MHS boys struggle without Hahn

Senior leader out for year

By: Shawn Tyrrell
   
   Some people believe that no loss is too big to overcome. The Manville High School boys’ basketball team has suffered many losses on the court this season, but last week the Mustangs received news that senior point guard Brian Hahn will be out for the remainder of the season due to a ruptured appendix.
   Hahn’s unexpected departure left a void on the squad that is almost impossible to fill, and his absence was apparent in the team’s play last week. The Mustangs lost games to Oratory Prep (72-38), New Providence (92-43) and Dayton (60-31).
   It’s not to say that the rest of the Mustangs will not go out there and play to their best ability. But Hahn was the team leader and his ability to bring the ball up the court and run the offense is what made him so valuable.
   Since his untimely departure, Manville has turned the ball over almost 30 times per game and is shooting just 30 percent from the floor. With those kinds of numbers, it is difficult to expect a team to win.
   Manville head coach Larry Blasi, who already was working with a young team, saw his squad get just a bit more youthful.
   "We just got younger in a hurry," Blasi said. "Losing Brian is a tough thing for us. Without his leadership and ability to handle the ball we have been kind of floundering. Some people on the team are going to have to step up."
   Players like Mike Knitowski, Anthony Palovick, Rod Wood and Kyle Sopko will have to take turns carrying the load for the young Mustangs. Unfortunately, this group of sophomores will be going up against some schools with senior-dominated teams. This could result in more lopsided losses like last week.
   Manville had three different team scoring leaders in last week’s games. Knitowski fired in 12 at Oratory, Palovick netted 11 at New Providence and Wood tallied eight against Dayton.
   Blasi also expects players like Leo Rodriguez and Pat Horner to contribute more during the remainder of the season. Blasi has been pleased with their efforts so far.
   "Leo and Pat have done a good job defensively for us," Blasi said. "In the New Providence game, both did a nice job shutting down the Pioneers two best two shooters in the second half. We changed defenses and had some success."
   The Mustangs (1-12) have two weeks left in their season, which includes winnable regular season games vs. Sussex Tech and Bound Brook. The team was seeded 15th in the Somerset County Tournament and will travel to No. 10 Ridge for a preliminary round game this Saturday.
   What can fans expect the rest of the way?
   Some nights the team might be able to stick around and hang in games, while at other times it could end up being frustrating. Young teams have to expect a bunch of mistakes that younger players will make. At the end of the season one can only hope that the Mustangs will have learned something to take with them into next year.