Boys BasketballIf the Lawrence High School boys basketball squad can put together 32 solid minutes, the victories will come.
By: Mike Molaro
Until then, though, the Cardinals will suffer the growing pains associated with young teams trying to forge their own identity.
Lawrence lost its fourth-straight game, 70-63, to West Allen despite 18 points from junior guard Matt Bozzone, 14 points from senior guard Rob Wadley, and 10 from senior center Pat Gill.
The Cardinals (2-7 overall, 1-4 in the Colonial Valley Conference) opened action on Jan. 4 with a 61-40 setback at CVC-rival Trenton and fell to league-foe Hopewell Valley last Saturday at home, 61-49.
"We got down by 14 points in the first quarter but fought back," said Lawrence head coach Pat Tarrant of the loss to West Allen. "We outscored them 17-10 in the second quarter. It was pretty much a dogfight the rest of the way. We played hard. Every time we made a run at them, we’d have a costly turnover."
Junior forward Tini Lewis topped the Cardinals with nine points against the Tornadoes while Wadley and senior guard Pat Haggerty each added eight. Trenton put the game away with a 22-8 fourth-quarter spurt.
"We ran out of steam at the end," Tarrant added. "We stayed with them for three quarters but then we got really tired. Their pressure forced a lot of turnovers. I was pleased with our effort but we just had nothing left in the fourth quarter."
Bozzone led the Cardinals with 10 points against HoVal, Gill added nine, Haggerty contributed eight, sophomore forward Chris Gregory had seven, and junior forward Kevin Schneider scored six. The Bulldogs held a 17-5 advantage from the free throw line and connected on eight three-pointers as compared to four (two each from Schneider and Bozzone). Lawrence held a 14-10 first-quarter advantage before HoVal went on a 22-8 surge.
"They shot the lights out," said Tarrant. "We didn’t come to play. This is a game we would like to forget. Unfortunately, we can’t have these kinds of games right now."
Despite the record, the Cardinals remain optimistic, hoping to plug the holes and pick up enough victories down the stretch to qualify for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament.
"We have to sustain ourselves mentally over 32 minutes," Tarrant added. "There always seems to be one or two points in a game where we have breakdowns, whether they be miscommunication or turnovers. We are doing some nice things.
"This is a good group of guys. They continue to work hard and I like working with them. There’s a lot of basketball left."