Bob Nuse

By: centraljersey.com
AJ Rubin is really enjoying playing basketball this year.
"This is such a great team to be a part of," the Princeton Day School senior said. "I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun playing basketball. Everybody on this team gets along great and we just enjoy playing with each other. It’s been great so far this year."
Not only are the Panthers having fun, but they are winning as well. Last week they improved to 5-3 on the season by beating Northern Burlington, 44-41, to capture the championship of the Delran Holiday Tournament. The Panthers had reached the finals with a 68-45 win over Delran in the opening round.
"I don’t think we have won a holiday tournament for at least the last 10 years or so," said Rubin, who had 10 points in the championship game win. "So to beat a Group II and a Group III team to win the championship is a nice accomplishment."
The Panthers used the defensive style that has worked so well for them this year to beat Northern Burlington in the final. They got most of the offense they needed from sophomore Davon Reed, who had 22 points. Rubin had 10 and Robbie Smukler added five for the Panthers.
"Everyone has worked hard and we have played well as a team defensively," Rubin said. "As long as we keep up our defense we feel like we can play with anybody. It’s been a complete team effort. Davon has done the bulk of the scoring, but we’ve had balance with the rest of the guys. Robbie can score and Chris Bonnaig has been scoring.
"Different guys have stepped up and done the job so far this year."
The Panthers have shown they are willing to step up in competition and play tougher teams to prepare for the Mercer County Tournament and state Prep B tournament later this year. Those are the prizes at the end of the line for PDS.
"Last year was a big year for us, getting to the Mercer County Tournament semifinals," Rubin said. "We have a good group back this year and we’ve started well. Two of our three losses so far this year are to Solebury, which is a real good team."
The Panthers were well prepared when they started the tournament at Delran. Reed, who was named the tournament MVP, had 24 points in the win over Delran in the opening round.
"Everybody on this team gets along great and the whole focus is on winning as a team," said Rubin, who is hoping to play college basketball at the Division III level next year. "There is no me-first attitude on this team. It’s great to be a part of a team like that. I think right now our main goal is to get better as a team and get ourselves prepared for the MCT and the Prep B later in the season.
"I think we have a shot to do well in both this year because of the way we play defense. We came into the season wanting to win one championship, which we have done and that’s is nice. But nobody is satisfied right now. We’re going to keep working and growing as a team to get ready for the tournaments at the end of the year."
While the Panthers were able to win their holiday tournament, the other Packet-area boys teams in action were not as fortunate.
WW-P South lost a pair of games at the ESCIT. After opening with a 72-50 loss to the host school, the Pirates dropped a 66-37 decision to Baltimore City College. Jake Donohue led the Pirates with 17 points in the loss to Baltimore City. In the opening game, Bryan Rivers scored 17 points and Donohue added 16.
Princeton and Montgomery both dropped a pair of games at the Vaughn Stapleton Classic at Bridgewater-Raritan. The Little Tigers fell to Piscataway, 67-50, in their opener of the tournament before falling to the host school, 58-50, in overtime in their second game. Against Piscataway, Eamon Cuddy scored 11 points, Eric Shorter had 10 and Ben Harrison added nine. In the loss to Bridgewater, Cuddy scored 17 points and Shorter added 14 for the Little Tigers.
The Cougars dropped a 43-39 decision to Bridgewater in their opener despite 15 points from Ryan McCoy. In the second game. Montgomery fell to Piscataway, 58-47, despite 14 points from McCoy and 13 from Matt Mignon.