CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - The John Jay boys 5B team didn’t get many wins this year, so there was no playoff berth. But the boys did get a one-game postseason opportunity against Hastings and definitely made the most of the chance, according to Hank Ginsberg.
“It’s better than it has been. We did a really good job with our teamwork,” said Ginsberg after the 31-15 victory.
The Mini Wolves didn’t wait long to get started. After losing the opening tip, Owen Martin grabbed the defensive rebound and went the length of the court for a layup off the glass.
Displaying impressive ball-handling ability right away, the guard said his proficiency comes from plenty of practice at home. “I practice in my basement all the time,” Martin revealed.
Soon enough, he got another opportunity. “I get rebounds,” Weston Griffin assured, and the center’s carom off the glass put Martin in motion again.
He cut across the paint and sank an underhand layup. With John Jay leading 4-1, Martin then set up his backcourt mate.
Finding Oakley Rabinowitz spotted up at the arc, Martin delivered the pass and Rabinowitz knocked down the shot. “When Owen gets on the court, he passes, and when I get on the court, I pass too,” said Rabinowitz.
Hastings did respond, but 6-3 was as close as the visitors would get. Dominick Chiappa made sure of that on both sides of the quarter break. His layup made it 8-3, and after the buzzer the guard’s steal set Rabinowitz up for a baseline floater.
Chiappa wasn’t finished. Another drive through the paint pushed the lead to 12-3, and the Wolf showed he could do more than maneuver through defenders. On one grueling sequence, Chiappa grabbed at least three offensive rebounds. It was no accident. “I box out and stop the other guy from getting through,” he explained.
Even though the possession didn’t result in points, Chiappa made up for it just before halftime. Taking the inbound pass with five seconds remaining, he fought through heavy traffic along the baseline, banked the ball off the glass, and closed the half with John Jay ahead 14-7.
In the third quarter, when Hastings pulled within six, John Jay responded once again. Martin fed Rabinowitz for two layups, and Chiappa turned an offensive rebound into an acrobatic putback.
Moments later, Chiappa blocked a Hastings attempt in the paint and Martin turned Griffin’s rebound into a fast break opportunity. Martin hit one of two free throws, stretching the lead to 13 and making the deficit look daunting for the visitors.
A three-point play by Hastings on the next possession briefly raised doubts, but Martin quickly answered with a spinning drive through the lane. When the shot dropped, the crowd erupted.
Although the basket was waved off due to a travel, Rabinowitz soon gave the crowd something else to cheer about. He stole the ball and raced the length of the court for a layup, closing the quarter with John Jay ahead 25-13.
He removed any remaining doubt in the fourth quarter. Rabinowitz turned another steal into a fast-break layup, and later found Aiden Lichtin streaking ahead of the field. Lichtin was fouled on the play and calmly made both free throws to essentially ice the game.
Better late than never was Griffin’s takeaway from the team’s performance.
“It took us a while, but we didn’t have great coping skills. We couldn’t talk to each other on the court. But the more games we played, the better we got,” he said. “And that resulted in today’s win.”
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