CARPIEN LED PTS; S. SPONHEIMER RB, ASST, ST, BLK
A philosophy of presenting a very stubborn defense with the aim of limiting opponents to 40 points or less placed the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School boys basketball team in a position to be competitive in nearly every game. The Raiders managed to hold nine of their opponents to 40 points or less and a number of others in the low 40’s, and the result was a 15-12 record.
“We have been very lucky to coach such a great group of players who always worked hard, did not care who got the credit, and played together. The success of the season was a direct reflection of the players buying into our defensive principles, team first attitude, and toughness needed to compete on a daily basis,” Raider Head Coach Steve Siracusa said..
The Raiders did, however, begin their season with a 60-44 loss to the Cranford Cougars, who would finish with a 21-7 record. After skimming the Hillside Comets, 36-34, the Raiders dropped a tight one, 45-44, to the Rahway Indians. A 67-39 thumping of Roselle was followed by a 51-46 loss to Union and a 39-32 setback to Colonia in the first round of the LeGrand Tournament.
A six game winning streak came next beginning with a 49-45 victory over Westfield and a 49-44 victory over Union City at the LeGrand Tournament. The Raider boys went on to beat Westfield, 44-33, Oratory Prep, 48-38, Summit, 50-44, and Cranford 53-38, to elevate their record to 8-4. The Raiders lost to Montgomery, 4843, at the Investors Scholarship Games then beat Hillside again, 55-48.
Wins mixed with losses followed. The Raiders got even with Rahway, 58-42, but lost heavily to Union Catholic, 70-30. They then took it out on Roselle, 70-30, but fell to Red Bank Regional, 60-45. The Raiders topped Oratory, 46-44, and Summit, 43-31, then suffered a 56-55 squeaker to the New Providence Pioneers. Cranford handed the Raiders a 56-48 setback in the first round of the Union County Tournament then Hillsborough prevailed, 40-37.
The Raiders stopped Livingston, 56-44, then stung the 21-8 South Plainfield Tigers in the regular season finale. After jolting Ridge, 40-33, in the first round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Tournament, the Raiders’ season came to an end with a tough, 55-50, loss to Linden.
The Raiders had a very large senior class and were led by Jaden Carpien, who scored 265 points, including 37 3-pointers (3rd on team) and 41-for-50 free throws. Carpien also finished with 62 rebounds, 29 steals, 33 assists and seven blocks. Senior Anderson Pollack was second with 43 3pointers and finished with 214 points, 52 rebounds, 16 assists, 17 steals and four blocks.
Senior Sam Sponheimer, who netted
212 points (21 3-pointers) led the team with 87 rebounds, 99 assists, 40 steals and 16 blocks. Senior Kyle Hunter was the team leader in 3-pointers with 44 and finished with 209 points, 30 steals, 67 rebounds, 37 assists and two blocks. Senior Jack Wall finished with 52 points, 66 rebounds, 35 assists, 11 steals and six blocks.
Junior Jack Sponheimer netted 140 points (18 3-pointers) and finished with 69 rebounds, 42 assists, 30 steals and five blocks. Junior Brayden Gal finished with 65 points (15 3-pointers), 27 rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block. Caleb McDowell, the only sophomore on the roster, sank 51 points, pulled 51 rebounds and added 12 assists, five blocks and seven steals.
With partial time on the floor, junior Jacob Handy recorded 48 points (6 3-pointers), 14 rebounds, nine assists, seven steals and a block. Senior Jack Merkel finished with 25 points (2 3-pointers), 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Junior Beckham Quinn finished with 16 points, six rebounds and a steal. Junior Cooper Tamase had eight points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Senior Carter Stephens contributed four points, five rebounds, four blocks and an assist. Senior Joe DeFrancesco had five rebounds, two steals and a free throw.
In the opening loss to Cranford, Gal hit four 3-pointers. Sam Sponheimer dished out eight assists against Rahway and seven in the game against Roselle, while Carpien banged trip 3-pointers and had 13 points, and Jack Sponheimer had 11 points with trip 3pointers. Jack Sponheimer had 14 points (2 3-pointers) in the first win over Westfield, while Pollack netted 14 points with trip 3-pointers, and Hunter had 12 points with trip 3-pointers in the second win over Westfield.
In the win over Cranford, Pollack had 14 points (2 3-pointers) and five steals. Hunter sank 14 points with four 3-pointers against Rahway. Sam Sponheimer had 12 points (2 3-pointers) and six assists against New Providence. Carpien bucketed 19 points, including trip 3-pointers, against South Plainfield and added 15 points (trip 3pointers) against Linden, while Sam Sponheimer dished out six assists.
Coach Siracusa concluded, “The seniors did a great job leading by example on and off the court, keeping the positive chemistry intact throughout the season, and they were always willing to help the underclassmen in our program. We will definitely miss this senior group but know the positive attributes they instilled this year will hopefully be a great source of motivation for our underclassmen to continue following in their footsteps for years to come.”
With such a huge senior class graduating, it will be up to the juniors to step up next year.
