Hewlett avenges loss to Kennedy

Hewlett boys’ basketball head coach Andy DeBernardo likes to refer to its starting backcourt tandem of sophomore point guard Justin Ortiz and junior Justin Ogilvie as the “J.O. combination.”
And in a pivotal Conference AA-V matchup Thursday night, they provided a lethal 1-2 punch to lead the Bulldogs to a 54-45 victory over visiting Kennedy. Ortiz scored 18 points and Ogilvie hit for 10 of his 17 in the third quarter as Hewlett (9-5 overall, 5-3 in AA-V) won for the fifth time in six games while also avenging a loss to the scrappy Cougars (7-8, 4-5) a month ago.
“J.O and J.O. were awesome tonight and everyone else contributed,” DeBernardo said. “I’m not gonna lie, we definitely pumped up the revenge factor leading up to this game. We really couldn’t afford to let them sweep us and own any tiebreaker.”
Senior Leo Ferry (18) and junior point guard Jake Wexler (14) scored in double figures for Kennedy, which won the first meeting between the teams Dec. 15, also by a nine-point margin, 52-43, behind Ferry’s 32.
“Tonight was almost the complete opposite of the first time we played,” Cougars head coach Rory Block said. “We played hard but didn’t shoot as well and they shot much better and were more aggressive. We made them earn it. The result wasn’t because of a lack of effort.”

Hewlett held the largest lead for either team at 42-27 early in the fourth quarter following a three-pointer from senior Frantz Limage and a putback from senior Luke Rochler, who had a strong night on the glass with 8 rebounds.
That’s when the Cougars enjoyed their most impressive stretch of the night, an 11-4 run sparked by three-pointers from Ferry and senior Zachary Cohen and a couple of buckets by Wexler.
“Ferry destroyed us the first time and we didn’t want to let him beat us again,” said DeBernardo, who called timeout with 4:04 remaining and the Bulldogs leading 46-38. “I thought we did a nice job holding him to one three and held him below his average [22] and that’s all I could ask,” he added.
Ortiz sank a trey from the corner following the timeout, but Kennedy responded once again with back-to-back field goals from Ferry and a pair of Wexler free throws to get within 49-44 with 1:41 left. The visitors had two chances to make it a one-possession game in the final minute but had a three-pointer fall just short and a damaging turnover.
“We’re hanging tough,” Block said. “The playoffs are possible, but we’re not looking beyond the next game.”
Ogilvie and Ortiz went a combined 5-for-8 from the line in the final 38 seconds to seal the outcome. Rochler finished with 7 points. Senior Michael Mezzone had 7 rebounds and 5 points for the Cougars, who’ve more than doubled last season’s win total.
“We’re coming around and building some momentum,” DeBernardo said. “We’ve cleaned up a bunch of little things the past few weeks and we’re excited for the last five games.”