Viking boys enjoy ‘memorable’ win at Pond Road

By: Rich Fisher
   It was one of those games coach Jay Gilligan termed "memorable."
   The Cranbury School boys basketball team found itself trailing by 11 points in the first half at Pond Road, but used a strong effort by Clint O’Brien after intermission and some clutch foul shots by Ross McDonald down the stretch to pull out a 46-43 victory last Thursday.
   "It was just one of those memorable games," Gilligan said. "This team just never gives up, that’s for sure."
   O’Brien scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and according to Gilligan, "Ross McDonald made a couple clutch foul shots near the end, got fouled again, and produced and did his job to keep us ahead."
   Gilligan also had praise for Peter Teifer , Matt Bichsel and Patrick Finn.
   "Peter did an outstanding job at point guard, he’s constantly feeding balls to guys so they can score," the coach said. "Matt Bichsel had a great game and Patrick Finn did a good job shooting the ball."The Vikings dug themselves another hole on Tuesday against Allentown, falling behind by 13 before rallying for a one-point lead. But the Redbirds managed to come back and win by five.
   "That was a tough game," Gilligan said. "Our outside shooting was weak. We only shot 30 percent from the floor. But they work hard all the time and keep battling back. They did it again, but we just couldn’t hang onto the lead this time."
   While O’Brien has been the team’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, Gilligan has praise for others as well.
   "Shabeg Singh has done a nice job," the coach said. Adam Lawrence is playing well on defense. He goes in for a couple minutes and does the job he’s supposed to do. John Bichsel and John Ryan are both playing steady. Johnny Mitko is solid all the time. He’s always good for his seven to 10 points per game."
   The Vikes played at Millstone Thursday and host Kreps today (Friday) and Crossroads Wednesday in the season finale.
GIRLS
   It was a tough week for the Viking girls, who lost a pair of heart-breakers to Pond Road (22-19) and Allentown (27-25 in overtime).
   "We played better this time against Pond Road than we did the first time," coach Frank Silva said. "We lost to them by around 12 in that game."
   Amanda Santa Maria led the way with six points while Megan Palagyi and Sarah Casey had four apiece, Stephanie Grubb had three and Kaitlyn Batista had two.
   The Vikings trailed for most of the game against Allentown but rallied to take the lead in the final quarter. But a defensive lapse enabled the Redbirds to tie the game at the buzzer when Allentown’s best offensive player hit a 3-pointer.
   "My instructions in the timeout were ‘Don’t let that girl shoot, I don’t care if all five of you are on her, don’t let her shoot,’" Silva said. "But, she got her shot and it was perfect. There was no chance it would even hit the rim."
   The Redbirds scored the lone two points of the overtime to win it. Santa Maria had nine points, followed by Katie Lindberg (six), Casey (four), Grubb (three), Batista (two) and Zara Stasi (one).
   Despite the slump, Silva noted that several girls are making strides.
   "I’ve had a lot of kids out," the coach said. "But the ones who have been coming to practice have improved. Girls like Grubb, Casey, Batista and Palagyi are all getting better."
   The girls hosted Millstone Thursday and visit Kreps today and Crossroads Wednesday.