the hoop for an easy layup at the buzzer.
   "That was a heart-breaker," Progin said. "We wanted to force a shot, not a layup."
   Hillsborough recovered and rallied to beat St. Peter by the Sea in the consolation game. After a sluggish second quarter that saw the Raiders fall behind by six points at the half, the team regained the lead with a 17-9 burst in the third period.
   Simeon Vargas stepped up with a solid tournament performance, leading the Raiders in scoring in both games. Vargas hit three 3-pointers and netted a season-high 15 points vs. Lawrence and followed that with a 12-point outing in the consolation win. Vargas hit two more threes vs. St. Peter and ranks second on the team with seven bombs for the season.
   "Sim has definitely sparked us offensively," Progin said. "He’s been able to score from the outside and from the inside. He’s starting to hit some threes."
   The Raiders also split two home games just before Christmas, defeating North Hunterdon and falling to New Brunswick by the same score of 57-46. Senior center Joel Brissett had his biggest game vs. North, posting a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to support the scoring of classmates Mark Demetriou (15) and Brandon Shamy (11).
   The Lions keyed on Barbieri, so three of his teammates made them pay. The Raiders closed that game with an explosive 25-point fourth quarter.
   HHS only had one more quarter with more than 15 points in the next three games and the team’s free throw shooting has dipped to 60 percent. Those figures must improve as the team prepares for a busy and competitive January. Playing two nail-biters over the holidays should help prepare the Raiders for battle.
   "Now is when our season really turns up," Progin said. "The competition is going to get better. Close games are a positive. You can learn some things from playing those games. We need to close out games and the Lawrence game was a good learning experience."
   Hillsborough was slated to play at Hunterdon Central Tuesday night before opening Delaware East Division play at home tonight vs. Watchung Hills.