SOUTH HUNTERDON: South to face North on Saturday

By James Evans, Special Writer
   South Hunterdon’s boys’ basketball team advanced to this Saturday’s second round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament with second-half blowout of the Vernon Vikings, 73-39, on Friday.
   The second-seeded Eagles will host North Hunterdon in the next tournament game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
   Due to the expected crowd, blue regular season passes will not be accepted for the county tournament. A ticket pre-sale will take place on Friday from 7:30- 8:15 a.m., during school lunch and from 5-6 p.m.
   Ticket costs are: Adults, $3; students and seniors, $2.
   ”We do expect a sell-out crowd, so please get your tickets in advance,” said a South spokesman.
   THE EAGLES (15-4) led, 34-30, at halftime, and looked susceptible to a first-round upset. Led by senior guard Jake Whittaker, who had a season-high 25 points, South ran away with the game in the second half, outscoring the Vikings, 39-9.
   In three of their four losses, the Eagles have effectively buried themselves in the third quarter. That, in conjunction with half of their points coming from Whittaker in the first half, was not a good sign for the team.
   Coach Jason Miller would not have any of it.
   ”He ripped into us at halftime and was unusually heated,” said Whittaker, who added 6 steals and 2 rebounds in the contest.
   Also playing well was senior center John Conlon, who had 8 points and 10 rebounds.
   Conlon gawked at the stat sheet in shock that he was a mere basket from his second double-double performance of the season.
   ”I absolutely had no idea I was that close,” said Conlon. “We all just played like a team tonight and we need to execute if we want to move onto the next round.”
   The Eagles will play on the road against North Plainfield today, Thursday, Feb. 13.
   South Hunterdon won handily Feb. 6 against the Manville Mustangs, 88-25, in what was the 100th win of South Coach Miller’s career.
   With a starting lineup that featured junior guard Tyler Frazee, the Eagles got off to an 18-0 lead in the first quarter. Frazee finished with 10 points and 7 assists.
   At halftime, the Eagles were on pace to hit 100 points with a 54-12 advantage. Many of the starters sat. One was senior guard Jake Whittaker.
   Whittaker smiled when he told of how in the third he “knew he wouldn’t be coming back in.” Whittaker, who had 11 points and 4 steals, commended the Mustang players for their heart.
   ”I have to say, those guys go out there and play no matter what the score is, and that really means something,” he said.
   Junior guard D’Andre Acosta had five rebounds and a team-high 16 points. Acosta said that he “played well out there and was able to get in some good reps at practice despite the miserable weather.”
   The top storyline was Coach Miller earning his 100th win. Many of the older students around the school remember when Miller was first starting out, and how the basketball program has evolved under the young coach.
   Postgame, Miller said he “couldn’t actually remember his first win,” but that “the 100 wins really speaks to the players” and not about him.
   ”Although this was a special win, I’d always appreciate a county title or a state title so much more,” the coach said. “Numbers are numbers, but those wins are what last.”