January 24, 2012

Kearny's Evan Piwowarski (right) had 11 of his team-high 15 points in the first half. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Kearny at Harrison Boys Basketball Photo Gallery

HARRISON – Regardless of the records or the sport, the intensity level is always a little bit higher when Kearny and Harrison square off. Both teams might have entered the mid-January contest with double-digit losses, but the intensity hardly resembled that.

For that very reason, last night's 61-48 win for Kearny seemed to have a bigger impact and confidence boost than your typical regular season victory.

"I think both teams really get fired up for this game. We enjoy this game the most in the season and I'm sure Harrison feels the same way," Kearny head coach Bill Mullins said. "There's nothing like a local rivalry and it's always a competitive, hard game."

"Tremendous confidence boost," added senior Evan Piwowarski. "We just came in and we felt like we were at home. We knew everyone here, everyone from our town came over and we just felt great coming in."

The home court feel, wasn't the only thing the Kardinals (3-10) had in their favor. Kearny was able to control the tempo, constantly pushing the ball after rebounds or steals and hurt the host Blue Tide (1-13) in transition.

"We were just looking to play our game," Piwowarski said. "We were just looking to stick to the game plan the whole time. Stick with the up-tempo, fast breaks, get open shots and quick layups."

Piwowarski, a 6-foot-3 swing, heated up late in the first when he buried a pair of 3-pointers from the left wing on consecutive possessions to make it 16-5. Piwowarski would later connect on another 3-pointer from that spot to score 11 of his 15 points in the opening half.

"When I hit my second one I was feeling it," Piwowarski said. "That's why I was calling for the ball more and my teammates got it to me."

Piwowarski was one of seven Kardinals to score five or more points in a balanced offensive attack. Mullins in particular praised the play of sophomore Hasan Muwakkil. Muwakkil, who recently returned from a concussion had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Led by Muwakkil, the Kearny bench scored 30 points as John Horvaht and Joe Rodriguez added six points apiece. Starting guard Wellington Da Silva added eight points for a Kardinals team, which has impressed Mullins with the way they've grown as the season has progressed.

"We're just trying to get better every day," Mullins said. "We're just trying to play better and if it's good enough to win, great. And if not, we just have to keep going."

Varinder Singh led Harrison with 16 points, 13 coming in a furious fourth-quarter rally. Anthony Ferriero and Justin Aponte added 12 points apiece. Ferriero, a senior, also had nine rebounds. David Marinho chipped in with six rebounds and five assists.

Anthony Ferriero had 12 points and nine rebounds for Harrison in the loss. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Kearny at Harrison Boys Basketball Photo Gallery