Dave Gautieri continues to fire up the Verona High School boys basketball game. Last week, he had a career-high 22 points in the VHS game against Arts High School. On Thursday, he pushed close to that mark again, scoring 21 points for Verona in a 55-35 defeat of Midland Park.
After a slow start that saw Midland four points ahead of Verona at the end of the first quarter, the rest of the game was all Hillbillies, ending with a blowout 23-5 in the fourth quarter.  Gautieri, a junior, was also a big factor in the paint with 15 rebounds, which was almost as many as the rest of his teammates combined. He now has 93 points to his credit this season and 57 rebounds. Frank Ferrari was the second-highest scorer for Verona with 10 points in the home game. Ron Kruis was the top scorer for Midland Park, with 24.
Meanwhile, the VHS girls basketball team improved their record to 9-6 with a 32-31 win over Irvington that was a thriller at the buzzer:  Cecilia Courter, a freshman, made two free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win for the Hillbillies. Courter has been a regular contributor to Verona in her first season, with 35 points to her credit already. The top scorer for Verona was senior Caroline Kirnan with 17 points.
