On Tuesday, the Verona Hillbillies took down West Caldwell Tech 51-40 in what was a special night for the senior basketball players and their families.
At halftime, the seniors and their parents were honored with introductions and a photo at center court in front of a packed gym. Those that were honored included Robert Farley, Jack Farrell, Steve Gonzalez, Travis Jocelyn, Kevin and Wade Kistner, Michael Malanga, Greg Marlo, Austin Molan, Zack Skrivanic, Rob Sorhaindo, and Matt and Zack Zaccone, as well as team manager Joe Trupia and statisticians Carleigh Hoimark and Rebecca Russomanno.
The Hillbillies were down 1 at the half but they tightened up their play during the third quarter, reclaiming the lead and never losing it for the rest of the game. Because all of the seniors received quality minutes, the scoring was spread out between 12 players with only one, Zack Zaccone, scoring in double figures(10 points). Travis Jocelyn had 7, Matt Zaccone had 6 and Wade Kistner chipped in 5.
The Hillbillies will play their final regular season game on Wednesday at home against West Orange. Then, on Tuesday February 28, Verona will kick off the state tournament with a matchup against Palisades Park at VHS at 4 p.m. Verona received the 1-seed in North 1, Group 1 after finishing 9-3 in conference play.
