Boys improve post-season position

RAIDER ROUNDUP

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   The Hillsborough High boys’ basketball team staged an amazing rally to win last Thursday night’s game at Hunterdon Central.
   Trailing by 10 points with under three minutes to play, the Raiders managed to tie the game and force overtime. Hillsborough continued its surge in the extra frame and posted an exciting 66-63 victory on the road.
   This marked the second time in three games the Raiders pulled out a victory with a huge performance in the fourth quarter. They had erased a six-point deficit with a 26-7 closing spurt at Westfield the previous weekend.
   Senior point guard Lamar Spencer and senior forward Chris Haas led this comeback by hitting key shots in the fourth period and overtime. Spencer completed an unconventional 3-point play with seven seconds left in regulation, rebounding his own missed free throw and netting a short jumper to tie the score. Haas then fired in five of his team-high 18 points in the overtime.
   Haas led four HHS players in double figures in a balanced attack. Junior center Mike Malko (14), junior guard T.J. Sferra (12) and Spencer (10) also provided considerable offense. Central’s Matt Basford led all scorers with 28 points, including a game-high four threes.
   The victory moved Hillsborough’s record to 10-7, just slightly better than Central’s 9-7 ledger. This may not be significant in the Delaware Division race, with Franklin way out in front, but the Raiders managed to move ahead of the Red Devils in the Central Jersey Group 4 seeding.
   Fellow CJ 4 school Bridgewater-Raritan (10-7), which defeated the Raiders earlier in the week in Hillsborough to knot their season series, finished with the same mark after edging Plainfield on Saturday. The Panthers, winners of eight straight games, continued their recent defensive mastery with a 50-40 triumph over the Raiders.
   B-R opened a comfortable lead with an 11-3 burst in the second quarter, which left the Raiders trailing by nine points at the half. The Panthers increased their lead to 12 by the start of the fourth and spent most of the final period at the foul line. Despite hitting only one field goal in the fourth quarter, Bridgewater won the game by shooting 15-for-16 from the line. The Raiders, meanwhile, went just 9-for-19 in free throw shooting for the game.
   Adam Goodwin led the winners with 20 points, while Malko was the only HHS player in double figures with 16. Malko also pulled down seven rebounds.
   The Raiders rode a three-game road win streak into this week’s action, which includes a home game vs. Phillipsburg and road test at Warren Hills.
Girls drop two
before state cutoff
   
HHS girls’ basketball coach Jim Reese warned his team after losing to North Hunterdon that a bus ride to Marlboro could be in store when the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs begin in March.
   The Lady Raiders (9-8) increased their chances of making an early visit to the state power by losing two more games last week prior to the qualifying deadline. To make matters worse, those losses came against schools that also reside in the Delaware Division and CJ 4 section.
   Bridgewater-Raritan and Hunterdon Central moved up in the CJ 4 seedings and pushed HHS down a few notches by completing season sweeps last week. B-R held off a furious Hillsborough rally in the second half and posted a 54-46 victory, while Central rolled to a 58-44 triumph.
   The losses, which extended Hillsborough’s skid to three games, left the team just over the .500 mark. That usually translates into a very tough draw in post-season play and rarely produces a home game, unless it’s a preliminary round contest.
   Bridgewater roared to a 15-point lead at the half in last week’s game but the HHS girls answered with a 17-4 spurt in the third quarter. Hillsborough eventually tied the game early in the fourth but couldn’t hit the shots to win the game.
   "That (third quarter) was the best quarter of the year for us," Reese said. "We did a lot of nice things and fought all the way back, but we couldn’t finish it."
   Allison Kutch and Jess Rainey led the Lady Raiders with 10 points apiece.
   Hillsborough only trailed by five points at halftime in Thursday night’s game vs. Central, but the visitors opened it up with a 19-10 spurt in the third quarter. Central star Jill Furstenberg made a little history, firing in 27 points to become her school’s all-time leading scorer.
   Rainey (11) and Christine Rash (8) each hit a trey and led the HHS offense in a losing cause.
   The Lady Raiders were scheduled to play at Phillipsburg and host Warren Hills this week before preparing for next week’s Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.
Wrestlers ousted
from playoff picture
   
