Section I, Group III, Finals: Passaic Valley 60, Wayne Valley 48
By Skiffo Drake, 3/7/07
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Passaic Valley (No. 7, 20-8) defeated Wayne Valley (No. 9, 21-9) to win its first-ever Sectional Title. The win sends the Hornets into the Group III State semifinals. They will meet Colonia, the Section II champ, tomorrow at 8 p.m. at East Orange Campus. The other Group III semifinal pits Shawnee against Monmouth.
Tyler Nash led Passaic Valley with 18 points. Joey Castro followed with 17 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and three steals. Shane Lebiedz had 8 points. Jon Coral and Damian D’Iorio added 5 points each.
Basketball had never really been PV’s sport. John Gerdy, who would go on to play for the Nets, helped the school win two County championships in the 1970’s. Since then, successful seasons have been few and far between. The team is only three years removed from a miserable, 40-game losing streak.
“These guys had to learn how to win,” PV’s third year coach Rob Carcich said. “I used to yell and scream at them about playing with teamwork.”
The object of much of Carcich’s ire was Castro, then a sophomore. “I called him out in front of the team for being selfish,” the coach said. “Afterwards, I thought I took it too far. I thought he was going to transfer. I’m glad he didn’t. We wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for him.”
Added Castro, “I’m a better player because I learned that being unselfish was better for the team. There were times, early on, that I thought we’d never win a game. Now, we’re champions.”
Charlie Rigoglioso led Wayne Valley with 18 points. Jimmy Monahan had 11 points. Arber Zuberi and Mike DeMoor had 6 points apiece. This marks the second championship game loss for Wayne Valley. They previously lost to DePaul in the Passaic County finals.
“This stinks,” Rigoglioso said. “We didn’t want to end the season this way.
Section I, Group III, Semifinals: Wayne Valley 68, Garfield 57
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3/4/07 (Garfield)- Charlie Rigoglioso exploded for 32 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals as Wayne Valley (No. 9, 21-8) beat Garfield (No. 4) to advance to the Sectional Final. They will take on arch-rival Passaic Valley (No. 7). PV beat Parsippany Hills in the other semifinal game. Valley has three such titles to its credit (1985 & 1997).
Valley led 33-18 at halftime, but Garfield rallied to draw within 53-50 in the fourth period. Valley responded by going on an 8-0 run to seal the verdict. Rigoglioso scored 11 points in his team's 17-13 final quarter.
Jimmy Monahan had 12 points. Arber Zuberi added 10 and 11 rebounds. Mike DeMoor added 6 points.
3/2/07: Section I, Group III Quarterfinals: Wayne Valley 69, Teaneck 44 (Teaneck): Wayne Valley (No. 9, 20-8) pulled off a stunning upset by leveling top-seeded Teaneck (18-7). The Indians will take on Garfield (No. 4) on Saturday in the semifinals. The Boilermakers beat Ramapo (No. 5) in the quarters. This will be Valley's first semifinal appearance since 1997. It also marks the school's third ever 20-win season. The first two came in 1987 and 1997.
Against Teaneck, an NNJIL power, Valley was dominant. They raced out to a 17-3 lead and never looked back. Charlie Rigoglioso led the team with 24 points. Arber Zuberi and Jimmy Monahan had 16 and 13 points respectively. Mike DeMoor had 8 points. Chris Pantale had 7.
Interestingly, Wayne Valley could meet up with arch-rival Passaic Valley (No. 7) in the title game. PV plays Parsippany Hills (No. 3) in the other semifinal game. The championship game will be played at Passaic Tech in Wayne on March 6.
2/28/07: Section 1, Group III Playoffs, First Round: Wayne Valley 53, Lakeland 41 (Wanaque): Wayne Valley (No. 9, 19-8) beat Lakeland (No. 8, 14-12) to advance. The Indians will take on Teaneck (No. 1) tomorrow in the quarterfinals. A Valley win would give them their second ever 20 win season. They also achieved that mark 1987 and 1997.
Against Lakeland, Charlie Rigoglioso had 15 points. Jimmy Monahan and Arber Zuberi had 11 and 10 points respectively. Jason Rosenberg contributed 9 points. Dan Kusnic had 11 points for Lakeland. Andrew Kelly and Ryan Schounnot had 10 and 9 points respectively.
