HILLSBOROUGH: Raider hoop teams fall in CJ IV openers

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   The fourth quarters were not kind to the Hillsborough High School boys and girls basketball teams as both lost in the first round of the state tournament Monday to end their seasons.
   The Raider girls lost, 58-42, to Freehold Township while the boys lost, 67-64, to Rancocas Valley.
   The Raiders girls were a decided underdog as the No. 13 seed in Central Jersey Group IV against fourth-seeded Freehold Township, but they cut a double-digit lead to three points by halftime and were a basket away from tying the game.
   ”I had to switch out of my trap to man-to-man,” said Raider girls coach Charlie Davis. “The girls did a real nice job. We frustrated them and it took them a quarter to figure out what we were doing.”
   ”Then they came out and had four different girls hit 3-pointers in the fourth quarter,” he said. “They’re a good team. That’s what they do. They shoot 3-pointers, and they made 12 for the game.”
   Despite 26 points from Kristina Vangeli, the Raiders ended their season at 8-15. Alexis Pezza added eight points. Stephanie Lamanna had five points and Danielle Gemignani hit one 3-pointer.
   ”The girls did a nice job,” Davis said. “We hustled and we battled and battled and came up short.”
   The Raider girls did that all year with a young group, most of whom will be back next year, including Vangeli, with higher expectations.
   ”I’m happy,” Davis said. “I only have two seniors. I’m pleased. I think we went above and beyond what I expected this year. The girls really overachieved. We have some girls that really stepped up. I’m happy with the season. I think the season was very successful. Even if the record didn’t show it, I thought the season was very successful.”
   Few knew quite what to expect for the Hillsborough boys either. They came into this season with big holes to fill, but after a strong start, they had big expectations for states. They also fell behind early, trailing by 11 with 5 minutes to go in the second quarter and their top post player, Kenny Gan, on the bench with two fouls. Even without Gan in, Hillsborough clawed back to take a one-point lead at halftime.
   ”I just felt like if we played any kind of defense at all, in terms of getting consecutive stops, we would have been fine,” said Raider boys coach Ian Progin. “We weren’t able to get consecutive stops. We were able to get one stop. We weren’t able to get two and three in a row, and that mounts over the course of four quarters of a game.”
   Hillsborough was down a point after three quarters, but built a four-point lead with 2:30 to play on back-to-back 3-pointers by Mike Morelli. But the seventh-seeded Raiders would not score again as 10th-seeded Rancocas finished the game on a 7-0 run for the upset win.
   ”In the final couple minutes there, especially in the last few seconds, we really didn’t execute anything,” Progin said. “That was disappointing. The combination of giving up 67 points and lack of execution at the end where we had some silly turnovers and couldn’t get some shots off, that was our downfall.”
   The Raiders were led by their senior trio of Steve Hydzik (game-high 18 points), Morelli (17 points, including five 3-pointers) and Gan (12 points despite not playing the final seven minutes of the second quarter with foul trouble).
   ”Steve was good,” Progin said. “Morelli was good. Gan was good. I thought the guys that played, played pretty well. Everyone that got in the game played pretty well. We just didn’t play well enough to win. Defensively, it wasn’t there.
   ”If someone would have told me we’d score 64 tonight, I would have thought we’d win.”
   Greg Faenza was hot early for nine points. Cody Watts delivered four points. Matt Hornich and Devonn Foster had two points apiece in key minutes off the bench. They are part of the future.
   The game was the last for seniors like Hydzik, the point guard for the past two seasons, Morelli, Gan, Watts and Pete Santorelli, who provided muscle inside.
   ”These are all guys that have been with the program for four years and have improved every year,” Progin said. “They’re going to be missed. It’s the winningest senior class in school history. They have 37 wins in two years, that’s a phenomenal accomplishment so they’re really going to be missed. We have pieces coming back, but next year is all going to be about how hard people work in the offseason.”
   It will be another hard act to follow. Despite a disappointing ending, the Raiders had battled all season to produce another special year.
   ”It was a really good year, 17-8, coming off a 20-6 last year with basically a new group,” Progin said. “We only had two kids come back that had any sort of significant playing time last year. A lot of guys really stepped up and had good years and I’m very pleased and proud of this group.
   ”I had a lot of fun with this group. They made it easy to coach. They were very likable kids and very coachable kids. All in all, it was a positive season. Tonight hurts. You never want to be in a tournament and go out after the first game.”