DENVILLE - The Morris Knolls High School boys basketball team saw its 2009-2010 season close with a 67-49 loss to West Orange - its ninth straight defeat - in a North 1, Group 3 state sectional playoff game played at West Orange on Tuesday, March 2.
The Eagles, seeded No. 12 in the 16-team section, broke out to a 13-11 lead after one quarter of play, but West Orange, the No. 5 seed, outscored Knolls 19-8 in the second quarter to take a 30-21 lead at the half and never trailed the rest of the way.
Tyler Daniel led Morris Knolls with 17 points while Niko Kotoulas added 11 and Mike Boylan finished with 10 to put three Eagles in double figures.
Jordan Harvey and Esaun Mobley each added four points; Marc Defeo chipped in with two points; and Robert Sinegra finished with one point to complete the scoring for Morris Knolls.
Morris Knolls finished its season with an 8-17 record. West Orange is now 18-6 and advances to the quarterfinals where it will face No. 13 seed Montclair, which upset No. 4 Roxbury, 53-37, in its opening-round state game.
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MK loses close one to Madison as slide hits eight games
DENVILLE - The Morris Knolls High School boys basketball team came close to ending its losing streak on Saturday, Feb. 28, but the Madison Dodgers were able to outscore the Eagles by four points in the fourth period to create the margin of victory in a 44-40 win over Knolls at Madison.
The loss was the eighth straight for the Eagles and puts their record at 8-16 going into their opening-round game against West Orange in an NJSIAA North 1, Group 4 state tournament game scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, at West Orange at 7 p.m.
Morris Knolls trailed Madison (20-3) by only two points at 20-18 at the half and then outscored the Dodgers 12-10 to send the teams into the fourth period tied at 30 where Madison went on a 14-10 run to close out the game and nail down the victory.
Marc Defeo led Knolls in scoring with 12 points while Esaun Mobley added nine, Niko Kotoulas had eight, Mike Boylan finished with six and Tyler Daniel added five to complete the scoring for the Eagles.
Notes: The Eagles are seeded No. 12 in the 16-team sectional field ... West Orange, the No. 5 seed, brings a 17-6 record into the tournament ... Daniel is the Eagles' scoring leader, averaging 13.9 point a game, and also leads the team in assists with 91 and steals with 25 ... Kotoulas scores 9.1 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 114 ... Boylan, who missed six games due to an injury to his hand, scored his six points against Madison on two 3-point field goals, his team-leading 34th and 35th of the season ... Boylan was averaging 9 ppg a game before he got hurt. ...
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Eagles fall to Mount Olive for 7th straight loss
DENVILLE - Morris Knolls kept it close for one quarter of play, but Mount Olive pulled steadily away for the remaining three quarters to score a 63-44 victory in a high school boys basketball game played at Mount Olive on Thursday, Feb. 18.
The loss was the seventh straight for the Eagles and put their season record at 8-15.
The teams traded baskets throughout the first period with Mount Olive (4-19) taking a 14-13 lead. Mount Olive pulled away to a 28-22 halftime lead before outscoring the Eagles 16-10 in the third period and 19-12 in the final quarter to create the 19-point margin of victory.
Esaun Mobley and Tyler Daniel scored in double figures for Knolls with Mobley finishing with 13 points and Daniel with 12.
Sophomore Dondre Allen scored eight points; Niko Kotoulas had five points; and Marc Defeo, Kevin Miller and Robert Sinegra each finished with two points.
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Daniel scored 29 in loss to West Morris
DENVILLE - Morris Knolls senior Tyler Daniel scored a career-high 29 points only to see West Morris Central rally for 26 fourth-quarter points to defeat the Eagles, 69-62, in a high school boys basketball game played at West Morris on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Daniel hit on 10 2-point field goals, two 3-point field goals, and three free throws for his game-high total, but he and his teammates couldn't overcome a fourth-quarter rally by West Morris that wiped out the four-point lead Knolls took into the final eight-minutes of play.
The loss was the sixth straight for Morris Knolls, which is now 8-14 for the season.
West Morris (12-9) jumped out to a 19-13 first-period lead but Knolls came back with a 16-9 second-quarter advantage to take a 29-28 lead at the half. Knolls boosted its lead to four points at 47-43 going into the fourth period before West Morris closed out the game with its 26-15 run.
