River Dell Overcomes Slow Start Against Rival T-Birds

With entering the season, Ron Van Saders expected it would take River Dell some time to come of age.

While the first-year coach wasn’t quite ready to call the maturation process complete, the Hawks took a huge step Tuesday night.

Down 15-6 in the first quarter of their home opener, turned the tide by closing the second quarter with an 11-4 run, and outlasted a determined Mahwah team with 51-41 victory.

Mahwah (1-2) drew even for the second time in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 39 with 3:10 left, but reacted with a composure and a maturity far beyond their level of varsity experience, and finished the game--and Mahwah--with a 12-2 run.

“We handled the pressure well,” said Van Saders after recording his first varsity win (1-1). “Of all the things we did well tonight, I was most pleased about the way we reacted when they came back. We rushed our offense in the first quarter, but we just kept playing hard, stuck to our game plan and it was a terrific overall team effort.”

’s key cogs took turns sharing the spotlight. Junior  (12 points) scored six of the Hawks’ 11 second-quarter points, Ben Orth (16) hit three timely three-pointers, and Sean Boland rung up 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, a performance his coach called “simply outstanding.”

Having come up just short in their season opener Friday night at Indian Hills, got its toughest win of the year—the first one.

“We could easily be 2-0,” said Van Saders. “If one more shot fell at Indian Hills it could have been a different story. We still have a lot of work to do. We’ll enjoy it tonight and get right back at it tomorrow. We have to get ready for Ramapo Thursday night.”

Mahwah saw their hopes dashed almost from right underneath the basket, according to coach Lou Lotito.

“We missed 12 shots inside the paint from late in the second quarter through the end of the game,” he said. “They applied good pressure and rattled us. Alex Nielsen got into early foul trouble and that hurt us as well.”

Mahwah is another young team looking to find its way, and has been hindered by the fact that their one returning starter, Andy Shuart, played just his first game of the season after recovering from a concussion.

“We have mostly juniors and they bring a lot of energy,” said Lotito. “We’ll be strong defensively this year and force a lot of turnovers, but we have to learn how to play all four quarters.”

Without an easy game on their schedule, will need to do the same. Like their maturity, their confidence took a quantum leap with the way they persevered just five days into the season.

“I’m happy for the kids—especially the seniors,” said Van Saders. “They practice hard and lead by example every single day.”