Passaic County Championship: DePaul 61, Wayne Valley 48
By Skiffo Drake, 2/25/07
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The two Wayne basketball powers were meeting for only the eighth time in their 50-plus year histories. And, as if that wasn’t enough, a tiny thing called the Passaic County Championship was at stake.
Once the game started, it appeared that the teams would give fans one gem of a game. A spirited first quarter was marked by blocked shots, hard rebounds and brilliant shooting.
Unfortunately, the excitement would not last much longer. DePaul (No.2, 21-4) made 14-of-21 shots in the second and third quarters to take a 46-26. Wayne Valley (No. 5, 18-8) valiantly fought back and several junctures looked to be back in the game.
Valley outscored DePaul in the fourth quarter, 22-15. But in the end, they just could extricate themselves from the hole that they were buried in.
DePaul won, 61-48. It was the school’s second such championship. The last title came in 2003.
This was Wayne Valley’s first appearance in the final game.
For most of the game, Wayne Valley struggled getting of shots. Charlie Rigoglioso, who averages 18.2 points per game, had just six points through the first three quarters.
“Coach (Bart Fazio) told us that Rigoglioso was a great player,” said Justin Crosgile, DePaul’s leading scorer. “We knew we had to play him tight. We started out that way and never let up.”
No one for Valley was able to pick up the slack. Chris Pantale and Arber Zuberi, both 6-foot-5, had been dominant in Valley’s first three county wins over Hawthorne, Clifton and Passaic Tech. Against DePaul, they combined for just 10 points.
“DePaul's defense was tougher than our offense," Wayne Valley coach Joe Leicht said. "We could never get comfortable. Everyone had a tough time getting open, inside and out."
Added Rigoglioso, “They played good defense. But honestly, I just wasn’t hitting my shots.”
DePaul, on the other hand, was scorching. Justin Crosgile concluded with a game-high 24 points and six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Greg Gillespie added 14 points, six assists and four fouls. Amad Smallwood and Chaz Cervino contributed 8 and 7 points respectively.
“This is the greatest feeling,” Gillespie said. “I love my teammates. We worked hard for this.”
Rigoglioso finally got untracked in the fourth quarter by scoring 17 points. He concluded with 22 points overall. Jimmy Monahan added 11 points. Chris Pantale had 8 points.
Making things even more difficult for the Indians was that they had to watch the Spartans celebrate in the Valley gym. The county’s Final Four games are annually hosted by Wayne Valley. DePaul, by virtue of its better seed, was labeled the “home” team. Valley wore the “away” blue uniforms and was listed as “visitors” on the scoreboard. After the game, DePaul fans chanted “this is our house!”
“We had to play a good team on their home court,” Fazio said. “It was a great win.”
2/21/07: Wayne Valley 58, Millburn 41 (Millburn): Charlie Rigoglioso contributed 15 points and Jim Monahan added 14 for Wayne Valley (18-6). Mike DeMoor and Chris Pantale had 12 points each.
Passaic County Championship: Wayne Valley vs. DePaul
By Skiffo Drake, 2/17/07
Wayne Valley and DePaul will clash in the Passaic County Tournament Championship next Saturday. It will only be the seventh-ever varsity meeting between the two Wayne basketball powers. They played twice in the early 1980's at the Meadowlands. They played three times in the late 80's and early 90's in the All Wayne Christmas Tournament (which is no longer played).
They last met up in the first round of the 2002 County Tournament.
Valley (No. 5, 16-6) advanced by besting Passaic Tech (No. 8) in the semi-finals, 59-52. Jimmy Monahan led with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Arber Zuberi had 10 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Chris Pantale scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Charlie Rigoglioso added 12.
Asmar Edwards led PCT with 16 points. Suquan Gary added 12 points and 7 rebounds. Larry Burroughs and Maynard Freeman tallied 10 and 9 points respectively.
DePaul (No. 2, 19-3) advanced by beating Paterson Catholic (No. 3), 72-68. Justin Crosgile had 32 points and 8 rebounds. Greg Gillespie had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Dave Ulak had 8 rebounds and 7 points. Kamar Simmons had 8 points.
