PITMAN (N.J.) - Michael Fisicaro scored a game-high 17 points as sixth-seeded Pitman cruised past 11th-seeded New Egypt, 47-36, in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs on Monday afternoon.
Pitman opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run and held the Warriors to 10 points in the first half. The Panthers led by as much as 17 points in the second half.
"I thought our defense was really good in the first half," Pitman coach Ron Myers said. "We held them to 10 points. We executed on offense."
Fisicaro drained four 3-pointers and tallied 12 of his game-high 17 points over the last two quarters. Sonny Myers fell one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, and Elijah Crispin added 10 points and four rebounds for Pitman. Nate Campisi also tallied six points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Campisi delivered a two-hand, rim-grazing slam dunk to establish a 45-30 advantage and punctuate the victory late in the fourth quarter.
"We've had a couple losses this year where we're up at halftime, came out in the third quarter played very sloppy and ended up losing the game," Fisicaro said. "I just wanted to come out and do whatever I could to help the team win whether it was threes, passes, defense. It ended up being threes, but I'm just happy to help my team in any way I can.
"It's good to get hot. Coming in in the first round and getting hot, we just hope that momentum can ride over to future rounds. If we're hot, we know we're dangerous. We're hoping to keep rolling."
Connor Fischer paced the Warriors with a team-high 12 points. Devin Kimmick added nine points and 12 rebounds, and Nolan Arnold pitched in seven points. Kimmick, New Egypt's leading scorer, was held scoreless until the 1:55 mark of the second quarter and was limited to five points from the field. The Warriors concluded their season with an 11-14 record.
The Panthers (16-11) will visit Paulsboro in the sectional quarterfinals on Wednesday at 6 pm. The key to victory will be another quick start.
"The good thing about us is when we do have a lead and it comes down to the fourth quarter, we have guys that can handle the ball, guys that can knock shots down," Myers said. "We're a deep team. We can play anywhere from 10 to 11 guys anytime. When we get up, I'm very confident in the fourth quarter and in the final minutes if we're trying to salt the game away."
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