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New Providence Boys Basketball Halted By Morristown

Pioneers will next challenge Chatham Friday night

Just one day after shots were falling, passes were being made crisply and rebounds were being corralled, the New Providence boys’ basketball team was missing most of its field goal attempts, turning the ball over way too much and committing too many fouls.

Yet the Pioneers were right there with Morristown as late as early in the third quarter. At that point in the game it appeared that Wednesday afternoon’s contest might not be decided until the final minute of the fourth quarter.

Then the Colonials - sparked by a couple of steals, an inside basket off an offensive rebound, a layup, a jumper and two free throws - went on a run that extended a one-point advantage to a seven-point lead.

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Morristown soon afterward led by at least 10 points the rest of the way in downing the Pioneers 44-31 in the second day of the Cougar Classic at Chatham.
New Providence’s final Cougar Classic contest will be against Chatham Friday night at 8 pm.

Morristown, which received a game-high 14-point performance from senior guard Dylan Black, evened its record at 2-2. New Providence, which received 10-point efforts from seniors David Barletta and Seth Keller, had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-2.

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Morristown scored the final five points of the second quarter to take its second lead and the lead for good at 20-18. Black scored inside off an offensive rebound and then sophomore Sean Hoehn connected on his second three-pointer with just three seconds left in the second quarter.

A steal and layup by Keller tied the game for the fourth and final time at 11-11 early in the second quarter. After that, New Providence led from 14-11 to 18-17.

Unlike Tuesday’s 53-44 triumph over Millburn, New Providence was not making its three-point field goal attempts. Keller missed his first two and ended up making the only one New Providence produced. The Pioneers made nine in the Millburn victory.

Despite subpar shooting, New Providence head coach Art Cattano felt the difference was the way his team handled the ball.

“We made a lot of turnovers,” Cattano said. “We finished with 20, which is 20 opportunities that we didn’t get. We also didn’t shoot as well as we did yesterday.”

When junior Ronnie Doyle was inserted by Cattano in the first half, Barletta was able to feed him the ball in the lane for three inside baskets. Doyle led New Providence at the half with six points.

“Ronnie did a good job in that sense,” Cattano said.

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, that freedom in the middle was not there in the second half. New Providence shot 8-for-23 in the first half and an even worse percentage in the second half, often limited to just one-shot possessions.

“We didn’t take care of the ball and we forced some shots, which is just like a turnover in a sense,” Cattano said.

Cattano also pointed to the conclusion of the second quarter as a key moment.

“I thought our last two possessions right before the half hurt us,” Cattano said. “We turned the ball over and then they scored, and then we held the ball and didn’t score and then they scored again [Hoehn’s second three-pointer], which I thought was a big difference.”

In that sequence, New Providence went from being up 18-15 to trailing 20-18.
Morristown took that momentum and carried it over into the second half. Hoehn finished with nine points, while Dominick Pisciotto came off the bench to score all eight of his points in the third and fourth quarters.

Barletta and Keller combined to score 11 of 13 points New Providence produced in the final 16 minutes. The only field goal made by senior Scott Ferraro, who finished with three points, pulled the Pioneers to within 12 at 37-25 early in the fourth quarter.

Now the Pioneers will prepare for a third straight Group 3 school in neighborhood rival Chatham.

“We’ll have our hands full Friday night,” Cattano said.
 
COUGAR CLASSIC BOYS’ BASKETBALL
AT CHATHAM HIGH SCHOOL
MORRISTOWN (2-2)                              9        11       17         7 - 44
NEW PROVIDENCE (3-2)                        9         9          5         8 - 31

MORRISTOWN COLONIALS (44):
10-Dominick Pisciotto, junior, 2-0-4-8
4-Tommy Hillebrecht, senior, 1-0-3-5
1-Dylan Black, senior, 3-1-5-14
22-Sean Hoehn, sophomore, 1-2-1-9
5-Ryan Brunnock, junior, 2-0-0-4
12-A.J. Tracey, sophomore, 2-0-0-4
Starters: Hoehn, Black,
Tracey, Hillebrecht, Brunnock
Totals: 11-3-13-44

NEW PROVIDENCE PIONEERS (31):
24-David Barletta, senior, 5-0-0-10
21-Seth Keller, senior, 3-1-1-10
15-Scott Ferraro 1-0-1-3
32-Ronnie Doyle, junior, 3-0-0-6
12-Michael Marchesano, junior, 1-0-0-2
20-Robby Fay, senior, 0-0-0-0
Starters: Keller, Barletta,
Marchesano, Singer, Ferraro
Totals: 13-1-2-31

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