Despite all the hard luck the HHS wrestling team has endured this season, it still had a shot at qualifying for the state team playoffs entering last week’s dual meet action.
   State power and fellow Central Jersey Group 4 sectional rival Hunterdon Central ended those hopes with a 44-30 victory in Hillsborough. However, the Raiders continue to gain ground against a team that used to put up 60 points in these meetings.
   Central owned a modest 8-6 edge in bouts, but six of those victories came by fall. This match could have been much closer if the Raiders had stayed off their backs against Central’s big guns.
   The visitors opened with pins at 140 and 145, but HHS junior Pat Jastrzebski answered with a major decision at 152. Central pinned in three of the next four bouts, with Phil Lavoie’s pin at 171 providing the only break. Central still had a comfortable 30-16 lead after giving heavyweight Antonio D’Amelio a forfeit.
   HHS senior 103-pounder Andrew Gewain made the match a little more interesting by decking Nate Bastian in 43 seconds. Gewain’s 12th pin of the season cut the deficit to 30-22 with a key bout coming up at 112.
   Central regained the momentum with Ross Gitomer’s 7-5 decision over HHS junior Tye Wagner. The Red Devils basically clinched the victory with a pin at 119 pounds.
   Sophomore 125-pounder Kevin Lynch scored a technical fall at junior 135-pounder Mike Detsis notched an impressive 8-1 victory over Jordan Nettuno in the final bout of the evening.
   The Raiders were scheduled to host South Brunswick last night in a rematch of last year’s state playoff match. HHS faces Roxbury and Emerson in a road tri-meet this Saturday.
Boys end perfect
regular season
   
The HHS boys ripped North Hunterdon by a 126-44 score to improve their regular season record to 11-0. Hillsborough should receive a very high seed in the upcoming state team playoffs.
   Nick Giacopelli and Bryan Zeiher each won two individual events to lead the assault. Giacopelli doubled in the 100 free (54.19) and 200 free (2:00.15), while Zeiher prevailed in the 100 fly (59.52) and 500 free (5:42.66).
   Other individual winners were Frank Ippolito in the 200 individual medley (2:15.43), Sean Downey in the 50 free (24.04), Scott Prow in the 100 back (1:06.03) and Peter Cole in the 100 breast (1:09.45).
   All three HHS relay teams also won to complete the sweep of first places. Mark Green, Cole, Zeiher and Giacopelli took the 200 medley (1:44.90); Rich Byrne, Cody Dwyer, Zeiher and Green placed first in the 200 free (1:41.01); and Steve Lucarelli, Giacopelli, Sammy Mintz and Ippolito prevailed in the 400 free (4:00.59).
Trabilsy, Barberio
win big for girls
   
Devon Trabilsy and Alyssa Barberio led a balanced assault when the HHS girls’ swim team posted a 124-46 triumph over North Hunterdon last week. Hillsborough improved to 11-1 on the season.
   Trabilsy and Barberio each won two individual events. Trabilsy finished first in the 200 IM (2:26.16) and 500 free (5:28.34), while Barberio captured the 50 free (26.72) and 100 free (59.60).
   Other HHS individual winners were Colleen DeLucia in the 200 free (2:29.05), Kris Mendez in the 100 fly (1:03.19) and Ashley Padvelskis in the 100 breast (1:17.53).
   Barberio also participated on two winning relay teams. She joined Jessica Stever, Trabilsy and Mendez in the 200 medley (2:02.63) and combined with Missy McCormick, Mendez and Stever in the 200 fee (1:48.95). The 400 free relay team of Katy Galli, Debbie Delatroin, Kim Anderson and Shannon Mitch completed the relay sweep with a winning time of 4:21.22.