On a night of many made threes and fast break layups, the most electric moment in the main gym at SPFHS was when senior guard Joe DeFrancesco entered the game. After numerous chants from Raider Nation, Coach Steven Siracusa finally looked down the bench and called DeFrancesco’s name.
While the fourth quarter was filled with fun and games, none of this joking would have come without a strong effort put forth on both the offensive and defensive side throughout the night. The SPF Raiders Boys Basketball team was victorious against the Cranford Cougars, 53-38, at SPFHS in the second meeting between the two teams of the season. The win split the season series with Cranford along with solidifying SPF as a force to be reckoned with in the Union County Mountain Division.
Along with the big win, Coach Siracusa also celebrated his 100 coaching victory, a milestone that he believes belongs to the whole program.
“The 100 wins is a team award. I realized that it might be my name but it’s really all of the assistant coaches that did it with me from the beginning to now. These players are just buying in and letting us coach them and they are a pleasure to coach,” Siracusa told The Fanscotian.
With the win, SPF improves their record to 8-4, while coming out on top in six straight games. Even though the Raiders scored their second highest number of points of the season, none of this success would have come without the grit and determination on defense.
“Our defense is our specialty, that’s how we’ve been on a six game win streak,” senior Sam Sponheimer said. “In each game of the stretch, we have given up under 50 points. [Defense] is where we thrive and that’s how we win games.”
This was evident from the get go, when SPF got out to an early 8-1 lead and never looked back, leading 27-13 at the half. It seemed as if as soon as the Raiders came out of the locker room from halftime, the “start the busses” chants were already being yelled.
On the offensive side, Sponheimer and senior Anderson Pollack led the way, scoring 12 and 14 respectively. Other major contributions were made by seniors Jaden Carpien, who put up eight points, and Kyle Hunter, who had five assists and four rebounds. The victory against Cranford showed that SPF has many players they can rely on when needed, and have matured since the start of the season.
“Our defense is definitely better, we’re playing more as a team and our offense is definitely flowing more,” Siracusa said. “Our performance proves who we were the first game of the season is a lot different than [who we are] now, which is a good sign and we have to just keep going in the right direction.”
The Raiders will play their third and final game of the week against the Montgomery Cougars on Sunday Jan. 14 at the Citizens Bank Showcase at Kean University, where they hope to keep their six-game winning streak alive.
“We have finally started rolling even though we started slow. I’ve never been more confident in our team and [the streak] is awesome,” Sponheimer said.