The Valley-DePaul game will be played at Wayne Valley, the predetermined neutral court. DePaul, by virture of its higher seed, will be the home team and will wear white jerseys.
The coaches, Joe Leicht of Valley and Bart Fazio of DePaul are looking forward to the matchup.
"The tournament seeds are announced at the County coaches meeting," Leicht said. "When Coach Fazio saw that we were in different brackets, he looked at me and said 'see you in the finals.' I told him, 'that would really be something.' It's great for the town. It's great for the players. We're looking forward to it. It will be a little strange wearing the blue uniforms at home. I just hope I don't yell out 'let's go white.' "
Added Fazio, "They'll be wearing blue on their home court. Maybe it will throw them off. I doubt it, though. Wayne Valley is an outstanding team. I go back a long way with Coach Leicht. Now we get to go against each other in a huge game. Wayne Valley vs. DePaul in the championship is going to be very special for a lot of people. I'm sure that the place is going to be packed."
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2/14/07: Wayne Valley 64, Passaic Valley 57 (Wayne): Charlie Rigoglioso led Wayne (15-6) with 16 points. Vinny Graziani and Jimmy Monahan had 13 and 12 points respectively. Arber Zuberi and Chris Pantale had 10 and 9 points respectively. Joey Castro had 21 points for PV (12-8). Tyler Nash hit for 15 points.
2/10/07: Passaic County Quarterfinals: Wayne Valley 64, Clifton 59By Skiffo Drake
Charlie Rigoglioso had 26 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as Wayne Valley (No. 5, 14-6) beat Clifton (No. 4). The win advances Valley to the County semifinals for the first time since 1997. They will play Passaic Tech (No. 8), who upset Paterson-Eastside. Valley and PCT split two games this year. The game will be played at Wayne Valley, the predetermined neutral court.
"Every year, our goal is to get back to Wayne Valley," coach Joe Leicht said. "Knowing we could play at home gives us even more incentive."
Interestingly, Wayne Valley could meet up with crosstown DePaul (No. 2, 17-3) in the final. The Spartans beat Lakeland in the quarterfinals and will play Paterson Catholic (No. 3) in the semifinals.
"We're not getting ahead of ourselves," Leicht says. "Three Wayne teams - Wayne Valley, DePaul and Passaic Tech - are in the semifinals. That's pretty amazing."
Valley led Clifton from start-to-finish, but that is a bit misleading. Clifton remained in striking distance throughout and, in fact, made a furious rally late in the game. WV led 58-50 with just over two minutes remaining. Clifton scored seven unanswered points to pull within one. Rigoliosio hit four foul shots late to deliver the verdict in Wayne's favor.
"Who better to have at the line then Charlie," Leicht said. "He's a true senior leader. I was very confident with him at the line."
"Free throws are free points," Rigoglioso said. "You have to make them. I'm just glad they went in."
Jimmy Monahan contributed to the cause with 11 points. Arber Zuberi and Chris Pantale chipped in with 7 points apiece. Mike DeMoor had 7 points. Jason Rosenberg had 6 points.
2/9/07: Wayne Valley 52, Orange 48 (Orange): Charlie Rigoglioso had 18 points and Arber Zuberi had 15 for Valley (13-6). Chris Pantale contributed 10 points.
2/7/07: Wayne Valley 60, West Milford 46 (Wayne): Valley's (12-6) Charlie Rigoglioso erupted for 35 points. Arber Zuberi contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jahmel Donald and Chris Jurgensen had 10 apiece for West Milford (8-10). Nick Melina added 9 points.
2/4/07: Passaic County Tournament, First Round: Wayne Valley 68, Hawthorne 36 (Wayne): Charlie Rigoglioso tallied 18 points for Valley (No. 5, 11-6). He also recorded five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Chris Pantale had 13 points and 12 boards. Jimmy Monahan had 11 points. Arber Zuberi had 9 points. Vinny Graziani tallied 8 points.
1/27/07: Westfield 59, Wayne Valley 49 (Wayne): Valley (10-6) was dealt its third loss in a row. Charlie Rigoglioso recorded a game-high 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals for Wayne Valley. Jimmy Monahan had 10 points.
