The Northern Valley Demarest Norsemen (9-4, 2-1 Big North National) relied on a trio of offensive standouts to secure a 55-45 victory over the Waldwick Warriors (10-4, 4-1 NJIC Liberty), at Waldwick High School in Waldwick, New Jersey on Friday. The win snapped Waldwick’s four-game winning streak.
Jake Schweid poured in a game-high 18 points for Demarest, while Julian Gorenstein and Joel Mathew each added 14 points.
“Those are our three guys, and we need them night in and night out,” Demarest head coach Pat Gabriele explained. “Anthony Bernardez did a great job of handling the ball—he didn’t get much of a break, and he’s got to deal with me most of the game. And then there’s Garrett Dorn. We’re undersized, a small team, and we must battle on the glass. Garrett did a great job keeping them off the boards.”
For Waldwick, Antonio Miccinilli totaled 12 points, and Andrew Del Rey, who recently became the program’s all-time leading scorer, and Lou Manuppelli each contributed 10 points.
“This is our ninth win, and I think Waldwick shot under 40 percent. This year, when we hold opponents under 40 percent, we’re 8-1, and we did a very good job defensively,” Gabriele noted. “They have two good shooters in Miccinilli and Del Rey, and they have size and physicality inside. I’m happy to get out of here with a win.”
The Norsemen wasted no time racing out to an 8-2 advantage three minutes into the game and maintained a 11-4 lead with less than four minutes left in the first quarter. Demarest shot effectively from the perimeter and got out in transition, with Schweid leading the charge and netting six points. At the end of the quarter, Demarest held a 13-7 lead.
After Mathew drained a corner three for Demarest, 35 seconds into the second quarter, Waldwick exploded on an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game.
Demarest managed to stem the tide, answering with a 6-0 spurt to jump back in front and take a 22-18 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Norsemen built on their momentum, extending their lead to 32-20. Demarest relied on offensive surges from Gorenstein and Mathew, each scoring seven points, while Schweid added six.
The back-and-forth action continued as the Warriors responded with a 12-2 run, tying the game at 34 with less than two minutes left in the quarter on a layup from Manuppelli.
Demarest countered with consecutive three-pointers from Mathew and Gorenstein to reclaim the lead. By the end of the third, the Norsemen were up 42-36.
Once the fourth quarter began, Demarest widened their advantage to double digits at 46-36. Waldwick, however, mounted a late push with a 7-2 run led by Miccinilli, who scored six points to trim the deficit to single digits with less than a minute remaining.
The Norsemen sealed the game with a layup by Schweid off an inbounds play and then hit five of six free throws down the stretch.
“We played Old Tappan last night, then had to come back here for a back-to-back, and we played Northern Highlands on Tuesday night. We’ve only been home once in the past two weeks and finally get a home game on Tuesday,” Gabriele remarked. “I told the guys I didn’t do us any favors with the schedule, but I needed to toughen us up for the end of the season. If we hadn’t played East Side, Montclair, and Tappan Zee in New York early on, I think we might have cracked when they came back, but we handled it very well tonight.”
Demarest returns to the court on Tuesday, January 20, hosting Pascack Valley at Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, with tip-off at 7 p.m. Waldwick plays at Midland Park on Wednesday, January 21, also at 7 p.m.
