Raider cagers endure adversity during skid

Boys drop fourth straight game

By: Rudy Brandl
   Two basketball teams going in opposite directions met at Hillsborough High last Friday night. Not surprisingly, the red-hot squad prevailed over the one in turmoil.
   The Hillsborough boys dropped their fourth consecutive game to fall out of the Delaware Division race, while Warren Hills posted its sixth straight win. The visiting Blue Streaks dominated the first half, watched the Raiders rally to the lead early in the fourth quarter and answered with a final spurt of their own to notch a 57-52 victory.
   Hillsborough (10-7) suffered its third straight loss in the division after a 6-2 start had propelled the team to a tie for first place. A road setback at Hunterdon Central and home losses to Franklin and Warren Hills last week knocked the Raiders out of conference contention.
   The Raiders lost more than just two more games last week. They lost three players. Starting forward Ben Schweitzer and reserves Andy Nicholas and Brian Hill quit the team for personal reasons after the loss to Franklin.
   "We lost a couple guys this week and it’s hard because they’re three of our best friends," junior forward Chris Haas said while walking off the court after Friday’s game. "It’s hard and it hurts us emotionally. But we can’t make excuses. We’re a team and we still have to play."
   HHS third-year head coach Kevin McGuire, who was annoyed at his club’s play in recent games, was actually pleased with Friday night’s effort. While he acknowledged the team played poorly early, McGuire felt he saw the intensity and effort return in the second half. Things simply didn’t work out in the final few minutes of the game.
   "I was really happy with us tonight," McGuire said. "We had some unhappy campers and they decided to leave, but we did a real good job coming together. We could have packed it in at halftime but the guys came back. We certainly played better tonight than in the last three games we lost. We’re a better team than we were in those games."
   Warren Hills, boosted by a large group of supporters that outnumbered the fans on the home side, roared to a 33-21 lead at the break. The visitors doubled their six-point lead with six points in the final minute of the half, including a 3-point play at the buzzer by reserve swingman Mike Comick.
   The Raiders stepped up their defensive intensity and started to hit a few shots in the third period. Jon Leonard, who was held to one field goal in the first half, nailed three shots from behind the 3-point line in the quarter. Leonard canned a trey from each corner in the first two minutes of the second half and added another from the left wing with 3:01 remaining in the third period.
   Joe Quezada came off the bench to score four points in the frame, aided by a pair of penetration assists from point guard Lamar Spencer. Haas finished the 18-8 spurt with a three from the left wing to cut the Warren Hills lead to 41-39.
   Unfortunately, the Raiders were in foul trouble. Power forward Danny Phillips picked up his fourth personal late in the third quarter and Leonard played the entire second half with three. Both players fouled out in the final 2:29 of the contest.
   "Our problem tonight was foul trouble," McGuire said. "It was a frustrating game for us. We didn’t get any calls tonight."
   Haas opened the fourth quarter by hitting four straight free throws sandwiched around a Comick three. The Raiders took their first lead since the opening quarter when Leonard nailed a triple from the right wing with 5:40 to play. Backup point guard Courtney Robinson, who came in to give Spencer a quick break, then found Mike Malko under the hoop for a lay-up that gave Hillsborough a 48-44 lead with 5:02 left.
   The next three possessions decided the outcome. Mike Jones, who led all scorers with 26 points, took control with eight points in less than two minutes to convert a four-point deficit into a four-point lead for the visitors. Jones hit a driving lay-up and free throw for a 3-point play, stole the ball at midcourt and took it to the hole and nailed a long trey from the right wing to complete his personal flurry.
   "We turned the ball over three times in a row down the stretch and that hurt us," McGuire said. "We were in our zone and they lulled us to sleep and killed us with a three."
   Phillips fouled out on the next possession but the Raiders didn’t quit. Leonard converted a steal into a fast-break hoop to cut the deficit to 52-50. That was as close as the Raiders came, since Warren Hills iced the game by hitting four straight free throws and 5-of-7 in the final 38 seconds.
   "It looked like we were coming back," Haas said. "We didn’t get a couple calls and they made a couple shots. We got the hands up in their face but they just made the shots. There was nothing we could do. We played hard."
   Leonard led a balanced Hillsborough attack with 16 points, while Haas (11) and Malko (10) also reached double figures. Warren Hills was a two-man show with Jones (26) and Comick (17) doing the damage.
   "The loss tonight puts us out of the conference but that’s not the most important goal to us," McGuire said. "The most important goal to us is to play as a team and play with greater passion. We accomplished that tonight."
   FREE THROWS — Hillsborough held an early lead vs. Franklin but the Warriors dominated the second half and posted a 59-46 triumph to complete the season sweep … a Raider victory would have forced another tie atop the division … Phillips and Will Garland shared team high-scoring honors with nine points, while Leonard knocked down two threes and Haas hit eight free throws to finish with eight points apiece … freshman Brandon Shamy and sophomore Reese Newell have been promoted to the varsity roster to replace the departed players.