Krischer, Lipshie come up big for Comsewogue
Comsewogue's Zach Krischer (24) flies to the hoop against Harborfields' defenders Nick Fessenden (33) and Patrick Ryan (4) with under a minute remaining in the second half. Comsewogue defeated Harborfields 54-46. (February 4, 2010) Credit: Newsday/Photo by Joseph D. Sullivan
There were six seconds left when Zack Krischer turned around and glanced at the scoreboard as he strolled to the free-throw line. With Comsewogue leading by six, these foul shots would be pressure-free because of an unlikely play made about a minute earlier by teammate Chase Lipshie, the smallest player on the court.
Lipshie, a 5-5 senior starting guard, scored his first and only points of last night's game at its most important moment, tipping in Krischer's missed three-pointer with 1:24 left to give the host Warriors the six-point lead in a 54-46 win over Harborfields, which had been undefeated in League V play.
The basket stymied a rally by Harborfields (15-2, 12-1), which trailed nearly the entire game, and gave the Warriors a 50-44 lead over the Tornadoes, who were without leading scorer Matt McLeod because of a hand injury.
"This is a big win,'' said Krischer, who scored 19 points and hit a number of impressive step-back three-pointers. "We came out and got on a run. We didn't want to start doubting ourselves against an undefeated team. We stayed composed and stayed even.''
Said Lipshie: "This is huge for our confidence that we can beat anybody in the playoffs."
Comsewogue (11-6, 9-4) used a series of putbacks, the step-backs by Krischer, blocks and steals to build a 23-17 halftime lead. The Warriors also broke the Harborfields press, which they haven't traditionally done, Comsewogue coach Bob Davis said, and got big contributions from several players.
Keith Vigorito had 14 rebounds and three blocked shots and Rich Kissane added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who held a relatively comfortable lead until midway through the fourth quarter.
That's when Harborfields sophomore guard Lucas Woodhouse (17 points) went to work. He scored Harborfields' next eight points as the Tornadoes cut their deficit from 45-36 with 4:03 to go to 48-44 just before Lipshie's tip-in.
McLeod, who averages 20 points for Harborfields, is out for a week with a sprained ligament in his right (shooting) hand. He hurt it diving for a loose ball during a one-point win over Islip on Tuesday.
"That's basketball," Harborfields coach Chris Agostino said about the game. "We came out and kind of didn't play as hard as we're capable of, but give them credit. They did an outstanding job getting ready for today's game."
