The little things are adding up to big wins for the Freehold Township boys basketball team.
For the second game, senior forward Steve Ballester bailed the Patriots out, and as a result following their 53-52 over Middletown South in overtime, they are in firm grasp of the Shore Conference A North Division.
In a thrilling 48-46 win over Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) on Jan. 17, it was Ballester who tipped in a missed shot just before the buzzer sounded, setting off a wild celebration in Freehold Township.
“That’s what I’m about,” said Ballester. “I do the little things.”
The little things on Jan. 22 included forcing a jump ball with 12.7 seconds left in the game that gave the Patriots a chance to pull a Houdini act at home against the Eagles.
Down by four with 23.5 seconds left, the Patriotswere in big trouble. TheEagleswere shooting the ball well from the foul line and that did not bode well for the Pats.
First things first, Kyle McKinnon drove the length of the floor and scored on a lay-up to cut the lead to 48-46 with 15.4 seconds left in the game.
The Eagles were able to get the ball to Rob Callori on the sideline. Certainly, the Patriots were going to have to foul the Eagles’ guard. But, Callori did put the ball close to his body and the ever-alert Ballester was able to tie him up, getting a jump ball. The arrow pointed in Freehold Township’s direction and the Pats had the break they needed.
It would be Ballester who would tie the game up, scoring on a lay-up off a set play from Kevin Fischer.
Freehold Township head coach Brian Golub knew his team hadn’t won anything yet, but they had at least put defeat in check.
“Itwas survival,” he said. “I told themwe had another opportunity, nowlet’s gowin it.”
The two teams could not be separated in the overtime. Twice, the Pats would take a two-point lead, and twice, Garrett Thiel sank pressure free throws to tie it.
With time winding down, the Pats were in the same position as CBA, tied with the ball in Corey Csakai’s hands.
Csakai was the eighth man on last year’s Shore Conference Tournament championship team.Ayear later, he is getting the ball with the game on the line. He attributes his and the Patriots play this year to the experience of practicing daily with the finest team in school history.
“We played against the best last year,” he pointed out. “Eddie Fischer told us to be a teamthis year and trust each other.We have no superstars. Everyone plays their role.”
Csakai’s role is to make things happen when the game is on the line.Against South, itmeant taking it hard to the glasswhere he was fouled with 3.7 seconds left. He would miss the first free throw and the Eagles would try to ice himby calling a time-out.
What did he do during the time-out?
“I was laughing with Ballester to keep my mind off it,” he said.
Golub was confident that his senior guard was going to knock the free throw.
“I told them after Corey makes it, what defense we were going to play,” he said.
Csakai swished his second free throw like Golub said. When a running one-hander
by Thiel fell short of the rim, Freehold Township had escaped with another hardfought division victory.
The Patriots were now alone atop A North with an 8-2 record and positioned to win the division for a fifth straight year.
The battle of co-leaders took several turns before Csakai’s free throw won it.
Freehold Township had taken control of the back-and-forth game late in the second quarterwhen it closed the half on an 8-0 run that extended its 20-19 edge to 28-19.
Center Max Lit, who was a force in the paint throughout the game (team-high 14 points), scored the last four points for the Pats, two of them on a put-back.
McKinnon and Lit, again, scored the first four points of the second half and the Pats had a 32-19 lead andwere in total command.
Then, the Eagles started to soar behind the three-point shooting of Rob Callari off the bench.
Matt Callari, perhaps responding to the ankle injury that took forward Kyle Cancillieri out of the game, began to assert himself on the offensive glass and the lead was down to three, 36-33.
McKinnon made it 38-33. South closed the period with back-to-back 3-pointers by Pete Clabby and Thiel (game-high 15), and the visitors were up by two, 40-38, heading into the fourth quarter.
Golub said he had told his players that he expected the Eagles to play inspired ball after losing Cancillieri. But, who the heck was Rob Callari.
The Pats regained the lead midway through the fourth onMattDevine’s jumper, 44-42. But, another three by Rob Callari put South back up, 45-44, and the Eagles would extend it to 48-44 with three free throws.
As it turned out, the Pats had the Eagles right where they wanted them.
The first time around inMiddletown, the Pats didn’t have as tough a timewith theEagles, and Golub credited the team with taking a different defensive approach this time.
“You have to give them credit,” said Golub. “They made adjustment and made it tough for us to get into the lane.”
The Eagles may have made it more difficult for the Patriot guard to take it to the glass, but, they managed to get in the lane for two of the biggest plays of the game; McKinnon’s drive that made it 48-46; and, of course, Csakai in overtime that led to the game-winning free throw.
Freehold Township followed up its win over Middletown South with a 56-47 win at Marlboro. The Mustangs had upset the Pats back in December and played them tough again. The game was tied 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter. From there the Pats’ defense took over and a 14- 5 edge in the final period edged them closer to a fifth straight crown.
Ballester led a balanced attack with 14.
With three games remaining to play in A North, the Pats are at 9-2 followed by CBA at 8-3.
With two wins, the Patriots can do no worse than share the title. Three wins and it’s theirs outright.
Freehold Township hosted Howell Monday night, and tomorrow will have a tough game at Colts Neck (5:30 p.m.). On Monday, Township finishes its A North schedule, hosting Middletown North.
Colts Neck is 7-4 in A North (10-6) overall and knows the title is a long shot. The Cougars’ goal tomorrow night is to get within a game of the Pats and see what happens in the season finale.
With the Shore’s leading scorer in Stephen Spinella (22 points a game) and one of the best guards in Mitchell Kates, the Cougars are not an easy out.