HHS boys left guts on court

Franklin hex has gone on too long

By: Rudy Brandl
   SOMERSET — I was prepared to leave the building early, but I’m sure glad I stayed around for the second half of the Somerset County basketball quarterfinal game between Hillsborough and Franklin.
   Fans who departed at halftime missed a courageous comeback attempt by the Raiders, who desperately wanted to defeat their nemesis for the first time since 2000. I still remember that February night when Jared Jones, Kevin Burke and Jimmy Leonard led Hillsborough to the Delaware Division title with a big win on Franklin’s home floor.
   Hillsborough has endured many frustrations in this series over the past four seasons, losing a bunch of close ones that were decided in the final minute of regulation or overtime. It didn’t appear that last week’s county clash was going to be interesting in the fourth quarter.
   The HHS boys deserve tons of credit for not quitting after a most demoralizing second quarter. We’ve all seen the Franklin runs, typically highlighted by helter-skelter defense, transition baskets, emphatic blocked shots and an occasional dunk. The Warriors showcased all of these features during a 24-9 flurry that provided a seemingly insurmountable 17-point lead.
   With the Hillsborough girls playing 10 miles away on their home floor in the SCT semifinals vs. Bridgewater-Raritan, I considered driving over to catch the second half of that game. I had planned on leaving Franklin if the Raiders trailed by more than 10 at the half.
   Hillsborough was down by 14, so it was a no-brainer, right? I had a feeling that something special might happen in the second half, and it almost did. The Raiders played one of their best stretches of ball and nearly pulled out an amazing comeback.
   The Raiders picked up the pace on defense, forced turnovers and errant shots and made a run. HHS scored the first eight points of the second half to complete an 11-0 spurt that cut the deficit to six. The rest of the contest was riveting, with both teams fighting for points and loose balls.
   Franklin did a better job at the free throw line, hitting 9-of-11 in the fourth period and 14-of-18 for the game. The Raiders didn’t do well at the stripe (5-for-13) but certainly weren’t lacking for effort or intensity.
   "I’m so proud of them," HHS second-year head coach Ian Progin said. "Everyone thought it was over but I believed in the kids. This wasn’t the greatest year in terms of record, but they played so hard. The left their heart, blood and sweat on the court."
   Senior swingman Chad Barbieri did everything he could to fuel the charge. Barbieri was the best man on the court, scoring a game-high 22 points. He canned four 3-pointers, including the bomb that cut Franklin’s huge lead all the way down to three at 45-42 with 2:31 to play.
   "After that, I thought we were going to pull it back together at the end," Barbieri said. "The ball just didn’t bounce our way. We battled hard but we just fell short. It’s a curse."
   You can’t blame Barbieri and his teammates for feeling there’s some type of hex. Franklin always finds a way to beat the Raiders.
   Progin first experienced this curse as a Hillsborough player in the mid-1990s. There was that game in 1996 when six missed free throws in the final three minutes haunted the Raiders in a 40-38 loss. Progin, playing under then-head coach Paul Parker, nailed two threes in the second quarter to give the Raiders the lead. Franklin found a way to win that game.
   The Warriors also defeated Hillsborough in the county tournament in consecutive seasons in 2002 and 2003. The Raiders led by eight at the half in the SCT finals in 2002 but Franklin opened the second half on a 16-1 tear and rolled to a 50-41 victory. HHS blew an 11-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation in the county semifinals in 2003 and wound up on the short end of an agonizing 57-55 loss to Franklin.
   It was no secret that Progin and the Raiders listed a victory over Franklin as one of their primary team goals for the 2004-05 campaign. When things didn’t work out during the regular season, the HHS boys set their sights on a county tournament revenge victory.
   Hillsborough actually had a chance to win the county title with a sub-.500 record. With Rutgers Prep and Immaculata posting upset wins in the quarterfinals, the tournament remained wide-open when the final four teams took the court this past Tuesday night in Bridgewater.
   Unfortunately, the Raiders weren’t a part of it. The loss at Franklin also spelled the end of the fine careers of several upperclassmen.
   Barbieri, whose first sport isn’t even basketball, emerged as the team leader this winter. Classmates Brandon Shamy, Charles Miller, Mark Demetriou, Simeon Vargas, Justin Smith, Joel Brissett and Harold Acosta also never had the pleasure of defeating Franklin on the varsity level.
   Many great HHS players of the past certainly know the feeling.