Tom Cabarle and James D'Angelo combined for all 26 points for West Morris in its frantic fourth quarter. Cabarle finished with 26 points and D'Angelo had 21.
Niko Kotoulas scored 13 points for Morris Knolls; Bruce Mayo finished with seven points; Esaun Mobley had six; Robert Sinegra scored four points; Marc Defeo had two points; and Kevin Miller had a free throw to complete the scoring for Knolls.
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Eagles fall to Hopatcong for fifth straight loss
DENVILLE - Morris Knolls fell behind by 11 points after one quarter of play and never did recover in a 73-67 loss to Hopatcong in a high school boys basketball game played at Hopatcong on Saturday, Feb. 13.
The loss was the fifth in a row for Knolls, which saw its record dip to 8-13 for the season.
Hopatcong (16-5) took a 23-12 lead after one period and maintained the 12-point advantage at the half after both teams scored 13 points in the second quarter. Knolls cut into the lead by four points with a 16-12 third-period and unleashed a 26-point fourth period only to be matched almost basket-by-basket by Hopatcong, which finished with 25 points in the final eight minutes of play.
Tyler Daniel led Knolls in scoring with 18 points while Niko Kotoulas added 17, Bruce Mayo had 15 and Esaun Mobley finished with 12 to put four Eagles in double figures.
Robert Sinegra finished with four points and Marc Defeo had a free throw to round out the scoring for the Eagles.
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Knolls loses to High Point, 60-55
DENVILLE - Morris Knolls and High Point, tied at 31 entering the final period, unleashed a 53-point offensive blitz that led to a 60-55 High Point victory over the Eagles in a high school boys basketball game played at Morris Knolls on Thursday, Feb. 11.
High Point (10-11) led 12-10 after one period of play, but Morris Knolls (8-12), which saw its losing streak reach four games with the defeat, bounced out in front 25-20 with a 15-8 second-quarter burst. High Point came right back to outscore Knolls 11-6 in the third period to create the deadlock going into the final period.
With offenses on both sides running at up-tempo speeds the last eight minutes of the game, High Point outscored the Eagles, 29-25, to earn the victory and disappoint a Senior Night crowd at Knolls.
Seniors Daniel Tyler and Marc Defeo led the offense for the Eagles as Tyler scored 18 points and Defeo finished with 13.
Niko Kotoulas added nine points; Bruce Mayo had seven; Robert Sinegra scored four points; and Kevin Miller and Easun Mobley each had two to complete the scoring for the Eagles.
Adam Kowalski of High Point hurt the Eagle the most with game-high 27-point performance that included three 3-point field goals and an 8-for-11 showing from the free throw line.
Seniors Mike Boylan, out with an ankle injury, Ryan Graff, Daniel and Defeo and team statisticians Samantha Drury and Kelly Felix as well as their parents were recognized at the game.
Game Stats: Mayo had a huge rebounding night as he led both teams with 13 ... Kotoulas finished with eight and May had five rebounds ... Daniel finished with five assists, three steals and two rebounds to go with his 18 points ... Mobley had three assists and a steal ... Kevin Miller, Graff and Mayo each blocked two shots ... Defeo, Kotoulas and Mayo each finished with two steals for the game.
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(For a photo album on Senior Night, please click on "Boys BKB Seniors" under the "Morris Knolls Home" button in the menu bar at the left)
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Montville gets revenge on Knolls
DENVILLE - Montville avenged an MCT loss to Morris Knolls with a 25-point fourth-quarter rally to beat the Eagles, 52-48, in a high school boys basketball game at Montville on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
It was the third straight loss for Knolls (8-11), which beat Montville, 69-45, in a Morris County Tournament preliminary game at Knolls on Saturday, Jan. 30. Montville improved to 6-13 with the victory.
Knolls had a two-point lead at 29-27 going into the final period when both teams picked up the scoring pace with Montville finishing with 25 points and Knolls scoring 19.
Knolls scored the first bucket of the fourth period to expand its lead to 31-27, but Montville�s Ellis Casler and Lee Sieradsky hit back-to-back 3-point field goals to give Montville a 33-31 lead, a lead which it never lost, going 14-for-16 from the free throw line down the stretch to preserve the advantage.
Casler and Sieradsky led the rally as Casler scored nine of his team-high 16 points and Sieradsky had nine of his 14 points in the final eight minutes of play.
