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HILLSBOROUGH: Boys win home playoff game

Mitchell scored 19 in victory

by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
   It wasn’t beautiful, but it sure was exciting.
   The Hillsborough High boys’ basketball team needed a fourth quarter rally, a clutch shot from a freshman and a tough defensive stand in the closing seconds to defeat Skyland Conference rival Hunterdon Central in Tuesday night’s Central Jersey Group 4 playoff game.
   In a game that featured runs and lapses by both teams, the Raiders found a way to prevail thanks to a solid fourth quarter. As expected, the contest went down to the wire as the HHS boys watched a potential game-winning 3-pointer hit the rim as time expired in a 49-47 victory.
   The home fans really enjoyed this one. It was the first home state playoff game for the HHS boys in head coach Ian Progin’s six years at the helm. The Raiders and Red Devils made it a thriller.
   Alex Kenna, who scored all nine of his points in the second half, took Central’s last shot. The Red Devils opted to go for the victory instead of the tie but Kenna’s long shot from the right wing glanced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
   “I thought I gave him too much room,” said HHS junior forward Frank Mitchell, who led all scorers with 19 points. “He’s a good shooter. Luckily, he was a little tired and it hit the front rim. We’ll take it.”
   The Raiders looked like they were going to take it in the first quarter. They rolled to an 11-3 lead but Central mounted a comeback in the second and third quarters and led for most of the second half. Hillsborough trailed by five points early in the final period but scored six straight points to take the lead. The game went back and forth and the Red Devils went back up by one before the Raiders scored the next six points for a 48-43 lead with 1:26 to play.
   Mitchell, who was a force inside, gave the Raiders the lead for good on a driving runner with 3:13 to play. After the Red Devils came up empty on the other end, HHS freshman Jason Jolliffe nailed a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key, with help from a crushing pick from Kyle Banfield. Jolliffe’s second bomb of the night gave the Raiders a 47-43 lead with 2:36 remaining.
   “That three was big,” Progin said. “It opened it up and made it a two-possession game.”
   The Red Devils (14-8) wouldn’t go away. They forced a turnover and took advantage of two missed free throws to score the next four points and cut the deficit to one. Jolliffe made 1-of-2 free throws to make it 49-47 with 31.8 seconds left.
   Central was very disorganized on its final possession. The Raiders swarmed defensively and used the two fouls they had to give before the bonus and the Red Devils called their final timeout with 8.1 seconds to play. They didn’t get a great shot.
   “I didn’t know what they were going to do, but I thought the ball would go to (Robert) Silvis,” Progin said. “We were able to give a few fouls and they didn’t have any timeouts left.”
   The Raiders did a better job defensively than in their December victory over Central, a quick team of athletes and good long distance shooters. The Red Devils entered the CJ 4 playoff game on a four-game win streak and were playing their best ball of the season. The Raiders needed to clamp down defensively on a night where many of their shots weren’t falling.
   “We gave up 59 the first time we played them and they only scored 47 this time, so we have to look at that in a positive light,” Progin said. “That was good enough to put us in a position to win.”
   Banfield was a huge factor off the bench. He scored nine points, but his rebounding and presence in the paint helped turn the tide in the game. Banfield scored Hillsborough’s first four points of the fourth quarter to start the winning rally. Davin St. Rose also hit a big three off the bench late in the third period.
   The eighth-seeded Raiders (14-11) earned a trip to top-ranked West Windsor Plainsboro South (21-3) for Wednesday night’s sectional quarterfinals.
   “We haven’t won a home state playoff game in a long time,” Progin said. “The crowd was fantastic. They were great supporting the kids.”
   “We knew it was going to be a close one,” Mitchell said. “It came down to the fourth quarter, but we pulled it out.”