Nine points. While they may not seem like much, these nine points were what held back the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders Boys Basketball team on Saturday Jan. 20, when they faced off against the Union Catholic Vikings at SPFHS. The Raiders went down 9-0 three minutes into the game, and despite a strong comeback effort, they could not muster enough energy for the win.
The reigning Non-Public A Champions, led by senior forward Elijah Peters and juniors AJ Altobelli and Luke Schorr, were able to fend off the relentless Raiders, 70-62, due to their strong press defense and powerful offensive scheme.
“We had to keep our heads up, make the smart, easy play, instead of trying to dribble through two [defenders],” Coach Steven Siracusa told The Fanscotian.
While Union Catholic is a strong team, SPF dug themselves into a divot early, missing shots and throwing up desperate attempts when pressured. Yaw Ansong, a seven footer who is ranked as the 20 best center in the class of 2025 according to ESPN, and fellow junior FK Muntari settled down in the paint and made sure no Raider had an easy shot at the basket.
The Vikings used all five of their players on the court to their advantage, calmly handling the ball and picking their opportunity to pounce to the basket. With so many options, the Raiders were left befuddled and eventually let somebody get open.
“We tried to not completely stop them but limit some of their tough players and for the most part, we did well at times with that, but wish we could have been a little bit more consistent throughout the game,” Siracusa said.
Despite the Viking’s two giants, SPF big men Jack Wall and Caleb McDowell did a solid job containing them throughout the game. Wall especially put the pressure on Ansong, drawing charges that put three fouls to his name at the start of the third quarter. McDowell racked up nine rebounds and fought for every loose ball.
“We had to go after their big guys and get fouls on them early,” senior guard Jaden Carpien said. “They had to keep their big guys out for a long time because we drew fouls on them.”
Even though the Raiders forced the Vikings to foul, they did not help their own case, with seniors Sam Sponheimer and Jack Wall both accumulating four fouls midway through the second half. With these two on the bench and senior Anderson Pollack out with an injury, the likes of senior Kyle Hunter and junior Brayden Gal were thrust into the playmaking role. Both excelled, putting up 13 and 10 respectively.
Hunter made his mark in the final two minutes of the game, scoring a pair of threes to get SPF within seven of the lead. Carpien was the Raiders go-to-guy, adding 22 points of his own to the scoresheet. After missing the first two games of the season due to injury, Carpien has been a massive part of the SPF squad, averaging 11.6 points per game.
In spite of strong personal performances, SPF could not take advantage of Union Catholic’s mistakes on the defensive side of the ball, making it hard for them to grab the lead.
“I don’t think we shot the best specifically in the first half. That didn’t help when we had some good open looks and we just weren’t converting,” Siracusa said.
Though specific plays and moments could be looked at to find what the Raiders did not do at their best, it all started with getting down early. Those nine points.
“It’s always hard playing when you’re down, especially that early in the game because they’re just trying to blow you out at that point,” Carpien said.
With the loss, SPF falls to 10-6 and will try and stockpile more wins before the Union County Tournament. The Raiders will play at home on Tuesday, Jan. 23 against Roselle on Senior Night.
