Challenge No. 1 Franklin for first county crown
By: Rudy Brandl
MARTINSVILLE There aren’t any more secrets when the Hillsborough and Bridgewater-Raritan boys meet in a high school basketball game. It’s simply a matter of which team displays better execution and greater desire.
Hillsborough assumed that role in a big way in Monday night’s Somerset County semifinals at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School. The second-seeded Raiders combined aggressive defense, patient offense and tremendous intensity all over the court to blast the third-ranked Panthers by a 55-39 score.
The Raiders (14-9) will challenge No. 1 seed Franklin (17-5) in tonight’s championship game, set for 8 p.m. back on the B-R Middle School court. Franklin defeated Hillsborough twice during the regular season en route to the Delaware Division title, but the Raiders are playing better basketball these days.
Losing two previous games to Franklin could give the Raiders the same sharp edge they had in Monday’s semifinal game. The Panthers had defeated them in last week’s regular season finale and the HHS boys were determined to avenge that loss on a much larger stage.
"We’ve been prepared for this game since we lost to them last week," said Hillsborough junior guard Jon Leonard, who led his team with 17 points. "We wanted to win and we wanted to win big. That wasn’t our best effort last week. We wanted to show the whole county our best effort."
"We didn’t play very good defense last week, so we’ve been working on it an awful lot," said Raider head coach Kevin McGuire, who’s making his second trip to the SCT championship game in three years. "It’s the third time we’re playing them, so there’s no scouting going on. We know each other pretty well."
Bridgewater scored the game’s first five points and even had two possessions to add to the lead before the Raiders finally hit a basket four minutes into the opening quarter. That weak side offensive rebound hoop by Chris Haas started an unbelievable 18-0 run that bridged the first and second periods and put the Panthers in a very deep hole.
The Raiders worked hard on defense, denying Bridgewater shots on many possessions. They put the clamps on standout scorer B.J. Hamby and didn’t allow sharp-shooting T.J. Sferra to get open looks from 3-point land. It was a masterful defensive effort that blanked the Panthers for an amazing stretch of 8:05.
"Defense wins championships," Leonard said. "We realize this is what we have to do to win. We poured our heart and soul into the game."
"I was obviously very pleased with our defense," McGuire added. "We know what they do and we just had to make sure we guarded everybody and helped out on Hamby on the post."
The Raiders were patient but certainly not very effective on offense during the first quarter. Despite their defensive dominance, they didn’t take the lead until Leonard nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing with 51 seconds left in the quarter.
Sophomore center Mike Malko took charge early in the second, scoring seven of his 12 points in the first 1:08 of the period. Malko hit two inside baskets and then swished three free throws after being fouled on a long distance shot attempt.
The Panthers finally got back on the board with two Hamby free throws, but Leonard fired in a three from the right side and drove to the hoop for a 23-9 lead with 3:11 to play in the half. Hamby closed the half with eight straight points to make the game interesting at the break.
Bridgewater kept hanging around in the third quarter, with Hamby and Sferra each connecting from behind the arc to cut Hillsborough’s lead to 28-25. Instead of allowing the Panther surge to continue, the Raiders took over defensively and scored the game’s next 10 points.
This drought lasted 7:14 and by the time the Panthers scored again, the Raiders had built a 38-25 lead. Will Garland and Leonard canned threes and Haas scored off a pretty feed from Leonard to close the third quarter.
While the Raiders were executing offensively, their defense was making huge plays. Junior point guard Lamar Spencer, the shortest player on the court, stuffed Sferra’s lay-up attempt and Hamby traveled after hustling for the rebound late in the third period.
Malko epitomized the team’s defensive prowess with a great performance against Hamby, who scored 19 points to lead all scorers. Malko stayed out of foul trouble and kept Hamby from controlling the paint. He made Hamby work extra hard for all of his points.
"He’s really good down in the post and I just had to front him," Malko said. "I just had to stand my ground."
Hillsborough’s second shutout surge put the game away. Bridgewater couldn’t cut the deficit into single digits in the fourth quarter and both benches emptied in the waning minutes.
"We had to keep attacking the basket and keep up the intensity," Malko said. "We just wanted to beat Bridgewater and get to the county finals."
The Raiders have enjoyed leads in both games vs. Franklin, but haven’t played their game for a full 32 minutes. If they expect to win the school’s first county boys’ basketball title, the Raiders must stick to their style.
"It’s their press and their tempo that takes you out of your game," said McGuire, who didn’t mind his team’s underdog role as a county finalist. "We won five games last year and we’ve been up and down this year. When we play hard and we play well like we did tonight, we can be a very good team."