All good things come to an end. For the Pascack Valley boys basketball team, this right now is the ultimate truth.

The Indians’ 2015-2016 season came to an end, as they lost 51-36 in the second round of the Section 1, Group 3 state playoffs to Ramapo, the number one seed in the tournament. This game ended a successful season for the Indians, who finished with a record of 14-11 and at 3rd place in the Big North National division.

PV saw their share of some good and bad moments during the season, as they started out hot, but faced troubles late in the season against some of the tough opponents.

“This team showed overall resiliency when faced with adversity,” said Head Coach Al Coleman.

A six game win streak put Valley on the map early on in the season, as they rose as high as 13th in The Record’s ranking of the Top 25 North Jersey boys basketball teams. Wins against divisional opponents in Bergenfield (64-55) and Demarest (63-53) highlighted this hot start.

The win streaked started when the Indians won the John Carty Holiday Basketball Tournament at Mahwah High School during the holiday break. PV beat Saddle River Day 79-52 in the first round and beat Northern Highlands 71-47 in the championship game.

PV clinched a spot in the Bergen County Jamboree with record of 8-2 following a 64-62 win over Northern Highlands. In the previous season, the Indians had not qualified to make the tournament. Their success continued as they took down Mahwah in the first round, 50-35.

St. Joseph’s Regional ended the Indian’s run in the Jamboree in the Round of 16, with a 77-64 final. The Indians got within 4 points of the Green Knights lead 6 times. 

PV’s tough schedule caught up to them after their winning streak and just before the Jamboree, as they lost games to Teaneck (73-58), Hackensack (84-78), Wayne Hills (71-54), and Bergen Catholic (65-39). These four opponents all ended the regular season as top 15 teams in North Jersey.

A win against Northern Valley Old Tappan, also a top 15 team came during this pre-Jamboree span. “From this year, my favorite memory was without a doubt beating OT on their home court, and having the fans storm the court,” said senior forward Eric Ziccarelli. PV won 51-50 at NVOT.

Another slump came about after the Jamboree loss to Saint Joseph’s. A three game skid saw losses to Demarest and Teaneck, teams Valley saw earlier in the season. The other game was a 85-36 blowout loss to nationally ranked Saint Anthony’s.

The last four games of the Indians’ season proved to be exciting and capped off the year in a great way. A senior night win over Wall (67-54), a high-scoring overtime win over Dickinson (92-91), and a state playoff win over Dwight Morrow (80-71) gave the team some memorable moments before losing to Ramapo.

Seniors were a big part of the lineup this season, with three of them, Ziccarelli, forward Colin Dedrick, and forward Jon Piccinich, playing in the starting five. Other players in their final year included Kyle McManus, Justin Balestra, and Calvin Ralph.

Juniors Matt Vasel and Legend Dominguez, the duo filling in the guard slots, will return to the starting lineup next season. “I feel confident going into next season with one of the best backcourts in the county,” said Dominguez. The Indians will also look to further include Matt Domville, who returned from his hand injury this year, and Noah Baumgarten, who was out the entire year with a shoulder injury.

Sophomores were a rarity on this year’s experienced PV squad. Alex Lin, a forward, was the only underclassmen to contribute to the team on the varsity level. Valley will likely look future upperclassmen who played on junior varsity this year to step up into a much bigger role next season.

“We have a lot of work to do going forward,” Coleman said about next season.