By: Bob Nuse
Over the last several years, the Montgomery High boys’ basketball program has played so well that the level of expectation for the team has risen dramatically.
It wasn’t all that long ago that a 17-6 record, a Skyland Conference Raritan Division championship, and a first-round loss in the state tournament would have exceeded any expectations.
But with those expectations raised, the Cougars can’t help but wonder if they could have done more.
"We’ve been very successful for four straight years now," said Montgomery coach Pat Lott, whose team saw its season come to an end with a 61-50 loss to Somerville Monday in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group II tournament. "We’ve been 20-8, 18-8, 18-6 and now 17-6 in the last four years. When you do that you start to expect excellence, so when you don’t get there it’s disappointing.
"We’ve been in the state tournament six of the eight years I’ve been here, including three times in the finals. When you have that kind of success, you start to expect to be in certain places."
The place the Cougars expected to be this year was the CJ II finals. But they were knocked out by a Somerville team they had split two previous meetings with this season.
"They played well," Lott said of Somerville. "They’re a good team and they did the right things they needed to do to win. We had some turnovers and they capitalized on those mistakes we made. Then they hit their foul shots at the end of the game."
The Cougar loss wasn’t for a lack of effort. After falling behind by 11 at the end of the first quarter, Montgomery rallied to take a 42-40 lead heading into the final quarter. But too many mistakes, combined with opportunistic play from Somerville, meant a first-round CJ II loss.
"The kids worked hard," said Lott, whose team received 25 points from senior guard Derick Grant. "They gave everything they had. After the game Derick commented that he had never been so tired after a game as he was after that game. It was just one of those games. Over the years we’ve probably won some we could have lost. And sometimes you lose some you think you should have won."
When they look back at it, the Montgomery players will realize they had another solid year. Even with the tournament loss.
"We won the conference for the second year in a row, which was a nice accomplishment," Lott said. "The program has reached a certain level now where we expect to do well every year. We’ve had a lot of help from a lot of people. There are 600 kids in the rec program.
"People have gotten together and have done a great job with the association. Montgomery is a great place to coach. Everyone has been very supportive of the program."
And in return, the program has given those supporters plenty to cheer about.
