It would have been completely understandable if the members of Nutley’s boys basketball team went into a bit of funk following the disappointing news that they were seeded 25th and had been snubbed from the main 24-team Essex County Tournament.
Rather than let that disappointment linger, instead these Maroon Raiders responded with a pair of lopsided wins over Technology of Newark. The first, a 69-40 victory in Newark on Wednesday, kept Nutley on top of the SEC National Division standings. Two days later, in the first round of the Essex Invitational Tournament, Nutley delivered a similarly lopsided win, a 68-38 triumph.
The two victories improved Nutley’s record to 13-4 on the season.
“To the boys’ credit they said ‘you know what? Yeah, we’re mad about not making the tournament. We think we should have been that 24 seed, but we’re going to take advantage of this (Essex Invitational Tournament) and we’re going to make a run,’” first year head coach Rob Porrino said. “‘We’re going to play some of those good teams that lost their way into our tournament and we’re going to prove that we belong.’”
That has been the case all season long for a group that was largely playing varsity for the first time.
Leading this young group so far has been talented sophomore Dom Bok (6-foot-4, 190 pounds), who has been one of the area’s breakout performers this winter. The stretch forward leads the team in points (12.9 per game), rebounds (5.9) and blocks.
“I really couldn’t ask for more right now,” said Porrino. “He is definitely a true stretch four and what’s so great about him is that he’s quick, he’s athletic, and he can take it to the hole. He gets a lot of those opportunities because he’s so effective shooting behind the arc.”
Bok is joined up front by junior center Sean Fealey (6-foot-3, 180 pounds). Fealey, who’s averaging 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, plays the role of a prototypical center, but has shown the ability to be a threat on the perimeter as well.
“Sean is a true center,” Porrino said. “He’s really effective cleaning up underneath the glass and that’s been a big help. On the flip side of that, there’s been a couple of them where we were able to pull the other team’s center out from underneath because Sean’s so effective shooting the three as well.”
Fealey is one of the few Raiders who had significant prior varsity experience. Another is versatile starting small forward Tim Gordon, who despite standing just 5-foot-10, is averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
“If we need him to get rebounds, he’s going to get rebounds,” said Porrino. “We primarily put him on the other team’s best offensive player and he takes care of that. He’ll get to the paint if we have mismatches. He’s our Swiss Army knife. He can beat you in many ways.”
In the backcourt, junior Anthony Straface has taken over as the starting point guard and in his first season of varsity basketball is averaging 7.3 points and 2.4 assists per game.
Michael Misner, the lone senior starter, is at the other guard spot and is averaging 6.6 points and 2.5 assists per game, while leading the team in 3-pointers with 25.
Junior guard Nicholas DelTufo gives the Raiders an additional shooter and ballhandler off the bench as he and senior forward Shane O’Connor are the top two reserves and, in Porrino’s eyes, are both good enough to start. Senior center Noah Smith brings added physicality to the rotation as well.
Guards John Machtemes, a sophomore, and senior Nicholas Gaccione have played their way into major minutes as Nutley’s rotation has expanded from the start of the season.
Juniors Dean Turso, AJ DelGreco and Dom Saladino, as well as freshman Josiah Gordon, bring additional depth to the roster.
Currently, Nutley is in 13th place in power points for the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 section as it heads into its biggest week of the season.
First, on Monday, Nutley travels to face the Weequahic team that got the last ECT spot in the second round of the Essex County Invitational. Coincidentally, the two square off again the next day in a regular season matchup that will likely decide the SEC National Division title.
“These are two of the biggest games I think Nutley basketball has played in a really long time, and I don’t think these guys buckle under pressure,” Porrino said. “I anticipate them thriving under this pressure.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)