Matt Giannini and Phil Herro turned in double-double performances to propel
Watchung Hills to a 66-41 rout of Phillipsburg in a Skyland Conference regular-season finale played in Warren on
Saturday. The victory was the 14th of the campaign for the Warriors who have experienced the agony of defeat on
seven occasions.
"It took a tad longer than you would like, but we eventually pounded a weak P-Burg squad and got everyone
in the game," said head coach Gene McAteer. "We only led by eight at half-time and we did not lead by
a substantial margin until about five minutes to go in the contest. Albeit not as much time as we would like but
all 15 players saw action last night."
Giannini ripped the cords with 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a dominant performance over the Stateliners
in a Skyland Conference encounter played in Warren on Saturday evening.
"Giannini surpassed both the 700 point and 500 rebound marks for his high school career during the game,"
continued McAteer. "I would say that 1000 points and 750 rebounds are within reach for him next year."
Herro chipped in with a double-double effort, netting 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Mike Wood contributed
a 14-point scoring performance, six of which came at the charity stripe where the Warriors built up a 19-5 advantage
over the Stateliners.
A day earlier, Watchung Hills edged Somerville 48-45 as the Warriors rallied from a 25-19 halftime deficit with
Giannini and Kyle Higgins combining to net 21 of their 36 game points over the final 16 minutes. Giannini registered
another double-double, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Higgins pumped 15 points through the iron.
"Somerville was a tough game throughout," stated McAteer. "I was proud of our boys for sticking
together after a slow first half. We turned a six point half-time deficit into an eight point lead in the fourth
quarter and held on for the 3 point victory."
On Wednesday, four players reached double figures as the Warriors routed Howell 75-53 in a non-conference game
played on the friendly hardwood at Warren. Higgins popped a game-high 17 points in the bucket, Giannini tickled
the twine with 16 points and pulled down 15 rebounds while Wood tallied 11 points and grabber eight boards. Devine
Lyles, the sophomore transfer from Plainfield, netted a season-high 10 points.
Last Monday, Watchung Hills quest for the Somerset County Boys Basketball Tournament crown crashed in the quarterfinals
when sixth-seeded Immaculata surprised the third-seeded Warriors by a score of 54-49. Higgins bombed a trio of
treys through the twine to finish with a team-high 11 points while Herro chipped in with 10. |
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Watchung Hills (14-7) 66 - Phillipsburg (1-16) 41
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Watchung Hills (19-3-19-66): Rob Bizzarro 1-0-0-2; Steve
Brasowski 0-0-0-0; Joe D'Amelio 0-0-0-0; Matt Giannini 8-2-2-24; Phil Herro 3-0-9-15; Kyle Higgins 2-1-1-8; Divine
Lyles 0-0-0-0; Ayo Ogunkowa 0-0-0-0; Ravi Patel 1-0-0-1; Nick Romano 0-0-1-1; Chad Seelig 0-0-0-0; Keith Soranno
0-0-0-0; Mike Wood 4-0-6-14
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Phillipsburg 13 10 5 13 41
Watchung Hills 21 10 12 23 66
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Watchung Hills (13-7) 48 - Somerville (13-7) 45
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Watchung Hills (13-3-13-48): Rob Bizzarro 1-0-0-2; Matt
Giannini 6-1-5-20; Phil Herro 2-0-2-6; Kyle Higgins 3-2-4-16; Devine Lyles 0-0-0-0; Mike Wood 1-0-2-4
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Watchung Hills 13 6 14 15 48
Somerville 17 8 10 10 45
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Watchung Hills 75 - Howell 53
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Watchung Hills (31-1-10-75): Rob Bizzarro 1-0-2-4; Joe
D'Amelio 0-0-1-1; Matt Giannini 6-0-4-16; Phil Herro 4-0-0-8; Kyle Higgins 6-1-2-17; Devine Lyles 5-0-0-10; Nick
Roman 1-0-0-2; Silvano Samartine 1-0-0-2; Chad Seeling 2-0-0-4; Mike Wood 5-0-1-11
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Howell 13 11 18 11--53
Watchung Hills (12-7) 20 19 18 18--75
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Immaculata (14-7) 54 - Watchung Hills (11-7) 49
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Watchung Hills (14-3-12-49); Rob Bizzarro 2-0-0-4; Joe
D'Amelio 1-0-0-2; Matt Giannini 1-0-4-6; Phil Herro 3-0-4-10; Kyle Higgins 2-0-1-5; Devine Lyles 2-0-1-5; Nick
Romano 1-0-1-3; Mike Wood 3-0-2-8
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Immaculata 14 11 10 19 54
Watchung Hills 8 10 14 17 49
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