New Prov Beats Oratory At Buzzer

New Providence took a short trip up the road to take on Oratory in Summit on Saturday in a Union County clash, with GSBR coverage courtesy of Wheelie Good Pierogi.

New Prov broke the ice on a steal and layup in transition by senior guard Andrew Nook, which Asher Bradley matched for Oratory a possession later. New Prov ran a patient set, chewing up a minute off the clock, before finding the shot they were looking for as Peyton Pazdera hit a triple from the top of the key to give them a 5-2 lead midway through the first. Wasting little time, John Pirone hit a three of his own to even the score. Pirone also scored on a drive on OP’s next trip up the floor to give them a 7-5 lead with 2:30 left in the opening quarter. Pazdera dropped triples on two straight possessions to give New Prov an 11-7 lead late in the quarter. Oratory got the last two of the quarter, including a Pirone buzzer beating triple from the corner, to lead 12-11 after 1.

Jackson Zarinko opened the second with a three of his own for New Prov, but Pirone rifled another one from deep to keep Oratory up 15-14 a minute into the quarter. Bradley hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 18-17, but Miller hit a triple to put the lead back to two possessions for New Prov on their next possession down the floor. The teams traded turnovers and tough defense down the stretch of the first half before Zarinko hit another deep triple to give New Prov two score lead and the Pioneers held serve, taking a 25-20 lead to the half.

The second half started with the teams trading a series of missed shots but New Prov led 27-20 midway through the third. Oratory found a lifeline when Pirone got fouled taking a three and hit all 3 free throws, cutting the lead to 29-23 with 2:30 to go. New Prov was able to contain Oratory to a Pirone three and led 34-27 as the game entered the final quarter.

New Prov extended its lead to 36-27 on its first possession of the fourth. Oratory put on a full court press to try to create turnovers and was able to cut into the lead slightly but New Prov ran excellent, patient sets to start taking time off the clock as they led 40-31 with three minutes to play. Pirone got a jumper to make it 40-33 and Bradley hit a triple with 45 seconds left to bring Oratory within 40-36. After a turnover, Bradley was fouled on a three point attempt and hit two of three, bringing Oratory within 40-38 with 38 seconds to go. After going into the bonus, Zarinko split a pair to make it 41-38. Oratory had a door open as Pirone was fouled on consecutive three point attempts. He hit enough to bring it to even at 41, but New Prov found a game winning basket by Zarinko to escape with a 43-41 victory.