Fourth Quarter Rally Gives Foran a 62-53 Road Win Over Lawmen

It was typical Foran vs Jonathan Law basketball Friday night when the two Milford rivals met for the first time this winter. Early in the second half, it appeared Law might have the upper hand.  Foran battled back to regain control and the lead during the fourth quarter.   In the end, it was Lions that came away with a 62-53 win over the Lawmen at the Eagles’ Nest in Devon. 

“Anytime the two of us get together it is always an exciting game,“ said Foran Coach Tim Swaller.  “You can throw the records out the window and all the guys come to play.”

Nick Toto paced Law in the first quarter with a mid-range jumper, an easy put-back and then another quick jumper on three consecutive Law possessions to turn an 8-5 deficit into an 11-8 lead with 4:15 in the quarter.  Toto then added an offensive rebound and an easy lay-up with 2:20 remaining.  Toto finished with a team high 24 points but  Foran bounced back to take a 17-15 lead at the end  of the first quarter.

Down 28-25 with 2:40 left in the first half, Toto was at it again with grabbing an offensive rebound and connecting on an easy put-in from under the basket to bring Law within one  (28-27) and exuberated some energy towards the crowd screaming and banging his chest.

The Lions’ Al Torres (who finished with a game-high 26 points) also came to play. He kept Foran in the game all night. With 26 seconds to go in the first half, he was fouled after stealing the ball from the Golden Eagles and going in for an easy lay-up. Torrens connected on both free throws with 26 seconds left in the half, which extended the Lion halftime lead to 35-27.

Foran’s speed really helped keep them in this game, as the Lions were clearly faster up and down the court.

Law dominated out of the gate in the 2nd half.  Down 37-27 with 4:45 left, John Feliciano hit a fade-away jumper and was fouled.  He hit the free-throw to bring Law within seven at 37-30.  Shortly thereafter, Aaron Gambardella (10 points) hit a three from the corner with 4:32 remaining to bring the Lawmen within three at 38-35.

 James Richetelli (11 points) then grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled after making the basket.  He made the free-throw and that was the last of the scoring for Foran in the quarter as they led 43-36 with 3:36 left.

Law sparked a 10-0 run to head into the fourth quarter, capped off by a series of jumpers from Gambardella and Toto.  The Golden Eagles headed to the 4th with a 46-43 advantage after outscoring Foran 19-8 in the third session.

The Devonites might have used up too much energy in the third period, however, as they fell flat in the fourth quarter.  Down 50-43, Foran finally ended a 7-minute scoring drought when Tucker Schumitz (16 points) was fouled and connected on both free-throws to make the score 50-45 with four minutes left.  That sparked Foran for the rest of the game.

Following a turnover by Law, Nick Willey (4 points, 14 rebounds) led the players down the court with an easy lay in to tie the game 50-50 with just under three minutes remaining.  Schumitz connected on a floater to give Foran the two-point lead with 2:15 left and the lead would not be relinquished from there.

Outscoring Law 19-7 in the final quarter, the Lions cruised to a 62-53 victory.

“Our timing was a little off.  We both had no practice and were not really prepared,” said Swaller. “Down the stretch I think we played very well, it all starts with defense.”

In addition to Torrens’ 26 points, Schumitz popped in 16 points and Richetelli added 11 for the winners. Toto (24 points) and Gambardella were double-digit scorers for the Lawmen. Toto also hauled in 15 caroms but the Lions came away with a 32-30 edge off the glass.

According to Law Coach Mike Hoggatt, “The third quarter was our best quarter of the season. At the start of the second half, we were down 8 points—but then everything came together. We played good defense, forced some key turnovers, rebounded well, hit come big shots, and fought our way back into the game.

"We started strong in the fourth quarter and hit a couple of shots but ended up connecting on only 2 of our 12 shots. Foran began to run and killed us in transition. They outscored us 26-0 in transition points. Obviously those 13 transition baskets were the key to the game. We just couldn’t handle the quickness of their guards down the stretch.  Foran’s guards played really well when it mattered and outshined us." 

Foran improved to 6-3 overall, while Law dropped to 2-7.