Boys' Basketball Struggles In Win Over Venice

MAN AMONGST BOYS: Star sophomore David Nwaba was able to dominate Venice in the post. His strong interior play allowed the Cats to take control of the game.

A sloppy win yesterday for the Boys' Basketball squad over the Venice Gondoliers raises some concerns despite the team's outstanding record and performance in league play.
Both teams were matched evenly in height and length as was made evident by the turnovers created, shots that were blocked and rebounds that were fought for in intense scrums.
The Hoopsters made key errors throughout the game that gave the Gondos hope of staying in the game. After jumping ahead to a 9-4 lead with 3:52 left in the first quarter behind a three pointer by junior Jamie Harper. The Cats would suffer from a lack of execution in the final minutes of the quarter and eventually lose the lead and head into the second quarter trailing 14-12.
In the second quarter, both teams continued to hoist three point shots with minor success. The quarter was a low scoring affair, with both squads only scoring 13 points for a 27-25 halftime score.
After halftime adjustments, each squad came out with an elevated level of intesity that was evident by players diving and hustling for loose balls and doing their best to tie each other up. Sophomore David Nwaba, who is the Cats' most consistent player, took over in the second half, punishing Venice defenders in the paint, using his athleticism to win the rebound battle and intimidating the Gondos on offense with blocked shot after blocked shot.
The combination of Nwaba and senior Andre Harris ended up being too much for the Gondos to handle. The Cats held the Gondos to only 8 points in the third quarter and took advantage of Gondo mistakes, such as a missed dunk that led to a five-point turnaround, and put the Gondos away in the fourth quarter, winning 56-48.
Harris led all scorers with 17 points, while Nwaba poured in 14 to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
The Cats struggles against the Gondos can be attributed to a number of things. An important part of their offense is the three point shot, which was not falling.
The Gondos length forced the Cats into mistakes at times, and the Cats also seemed to open the game very sluggishly, as if they were over-confident. "Basketball is played on emotion," said said Head Coach Steve Ackerman. "We didn't come out with the proper emotion and also because of our success we are expected to win by bigger margins, so people's expectations play a role."
The final result was a win for the Cats, but with the playoffs rapidly approaching, the win over a Division-II should serve as a wake-up call that even though their opponents are not always named Fairfax or Westchester, they will be tough to beat.
The Cats will travel to Hamilton tomorrow to play the hated Yankees at 4 p.m. and will return home on Friday to take on the number 1 team in the City, the Westchester Comets at 7 p.m.



LIKE A BROKEN RECORD: Senior Andre Harris was able to contribute in the post as well. The Cats' success came when they were willing to pound the ball in the post rather than launch long range bombs.