Luke Rochler, Hewlett boys get first Nassau A-III win
Luke Rochler (11 points) drives in Nassau A-III boys basketball game against host Roosevelt on Tuesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Hewlett was starving for its first conference win of the season.
On Tuesday night they wouldn’t be denied.
Riding a strong third quarter output by its offense led by junior Luke Rochler, who scored seven points in the period, Hewlett boys basketball defeated Roosevelt, 47-42, at Roosevelt.
“I knew that I had to step up big in the second half to get us a win, that’s it,” Rochler said.
With four minutes left in the game Dylan Hickman hit a big three pointer that allowed Roosevelt to tie the score at 36.
Even then, faced with dropping another conference game to start it’s season, Hewlett never faltered. The Bulldogs went on a 11-3 run to close out the game capped off by a dagger three by Lincoln Williams to seal the deal. BJ Norman of Roosevelt hit a three as time expired.
“Its very important for us to get this first win so we can build on this and hopefully add more,” Mateo Preziosi said.
Rochler added “After a long start to the season where we struggled, it feels good to go into the second half of the season with a win.”
After an evenly matched first half that featured Hewlett taking a 19-17 lead heading into the break, the Bulldogs extended their lead to go up 30-20 midway through the third quarter.
Rochler ignited the team by hitting a big three-pointer and adding two layups to in the spurt. He even stepped it up defensively manning the paint and grabbing rebounds to get his team extra possessions.
“He’s a rough and tough kid and that’s what we want,” Hewlett coach Bill Dubin said.
“We took advantage of the physicality he had and made it work. We are hoping to see that continue,” Dubin said.
Rochler and Preziosi scored 11 and 10 points respectively to lead Hewlett, who moved to 1-2 in Nassau A-III. Hickman scored 24 points for Roosevelt, which falls to 0-5.
“I think we realize how good we can be and how much better we can play,” Dubin said.
Since Dubin has taken over as coach of the team it has qualified for the playoffs in 18 of the last 19 seasons and hopes to continue that culture of winning.
“Hopefully this will springboard us into future wins.”
