LUBIN’S CAREER GAME LIFTS WIZARDS OVER GOLDBACKS IN THRILLER

By SEAN LYNCH

SEAN LYNCH FOR WIZARD WEEKLY

Sophomore Kareem Lubin has been increasingly more impressive to watch in practice.  Whether it’s how he has adapted to his older teammates, or how he takes one extra free throw to assure he goes off on a good note, Lubin is one to keep an eye on.  Kareem was bound to have his breakout game, and that game came in the Section IX quarterfinal against Newburgh Free Academy. He finished the game one point short of a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing fourteen rebounds.

Lubin humbly confided after the game, “I am proud of my accomplishments tonight, and even more proud that I contributed to a big win for our team.” 

Washingtonville won 53-51 at Newburgh Free Academy Tuesday night. The Wizards, who had an even scoring distribution, were led in scoring by Ryan Johnson who had ten points, along with Kareem Lubin, Jack Zimmer, and P.J. Morais who each had nine.

Newburgh was led in scoring by Nazir Holland who had twenty points, along with Sam Clark who had eight.

Coach Todd Rose had a huge smile on his face after the game. “It was all I thought about during the day,” Rose excitedly reported. “We played with a great combination of our hearts, and our heads tonight, and I couldn’t be any more proud of our team.”

The Wizards had three focus-points against Newburgh.  Offensively, they wanted to control the tempo of the game. Washingtonville’s point guard, Billy Aussenheimer, slowed things down when they needed to be, and accelerated the pace when it needed to be faster. 

Defensively, the Wizards wanted to force Newburgh to shoot outside. They played a suffocating 2-3 zone that forced them to make numerous turnovers, and take shots they didn’t want to take.

When it came to the Wizard’s physical play, they left it all on the court. Bodies were on every loose-ball, and there was no shortage of sweat droplets on the sideline. Ryan Johnson, who led the Wizards with three steals said, “We are a tough team to play; we will give everything we have every time we step out on a basketball court together.”