Cirniglianos 3 Helps Northport To Win
NORTHPORT, NEW YORK -- Adam Cirnigliano dented a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter to help Northport take the lead and advance another round in the PSAL Long Island playoffs.
Matt Zepernick's 13 points also help pave the 44-40 victory over a physical and tough Hauppauge High School team.
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It was clear from the opening tip that Hauppauge was well prepared and well coached to try and stop 6-8 junior center Brian Sisti of Northport. Sisti had scored 26 points in his last game to help Northport come from behind to defeat a talented Sachem High School team.
But Hauppauge had a different approach to stop Sisti. They played only a zone. And it was a collasping zone. What the zone took away was any chance of Sisti posting up near the basket. What it gave Northport and its shooters were open spaces near the top of the key.
However, here was the problem for the Tigers of Northport. Sisti did his part by feeding the wings for open jumpers. But the jumpers didn't fall for most of the day.
Some terrific early shooting by Mike Galarza and Gary Flood of Hauppauge gave their team a 15-9 lead after the first quarter and a 22-20 lead heading into the third quarter.
Nick Titus hit a 35-footer for Northport to close out the third quarter. The Tigers trailed 34-33 after Titus banked in his three-pointer. At this stage, Sisti had gotten off only three shots and was limited to four points.
The fourth quarter continued to be physical. The Hauppauge defense continued to swarm, push, and physically punish Sisti in the low post. Much credit should be given to Sisti, who lost his temper just once. And it was a brief verbal battle with a Hauppauge defender.
Cirnigliano's three with 6:50 left in the game finally gave Northport a lead. He also hit a jumper with 1:15 left in the game to give Northport a 43-36 lead.
The Hauppauge offense hit a wall when Flood and Galarza's shooting went cold. Galarza finished with 15 points, including a three-pointer. Flood finished with 18 points, including a three-pointer.
Matt Zepernick played a spirited game for Northport. He finished with 13 points, several of his baskets came on second-chance efforts. Cirnigliano had 11 points and Mike Filippone added eight points.
Though Sisti didn't score much (seven points), he did pull down 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.