By:TONY BELLISSIMO
Both the Kennedy boys and Calhoun girls basketball teams enjoyed strong
second halves and earned a home playoff game as a result. However, neither
the Cougars nor the Lady Colts advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Kennedy was the No. 8 seed in the Class B tournament and hosted No. 9 MacArthur in the first round. But the Generals proved too tough and used a 26-16 fourth quarter to escape with a 60-44 decision.
"We had the game where we wanted it, but we didn't play smart and we missed
an awful lot of free throws," Kennedy Coach Rory Block said. "We had two of their better players in foul trouble but we could capitalize."
Seniors Ryan Schneider (20) and Jordan Perlmutter combined for 33 points for the Cougars, who finished 9-9 overall. Kennedy went 13-for-26 from the foul line, missing five front ends of one-and-one situations as well.
Schneider was named All-County, while Perlmutter and sophomore Jared
Annapolen were selected All-Conference. Kennedy won four of its last five Conference B-II contests to finish in third place at 8-4.
"We had an outstanding season," Block said. "We lose two key seniors who gave their all and we're going to be a different team next season. We're going to need balance to be successful."
The Calhoun girls, coached by Debbie Cipolla, won three straight to conclude the Conference II campaign at 8-4. The Lady Colts were seeded eighth in the Class A tournament and hosted No. 9 Farmingdale last week.
The Lady Dalers jumped all over Calhoun in the first half and built a 34-18 cushion en route to a 52-43 victory. Freshman center Nadine Vasquez paced the Lady Colts (13-6 overall) with 17 points. Senior forward Lindsay Levinthal added eight points.
