PHOTO CREDIT: KEVIN R. WEXLER
Park Ridge went four quarters without attempting a free throw.
Park Ridge edged away to a 45-38 victory over Bogota and owns first place in NJIC Patriot Division B because Ogulluk and VanBradsky combined to make seven of eight free throws in the extra session.
“I was aware that we didn’t shoot a lot of free throws [in regulation]” VanBradsky said, “but I didn’t know we didn’t take one free throw.”
Ogulluk and VanBradsky combined to score seven of Park Ridge’s 12 points during the four-minute OT and demonstrated that good foul shooters come in all shapes and sizes.
Ogulluk, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior center, was 4-for-4 en route to a team-high 12 points. VanBradsky, a 5-1, 105-pound sophomore point guard, was 3-for-4 from the line and scored 11.
“We shoot pressure free throws in practice,” Park Ridge coach Pete Crandall said. “Every drill after practice, we shoot a pressure free throw, where if the kids don’t make it – and we pick different kids out – the whole team runs.”
VanBradsky hit two free throws with 1:36 left in OT to give Park Ridge (5-3) a 40-35 lead. Ogulluk hit two with 32 seconds left for a 42-35 lead. VanBradsky hit the first of two with 22 seconds left to make it 43-38. Ogulluk sealed it by hitting two in the final seconds.
Bogota (5-3) was only 3-for-7 from the line, and the reason for the dearth of foul shots was both teams played zone and there were numerous jumpers and few drives. And the coaches know each other’s team almost as well as they know their own.
“It’s two coaches who have been going at it for 25 years,” Bogota coach Jay Mahoney said. “We talk to each other on the phone all the time. We know how to play against each other and it was just a defensive game.”
“It was typical Park Ridge-Bogota game,” Crandall said. “Jay and I have no secrets. We know what each is going to do, and it’s a matter of whether the kids can execute what we’re trying to do.”
Bogota junior guard Liam Geraghty scored a game-high 15 by hitting five three-pointers, including one from the right corner with 25 seconds left in OT to pull his team within 42-38.
Recent Comments