Leading by 11 coming into the second half, SPF knew they needed to close this one out. Coach Steven Siracusa leaves the starters in, paying off big time as the relentless press and tough finishes at the rim propels a 16-0 run—completely shattering Roselle’s momentum and resulting in a resounding 70-30 home win on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The big win topped off the Raider boys basketball and cheerleading team’s senior night celebration.
The team has nine seniors graduating this year, opening the door for a new wave of talent to fill up the roster next season.
“It’s a great group of seniors. I’m very lucky to coach them. I’m trying to embrace [their last season] and make this as special a second half of the season as we can,” Siracusa told The Fanscotian.
Class of ‘24 Players:
Jaden Carpien, G, No. 3
Joe DeFrancesco, G, No. 12
Kyle Hunter, G, No. 0
Jack Merkel, F, No. 13
Anderson Pollack, G, No. 4
Sean Saggio, F, No. 11
Sam Sponheimer, F, No. 5
Carter Stephens, F, No. 10
Jack Wall, F, No. 2
Class of ‘24 Cheerleaders:
Hayley Blacker
Hope Hausle
Ella Kleinbaum
Isabel LaHuta
Alyssa Sapienza
Evelyn Villar
Early on, Siracusa called an early four-man substitution, looking for a spark from the bench.
Seniors Sean Saggio, Joe DeFrancesca, Carter Stephens and Jack Merkel check in—making their presence known straight away. Consecutive forced turnovers led to quick transitions.
Merkel’s strong play was noticeable all night. The senior forward and senior guard Jaden Carpien led the team with 14 points. Merkel was also gritty on the defensive end, adding five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
“I was just having fun. My friends, family, and teammates all had my back cheering for me,” Merkel said.
The 70 point night tops the team high in scoring and is the largest win by margin this season.
Senior guards Kyle Hunter and Anderson Pollack put up a combined 19 points, contributing to the nonstop offense. The two have been consistent producers for the team after seeing an increased role at the beginning of the season.
While the Raiders came to play today, the energy from the crowd could be felt all game long, guiding the stellar performance against a slumping Roselle team.
“[Senior night] gave us a chip on our shoulder, appealing to our energy and motivation,” Merkel said.
Entering the game, the Raiders had won two of their last three and won by a 28-point landslide on the road against Roselle in the first meeting of the season between the two teams on Dec. 21. Roselle had lost their last 7 and have struggled all season long defensively.
The Raiders capitalized on this in the second half, outscoring the Rams 37-8.
With the win, the Raiders took down Roselle in both meetings by large margins and improved to an impressive 11-6.
SPF now has a three day stretch without a game, allowing them to prepare for a tough match against Red Bank Regional on Saturday Jan. 27.
“We get some rest as needed, but on top of it, we [need to] fine tune some of the details in our offense and defense to be sharp so we’re ready to go on Saturday,” Siracusa said.
