West Milford boys' basketball finished a memorable season strong

Head coach gives his final take on the 2017-2018 team: Leaders both on and off the court

Published Mar 21, 2018 at 1:03 pm (Updated Mar 21, 2018)

Photos

Photo provided West Milford Boys' Basketball 2017-2018 team.

By Josh Lashley

West Milford — Early, midway and late into the 2017-2018 season, the West Milford High School boy’s basketball program earned key wins and performed with commendable effort on the court.

Their hard work paid off as they reached double digits wins (10) and were 5-5 in the Big North Conference Independence Division.

The Clifton away game during the regular season on Feb. 8, 77-74 was memorable, said West Milford head coach John Finke.

“We had just lost to them a week before in the county tournament in a close game and had to play them again a few days later," Finke said.

The Messenger asked Coach Finke to sum up the tournament and the season:

"We got a career performance for Jack Vreeland, who came off the bench to score 15 points, and hold their best player scoreless in the fourth quarter in and in overtime. He went five for five from the 3-point line with 12 of those points coming in the fourth quarter and in overtime.

The "Westwood home on Senior Night (a 69-61 win on Feb. 20) was a special night for a few reasons," Finke said. "We beat Westwood, who had won 17 games.

"Andrew Finke finished his career with possibly his best game with 35 points and we got our senior team manager Riley Babbitt in the game and he scored a basket to start to the game," Coach Finke said. "This was a memorable event that anyone who was in the gym will never forget.

“Fair Lawn (a 73-51 victory on Jan. 20) game at home when Andrew Finke became the sixth player in boys basketball history to score 1,000 points.

"We played great, we beat Fair Lawn by 20 and Andrew was able to score his 1,000th in front of the home crowd," the coach said.

At the "Mountain Lakes in the Blue and Gold Christmas Tournament (an 87-69 victory on Dec. 27), Josiah Basket scored a career high 37 points and we won by 20. Beating Lakeland three times, including once in the county tournament [was memorable]."

"We are very proud of our Rivals Unite game with Wayne Valley on Dec. 19, where we were able to donate 200 toys and gifts to local families right before Christmas," Coach Finke said. "Both Schools participated, as well as our booster club and all the players.’’

Team leaders were keyLeadership was a strong commodity for the Highlanders this winter.

“Our thee captains were Josiah Basket, Chris Gomez and Brandon Licursi,’’ Coach Finke said. “They played hard all year, but we got leadership from all areas of the team.

"Senior Ardens Estiverne was the total team player always thinking about the team first and supporting his teammates throughout the year.

“Josiah Basket continued to improve throughout the season.

"Senior John Jacobs worked hard all year and continued to improve right up to the last game of the year," the coach said. "He did things this year on the basketball court that he had never done before.

"Jack Vreeland probably improved the most from last year to the end of this season, he grew quite a bit, got stronger and improved his shot and ball handling.’’

Not just stars on the courtIn West Milford, there is optimism surrounding the Highlander program in regards to the 2018-2019 season, both on and off the court. This year, the student athletes took pride in their work in the classroom and that should continue next year.

“We also have tremendous students with five of them ranked in the top 20 percent and two in the top 10 in the class.

“We return eight letter winners and four starters,’’ Coach Finke said. “We have a 'First Team All-County' player coming back in Basket. We also have our center Zack Milko back after missing 17 games due to injury.

"And I am very happy that I will be back to coach my 30th year as the head coach and my 35th overall. I am very excited about next year's team and the direction the program is going right now and can't wait to get back on the court with these guys.’’

Coach Finke's post season awards:Josiah Basket, First Team All-Conference and First Team All-County

Andrew Finke, First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-County, also selected to play in the Bergen/Passaic All Star game on March 25 at Passaic Valley High School

Chris Gomez, Second Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All County

Kevin DeRaffele, Honorable Mention All-Conference and All-County