Tyler Daniel and Esaun Mobley each scored 16 points for Morris Knolls. Marc Defeo added six points; Niko Kotoulas and Robert Sinegra each had four; and Jordan Harvey rounded out the Eagles' scoring with a pair of free throws.
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Eagles bow out of MCT with 78-50 loss to Hanover Park
For details on the game, please go to the menu bar at the left of the page and click on "MCT Boys Hoops."
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'Waiting' the name of the game for Eagles after loss to Sparta
DENVILLE - The waiting game is now on for the Morris Knolls High School boys basketball team.
The Eagles are 8-9 following a 58-41 loss to Sparta at Knolls on Thursday, Feb. 4, and had their first-round Morris County Boys Basketball Tournament at Hanover Park rescheduled from Saturday, Feb. 6, to Sunday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. because of threats of heavy snows that were supposed to hit the area.
With Saturday the cutoff date for teams to be .500 or better in order to qualify for the state tournament, Morris Knolls need a win over Hanover Park to attain the 9-9 record that would qualify the Eagles for the upcoming North 1, Group 3 state tournament.
Now, with those prospects "snowed out," the Morris Knolls must wait to see how the 16-team sectional bracket fills. If there are 16 or more .500 or better teams in the section, the Eagles won't qualify.
If there isn't enough .500 or better teams to fill the bracket, the NJSIAA will complete the 16-team field with as many sub .500 teams that it needs ... as long as the teams had the foresight to apply.
Knolls has applied ... and the waiting game begins.
The Eagles could have avoided all this with a win over Sparta (9-6) on Thursday, but the Spartans held Knolls to 13 second-half points to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 17-point victory.
Sparta led 14-13 at the end of one quarter, but Knolls outscored the visitors 15-13 in the second period to take a 28-27 lead into the halftime break.
The third quarter was all Sparta, however, as the Eagles scored but four points to fall behind by 12 at 44-32 going into the final period.
Sparta again outscored Knolls - this time 14-9 - in that fourth quarter to secure its victory.
Tyler Daniel and Niko Kotoulas each scored 10 points to lead Knolls. Esaun Mobley finished with eight points; Robert Sinegra had six points; Mike Boylan added five; and Marc Defeo chipped in with two points to complete the scoring by the Eagles.
Kotoulas finished with a team-high 10 rebounds while Bruce Mayo and Boylan each had four ... Boylan had three assists and Defeo and Mobley each had two ... Mobley also led the team in steals with three and Sinegra had two.
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Knolls falls behind early in loss to Roxbury
DENVILLE - Roxbury's Mike Giordano got hot from 3-point range at the wrong time as far as the Morris Knolls basketball team is concerned.
Giordano hit three 3-point field goals in the first period as the Gaels jumped out to an early eight-point lead and went on to post a 60-38 victory over the Eagles in a high school boys basketball game played at Knolls on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Roxbury (11-5) led 16-8 after the first 15 minutes, increased its lead to 13 points at the half and, after a 19-point third period, took a 49-27 lead into the final period.
The loss puts the Eagles at 8-8 for the season, which means they have to win at least one of their remaining two games this week in order to have a .500 or better record by the close of play on Saturday, Feb. 6, to qualify for the state tournament.
The Eagles play host to Sparta on in a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 4, and then travel to Hanover Park for a first-round MCT game at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Tyler Daniel, the team's leading scorer with a 12.8 ppg average, scored 13 points to give him a team-leading total of 208 for the season.
Mike Boylan and Esaun Mobley each finished with six points; Bruce Mayo scored five; Robert Sinegra had four points; and Marc Defeo and Niko Kotoulas each finished with two points for Knolls.
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Knolls beats Montville, 69-45, in MCT prelim
For details on game, please click on "MCT Boys Hoops" in the menu bar at left.
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Knolls loses defensive battle to Hills
DENVILLE - This was it ... this was the one ... the one and only ... as in "there ain�t no more."
And what a shame, too.
The Morris Hills and Morris Knolls boys basketball teams went at each other as you would expect in a battle between friends, ex-teammates, ex-neighbors and intense rivals when Hills beat Knolls, 34-31, in a high school basketball defensive struggle at Morris Knolls on Thursday, Jan. 28.
It was the first time in four years the two teams had met in basketball on the varsity level.