1/26/07: Passaic Tech 61, Wayne Valley 51 (Wayne Valley): PCT (8-5) handed WV (10-5) its second straight loss. The Indians lost to West Orange earlier in the week. Asmar Edwards had 14 points for PCT. Suquan Gary added 11. Larry Burroughs and Maynard Freeman chipped in with 10 apiece. Three players reached double figures for Valley. Jim Monahan led with 15 points. Vinny Graziani and Arber Zuberi had 12 and 10 points respectively. Charlie Rigoglioso added 7 points.
1/20/07: Wayne Valley 58, Ferris 42 (Jersey City): Arber Zuberi had 22 points and six rebounds for Wayne Valley (10-3). Charlie Rigoglioso added 12 points.
1/18/07: Wayne Valley 46, Millburn 42 (Wayne): Wayne Valley (9-3) trailed for much of the night, but managed to take the lead late. Arber Zuberi hit a jump shot with two minutes left to give them the lead for good. Charlie Rigoglioso scored 20 points for Wayne Valley. Chris Pantale and Jason Rosenberg had 9 points each.
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1/16/07: Wayne Valley 56, Newark Westside 55 (Wayne): Charlie Rigoglioso had 19 points and four assists to lead Valley (8-3). He hit the second of two free throws with six seconds showing to snap a 55-55 tie. Chris Pantale added 11 points. Jimmy Monahan had 9 points.
1/13/07: Wayne Valley 58, Clifton 55 (Wayne), By Skiffo Drake: Charlie Rigoglioso canned a three-point buzzer-beater to lift Valley (7-3) past Clifton. Clifton had tied the game with .8 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Arber Zuberi fired the inbounds pass down court. The 6-foot-5 Chris Pantale, out jumped two opponents and tipped it to Rigoglioso. The senior caught it and threw in the winning shot, despite double team coverage.
"That was a long eight-tenths of a second," Clifton coach Michael Santulli said. "I'm not sure how you get a tip and a shot in eight-tenths of a second, but they got it. We made Charlie earn every point, right up until that last one. He's a great player and great players make great shots."
Rigoglioso finished with 21 points. Zuberi hit for 11 points. Jimmy Monahan added 10 points.
Pantale and Jason Rosenberg had 7 and 6 points respectively.
The game-winner capped off a wild week for Rigoglioso.
Just two days earlier, the Wayne Valley senior missed two free throws that allowed PV to win the game with a three-pointer at the buzzer.
"That shot falls and the gorilla definitely jumped off my back," Rigoglioso said. "I was so down [after Thursday's 55-54 loss to Passaic Valley]. That loss was solely my fault. It feels so unbelievable to be on the other end."
"We were crying [at practice] on Friday and back celebrating Saturday, that's varsity basketball," Wayne Valley coach Joe Leicht said. "You're hoping for a tip and a shot in that spot and we got it. I feel for Clifton because we know exactly how it feels to lose a game like that."
1/12/07: Passaic Valley 55, Wayne Valley 54 (Little Falls): Joey Castro hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Passaic Valley (7-2) to a 55-54 victory over Wayne Valley (6-3). Charlie Rigoglioso, WV's lead scorer, previously missed two free throws that enable PV to get off the winning shot. Tyler Nash scored 28 points for the Hornets. Castro finished with 19 points. Jon Coral added 8 points. Charlie Rigoglioso scored 15 to lead Wayne Valley. Chris Pantale had 11 points. Arber Zuberi had 9.
1/10/07: Wayne Valley 67, Orange 53 (Wayne): Josh Romero came off the bench and scored a career-high 13 points for Wayne Valley (6-2). His first contribution was a four-point play (a three pointer and a foul shot) to tie the game in just before the end of the half. From that point on, the Indians were in control.
"It's great to see somebody who works so hard to be a program player, step up big time in a big game and put us over the top," said WV coach Joe Leicht.
Charlie Rigoglioso had 18 points, five boards and three assists. Arber Zuberi added 11 points for Wayne Valley.
1/7/07: Wayne Valley 68, West Milford 61 (West Milford): Charlie Rigoglioso had 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals for Wayne Valley (5-2). Jim Monahan scored 14 points. Chris Pantale added 11 points. Jahmel Donald, a senior guard, dropped in 16 points for West Milford.
