Thursday was a winning day for Verona. The Hillbilly wrestling team defeated Union City 42-30 and the Verona boys basketball team moved their record to 14-4 with a 50-41 victory over the Raiders of Nutley.
The wrestling match saw pins by several Verona grapplers: Nick Esposito, Billy Giuliano, Joe Cordasco, Frank Greco and Kyle Rosenberg all defeated their opponents in 2 minutes or less. The Hillbilly mat men had an 8-5-0 record after the Union City match.
In basketball, the Maroon and White boys jumped out for an early 11-6 lead in the first quarter before heading into the half ahead 23-17. Verona increased their lead to 33-24 in the third quarter behind Brian Farrell’s 15 second half points and Anthony Huber’s work underneath the basket.
Farrell, who had 21 points on the afternoon, has made a remarkable recovery from an early season back injury that limited him to the sidelines for over three weeks. Hubie’s 19 points and 10 rebounds helped the Hillbillies avenge an earlier season loss to the 7-11 Raiders. Seniors Packy Malanga and Matt Tuorto combined for four assists and two steals, and Malanga chipped in with four points. Sophomore Matt Brashchi pulled down six rebounds and had four steals and three assists. The Hillbillies are at Columbia High School now for the second round of the Essex County Tournament.