Mike Boylan of Morris Knolls scored 10 points and was the only player in the game to get into double figures as both teams were held to almost 15 points less than their usual average for a game.
Antonio Castro, Matt Hayes and V-Simpson Turner led Morris Hills in scoring as each finished with seven points. Azem Koliq had five points; and Dan Kasper and Derrick Washington each had four points to complete the Knights scoring for the game.
Cory Mundt did not score a point for Morris Hills but it was his defense on Tyler Daniel that played big in the Knights� game plan. Daniel, averaging close to 14 points a game, was held to eight points by Mundt.
Conor Nolan also finished with eight points for Knolls while Esaun Mobley and Bruce Mayo each scored two points and Niko Kotoulas added a free throw to wrap up the scoring for the Eagles.
The game stayed close and went back and forth with Knolls taking an 8-7 lead after the first quarter of play and Hills moving out on top 20-16 after outscoring the Eagles 13-8 in the second period.
Knolls turned it on in the third period and went on an 11-3 run to take a 27-23 lead into the final period of play.
But it was Hills turn again to go back on top as the Knights held the Eagles to four points while scoring 11 to earn their three point victory.
And bragging rights, of course.
There are two ways this neighborhood scrap could head into Round Two, but both are unlikely.
One way would be if each team made its way through its bracket to the championship game of the Morris County Basketball Tournament that starts Saturday, Jan. 30, with its preliminary round.
The only other rematch possibility is in the NJSIAA state tournament. Knolls would have to win its Group 4 title and Hills would have to win its Group 3 title in order for the two teams to meet again.
For now, 12th-seeded Morris Knolls takes its 7-7 record into Saturday�s 4 p.m. MCT prelim against No. 21-seed Montville at Knolls and No. 14 seed Morris Hills plays host to No. 19 Mount Olive in a 1 p.m. game at Morris Hills.
Two games that just could be the beginning of a long and tough - maybe even close to impossible - road to a rematch.
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Kotoulas' late layup, free throw seal MK victory
DENVILLE - Niko Kotoulas converted a three-point play in the final 47 seconds of the game, a play that put an end to a Morristown comeback and sealed a 59-56 victory for Morris Knolls in a high school boys basketball game played at Morristown on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Kotoulas scored on a driving layup, was fouled on the play, and completed the three-point play when he converted his free throw.
Morris Knolls (7-6) and Morristown (6-6) were tied at 14 after one period of play, but Knolls took a 31-25 lead at the half and extended the advantage to nine points by outscored Morristown 14-10 in the third period.
Morristown, which outscored Knolls 20-14 in the final period, came back strong in the final eight minutes and had pulled to with a point at 56-55 before Kotoulas hit his three-point play with less than a minute left.
Tyler Daniel and Mike Boylan led the Eagles in scoring with Daniel scoring 18 points and Boylan added 16, including a pair of 3-point field goals.
Esaun Mobley added eight points, including two treys; Kotoulas finished with seven points; Marc Defeo had six points; and Bruce Mayo and Robert Sinegra each had two to round out the scoring for Knolls.
Boylan led the team in rebounds with seven while Daniel had five and Defeo four. Defeo had a team-high six assists while Daniel and Mobley each had five and Boylan added three.
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DENVILLE - Morris Knolls fought back from a seven-point halftime deficit and closed with a 21-11 fourth-quarter run to defeat Randolph, 54-45, in a high school boys basketball game played at Knolls on Friday, Jan. 22.
Morris Knolls (6-6) held a 12-8 lead after one period but Randolph (7-5) went on a 19-8 second-quarter spree to open up a seven-point lead at 27-20 at the halftime break.
The Eagles crept back to within one point at 34-33 after three periods of play and then put away the game with its fourth-quarter spurt that was led by the play of Robert Sinegra, Esaun Mobley and Bruce Mayo.
Niko Kotoulas, back at full strength after suffering an ankle injury earlier in the season, led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points and also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Tyler Daniel finished with 10 points; Marc Defeo, Conor Nolan and Sinegra each had seven points; Mayo finished with five points; and Mobley had three points to complete the Eagles� scoring.
Mike Boylan finished with four rebounds and two assists; Sinegra had three rebounds, two steals and one assist; Mobley had three assists and a steal; Daniel had two assists and a steal; Defeo and Kotoulas each had two assists; and Mayo had two rebounds for Morris Knolls.