1/5/07: Wayne Valley 65, Caldwell 45 (Wayne): Charlie Rigoglioso poured in a career-high 35 points to help snap Caldwell's (4-3) three-game winning streak. The senior also had eight boards, four assists and four steals for Valley (4-2). Chris Pantale added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
12/29/06: Northern Highlands Christmas Tournament, Consolation: Wayne Valley 67, Fair Lawn 42: Arber Zuberi scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down six rebounds for Wayne Valley (3-2). Charlie Rigoglioso contributed 15 points. Freshmen Jason Rosenberg tallied 10 points. Vinny Graziani and Jimmy Monahan added 8 points each.
12/28/06: Northern Highlands Christmas Tournament: Northern Highlands 58, Wayne Valley 55: Jimmy Monahan had 20 points, but WV (2-2) still lost. Arber Zuberi added 12 points. The Indians will play Fair Lawn in the consolation game.
12/23/06: Wayne Valley 62, Demarest 52 (Demarest): Arber Zuberi contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds as Wayne Valley (2-1) romped. Charlie Rigoglioso had 13 points, five assists and six steals. Chris Pantale added 10 points and 10 boards. Mitch Gelkopf added 10 points. Wayne Valley jumped to a 16-5 first-quarter advantage and led by as much as 20 points early in the fourth period. Demarest scored the final 10 points.
12/20/06: Wayne Valley 65, Passaic Tech 53 (Passaic Tech): Arber Zuberi registered 17 points and 14 rebounds for Wayne Valley (1-1).Charlie Rigoglioso finished with 17 points and four assists. Chris Pantale had 15 points. Suquan Gary led Passaic Tech with 14 points.
12/15/06: West Orange 51, Wayne Valley 43 (Wayne): Charlie Rigoglioso exploded for 27 points, but Valley still dropped its opener. Arber Zuberi had seven points and eight rebounds. Chris Pantale had seven points and seven rebounds.
Preview
By Skiffo Drake, 12/15/06
Wayne – Wayne Valley’s regular rotation will be comprised of seven seniors and at least one junior. Last year’s leading scorer, Charlie Rigoglioso (18 ppg) is back for his final season. Underneath the basket, Valley returns three hulking big men – seniors Jimmy Monahan (6-foot-2) and Arber Zuberi (6-foot-5) and junior Chris Pantale (6-foot-5).
“That’s a big front court,” says coach Joe Leicht, who previously coached at Indian Hills for 21 years. “Early on I had a team that was about this big. It doesn’t happen very often.”
With Valley’s great size underneath, Leicht believes he knows what type of defense his team will see this year.
“We’re going to see a lot of gimmick defenses this year,” he said. “Teams are going to look at us and think that Charlie is our only guard. They’re probably going to gang up on him in the hope that he won’t be able to get it to the big men.”
That approach may not turn out to be successful.
“Charlie and the three big men give us a pretty good starting point,” Leicht said. “But we’re not devoid of candidates to fill the two-guard spot. We’re going to be very deep this year. We have several options.”
Leicht hasn’t made up his mind on who will fill that job. It’s likely that he’ll go with several players on the wing. For one thing, any of the three big men can play on the wing.
“They’re big and strong,” Leicht says. “But they also have good range on their jumper shot. And they don’t mind playing defense away from the basket.”
Four seniors – Mitch Gelkopf, Matt Tahan, Josh Romero and Stephens Morillo - will likely see time on the wing. Two juniors – Vinny Graziani and Mike DeMoor - will also see action.
Jason Rosenberg, a 5-foot-5 freshman, may also see time at the guard slot. Rosenberg played with the Playaz this summer, a Paterson-based team run by former Paterson Catholic and Villanova great, Tim Thomas.
“In 25 years, I’ve never had a freshman in a key role,” Leicht says. “We’ve had several good freshmen before, but we’ve spoon-fed them until they were ready for the varsity. That will change this year. He’s going to play from the start. He’s got an extremely bright future.
“Overall, it’s a very-dedicated group. They’ve been working hard because they’re so optimistic about our prospects. Our main focus right now is to start off strong. For whatever reason, we keep starting slow. That has hurt our seeding in the County and State tournaments. A strong start should mean home games in those tournaments. And that could make a huge difference.”
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