Owls Upend Coyotes in Nail-biter on the Road

McDonough Scores 30, Owls Upend Coyotes in Nailbiter on the Road

“One thing about championship teams is that they’re resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.” 

-Nick Saban

While The Country School’s JV boys’  basketball team has yet to win a championship, Coach Saban’s words rang true on Thursday afternoon as the team faced a deep early deficit against a stalwart Independent Day School squad. Yes, if there was any hope for the young owls, they’d need resilience, grit, and a faithful commitment to one another. Of course, 30 points from their veteran point guard didn’t hurt the cause, but it was the energy and optimism that ultimately turned the tables.

The shock of facing off against a towering opponent whose massive frame cast a shadow over the court from the opening jump was real as the whistle blew and the ball was tossed skyward. And sure enough, within two minutes, the Owls found themselves down 8-1, six of the points coming from the leviathan Coyote center. 

With the raucous IDS Varsity team watching from the sidelines, TCS leaned heavily on their veterans in the early going. In the post, Henry Laurans ‘26 and Jimmy Ogeneski ‘26 teamed up to limit their center to only 2 more points in the quarter, double-teaming him each time their guards made an entry pass. Without fouling, they forced kick out passes to the wings, but three outside bank shots from the Coyote guards still found the net by the quarter’s end.  Not to be deterred, though, the Owls fought back. A few beautiful cuts by Andrew Lustberg ‘27, who earned his first start for the team, resulted in near misses after passes from Jonah McDonough ‘26, but offensive rebounds from Edward Barney ‘27 and Neil Parwani ‘26 enabled McDonough to tally a handful of points, jump starting what would ultimately become his highest scoring outing in his two years on the JV team. The first quarter buzzer sounded, however, with the Owls still trailing by a slight margin, 14-10 with nine points having come from McDonough and a single free throw from Laurans.

In the second quarter–and facing a quick 8 point deficit, 18-10–the team took it one possession at a time. With McDonough taking a spell on the bench after his big first quarter, Oliver Molloy ‘27 took on the point guard responsibilities. With poise and maturity for a first year player, he initiated the offense, ultimately ensuring the ball made it into the hands of Ogeneski who converted two nifty post moves, tallying 4 points. On the defensive end, the bench unit continued to put the clamps down in the post, while Quinn Crimmins ‘26 and Kyle Jacobson ‘27 applied pressure on the Coyote ball handlers. With growing intensity on every possession, the back-and-forth game intensified. With McDonough back in the game, Jacobson quickly swung the ball from the high post, finding him on the baseline for a deep two, followed by a perfectly-scripted out-of-bounds stack play for another deuce, this time assisted by Laurans. 

At this point, the real battle in the trenches began. Post play from Laurans, Ogeneski held their big man at bay as he scored one lone basket after carving the team up for eight points in the first quarter. Truly, though, it was Neil Parwani who was the difference maker as he outrebounded the Coyotes other two front court players, extending three possessions. With under 5 seconds until halftime, in a 20-20 game, a midcourt turnover resulted in a quick Coyote layup and a halftime score of 22-20.

During halftime, Coach McDonough praised the team’s hard work in limiting easy shots, in getting hands on the ball, and in trusting one another with great passing and communication. Most importantly, though, he said “We are winning this game when it comes to effort and attitude. If we keep winning in those areas in the second half, this is our game to win.” Coach Castillo’s message was simple: “You are just playing awesome. Don’t stop.”

The reality was, though, that this was a game decided by players and any remarks at halftime from the coaches weren’t going to change the outcome. If they wanted it badly enough, the second half would be theirs. And what a second half it was.

From the moment it began, the intensity was palpable all throughout the gym. With a new defensive formation focused on forcing McDonough to his left, he met the challenge with laser-like passes to Ogeneski in the post, resulting in some great, aggressive moves and six points for the Owls. Again, forcing turnovers in the midcourt played to TCS’s advantage. Running the fast break, Ogeneski was again rewarded with full court assists from McDonough, giving him 12 points for the game. Parwani and Crimmins both had timely steals and the mayhem caused by the wily and no-nonsense quartet of 5th Graders (heretofore nicknamed The Law Office of Lustberg, Barney, Jacobson & Molloy) resulted in a number of frustrated fouls by the Coyote starters. 

Two highlight reel plays by McDonough brought the bench (and the TCS fans in attendance) to their feet: preserving a 2 point lead, and watching a solo fastbreak steal transpire by the opposing point guard, he shot down the court for a full court chasedown block into the stands. Moments later, he drove to the hoop and converted an and-1 layup. On the ensuing free throw, Laurans tipped his missed shot back to McDonough who corralled the ball and again hit an and-1 floater in the lane. This time he hit the additional free throw, for what the team nicknamed a “5 point play” as he’d scored 5 in the course of about 2 seconds. As the clock turned to the 4th Quarter, the teams had played 24 minutes and TCS now held the lead 32-30.

The final quarter stayed close. Laurans continued his deft work in the trenches, holding their center to 4 points (and only 8 after his big first quarter). To work so hard defensively is one thing, but as the quarter continued Laurans was hit in the face, bloodied on his arms, and yet–shockingly–ended the game without committing a single foul. This level of defensive footwork and post play kept IDS at bay and enabled the duo of McDonough and Ogeneski to continue shouldering the scoring burden. In the final frame, the physicality being experienced in the low post was echoed on drives by McDonough as well as he was fouled continuously, converting five free throws in the quarter (going 10-14 from the line in the game). In the waning seconds of the game with the team clinging to a 41-39 lead after a deep 3 from IDS, the young McDonough got trapped in the right corner by two pressing Coyote players. Coach McDonough quickly called a timeout with 12 seconds remaining. Drawing up a play to inbounds the ball safely, Ogeneski set a devastating screen, freeing McDonough for the pass. Fouled hard at half court and knocked to the ground, he was slightly rattled and missed both free throws; but with great boxing out by the entire team, Ogeneski corralled the rebound and kicked it out where Jonah was again fouled by the Coyotes with 2.4 seconds on the clock. This time he converted both, ending the game with a score of 43-39.

As far as scoring went, all the points this game went to the three veterans who are in their second year on our 5th and 6th Grade team: McDonough led the way with an efficient and stunning 30, while Ogeneski scored a dozen and Laurans had an important single point to keep it close in the 

It is easy to look at a box score for a game during which one player scores 30 points and make some quick assumptions about how the game played out. The reality, though, is that this game required each and every player to contribute. Four of our players are 5th Graders playing competitive basketball at TCS for the first time, and two others have never before played organized basketball. It has been simply stunning to watch the group come together and trust each other to the degree they have. The author (Coach McDonough) of this article is assuredly biased, but the leadership of our 6th Graders and the humility and attitude of everyone on this team has been amazing to watch. For those on our team whose shots didn’t fall in this game, know that the entire team believes in you and luck will shift before this season is over.

The team doesn’t get much rest as it takes to the road again for an I-95 rematch against Pine Point on Tuesday.