Musmanno's Defensive Play Undermined By Raiders' Shooters

After a strong first half, the Watchung Hills boys basketball team let its defense lapse, falling to Hillsborough 52-35.

“We played overall pretty well [in the first half].  We only gave up 20 points and one of our team goals was to only give up 48 [for the game],” said Watchung guard Matt Musmanno, who was hustling all over the court for the Warriors in their defensive end.

“Defensively, I thought we did some good things [in the first half].  But in the second half, not a lot went right,” head coach Justin Salton said.

After one half of play, the Warriors (5-14) led the Raiders (14-5) by a 24-20 margin.  But the Warriors struggled the rest of the way. 

In the third quarter, they only converted three field goals, finding themselves down a manageable six points with a quarter left to go.  But in the fourth quarter, the Warriors mustered even less offense with just two field goals, tallying 11 total points for the half.

On the flip side, their defense struggled to contain Hillsborough’s perimeter shooting and post play.  The Raiders notched 16 points in the third quarter, thanks in part to a trio of 3-pointers by Hillsborough’s Jason Jolliffe.  In the fourth quarter, the Raiders put up another 16 points, with all eight made field goals coming off layups in the paint, or right outside of it. 

“The second half though we had a lot of lapses,” Musmanno said. “We couldn’t find the open men; we gave a lot of open shots up.  It was an overall bad performance in the second half.”

While the Warriors did miss some open opportunities, they gave credit to the adjustments made by Hillsborough and their smothering defense.

“They’re very long when they’re in that 2-3 [zone defense],” Salton said. "They make it difficult on teams.  We had trouble with it…we only scored 11 points."

“When they sit in that 2-3, we have to swing the ball quicker,” the defensive-minded Musmanno said.  “You got to find open shots.  We couldn’t t do that in the second half.  Coach told us to find the open man in the post, we couldn’t do that either.  We held the ball too long, that’s why we had our lapses.”

The Warriors got out to a quick 6-0 lead just two minutes in thanks to a pair of layups by Clayton O’Brien and a jumpshot by Brandon Spiller.  After an 8-0 run by Hillsborough, Steve Weidlich knocked down a 3 pointer, with just 2 minutes left. 

But a 6-0 run by the Raiders put Watchung down 14-9 with just under a minute left.  Remarkably, Watchung rallied to take the lead before the end of the quarter, as Billy Pinho converted a free throw 50 seconds to.  A Weidlich 3-pointer with 27 seconds left followed that, and then two made free throws by Weidlich with just a tick left on the clock, as Watchung grabbed the lead 15-14 at the end of one.

The Warriors went back and forth with Hillsborough in the second quarter, outscoring them 9-6 in the frame thanks to a three pointer by Joe Argiro, layups by Billy Pinho and Clayton O’Brien, and two made free throws by Weidlich.  This brought Watchung to their 24-20 halftime lead before thing got away from them in the second half.

Having gone a week without playing a game since their upset over Franklin at home last Monday, Coach Salton said he didn't think the week off could be blamed for the loss.

“At this point, we’ve pretty much been used to it considering all the snow,” retorted Salton.  “We got a game tomorrow.  So we’ll see how it affects us.”

With the season winding down, there are games left to go and even a chance to compete in the state tournament as a 16 seed in their group—but there is work left to be done for the Warriors basketball team.

“Plain and simple… playing smart, execution, and consistency…that’s still what we are looking for,” said Salton.

“Offense…we got to hit open shots,” Musmanno added.  We got to get the ball up the court in transition.  We just need to be better overall on offense.  Defense…we’re there."

Steve Weidlich and Clayton O’Brien top the Warriors score sheet with 10 points apiece.  Billy Pinho added 5 while Brandon Spiller chipped in with 4.  Joe Argiro and Mike Lee each knocked down 3 pointers.

Watchung’s next game is Tuesday at Hunterdon Central at 7 p.m.