AMITIE DOUBLE-DOUBLE (32 PTS, 14 RBS) VS CARDINALS
Stylish assists and some effective outside shooting put the 11th-seeded Cranford High School boys basketball team on the right path to a 69-55 victory over the New Providence Pioneers in the preliminary round of the Union County Tournament (UCT) in Cranford on February 6. The Cougars dished out 22 assists in the game and sank eight 3-pointers in the first half alone. On February 8, the Cougars knocked off the sixth-seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders, 5648, in Scotch Plains then on February 10, they toppled third-seeded Plainfield, 62-54, in the quarterfinal round.
The Cougars took a sleight 19-15 lead in the first quarter against the Pioneers and Nick Amitie (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) hit a pair of 3pointers, two free throws and added a lay-up for 10 of his points. Jack McGuire (5 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds) hit a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer, and Josh Ketschke (2 assists, 3 rebounds), who led the Cougars with 19 points, sank a pair of 2-pointers. TJ Munn (3 rebounds), who led the 145 Pioneers with 13 points, pumped in 11 points in the quarter. Peyton Pazdera and Corey Rust (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, steal, block) each scored two points.
The Cougars opened up the game with a 26-12 run in the second quarter to take a comfortable 45-27 halftime lead, which allowed some of their starters to catch some resting time in the second half. Amitie scored his other five points, including his third 3-pointer. Ketschke banged a pair of 3-pointers and Dylan Aveno (3 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds) sank a 3pointer, 2-pointer and a free throw. Chris Santarelli (4 rebounds, 5 points, block, steal) nailed a 3-pointer, Chase Teel scored four points and Ryan Klimko scored two points.
Pioneer Jackson Zarinko (11 points – 4-for-6 free throws, 3-pointer – 4 assists, 5 rebounds) netted five points in the second quarter. Pazdera (4 steals, assist), who led the team with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) had four points, Munn scored two points and Andrew Nook (3 rebounds, 2 assists) sank a free throw.
By game’s end, Teel would finish with 10 rebounds, three assists and six points. Darren Bush finished with five assists, two points and two rebounds. Klimko had four points and two assists. Sean Riley finished with five points, three rebounds and an assist. Pioneer Sean Reilly had six points (3-pointer), Jim Miller sank a 3-pointer and Luca Vitale finished with two points.
The UCT victory set up a rubber match with the SPF Raiders. The Cougars had beaten the Raiders, 6044, in their first meeting but were stopped, 53-38, in the second meeting. The Cougars recorded 18 assists and Ketschke caught fire again with 15 points, while adding a rebound, assist and a steal. Amitie chalked up another double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds to go with three assists and a block.
Teel (assist) came close to a doubledouble with 10 points and nine rebounds. McGuire finished with six points, two assists, five rebounds and a steal. Aveno had five points, four assists and a rebound. Bush had three assists, two points and a rebound. Klimko had two points, two rebounds and an assist. Santarelli had three assists, three points and three rebounds. Riley grabbed a rebound.
Raider Jaden Carpien sank 14 points (2 3-pointers) and added two steals and a rebound. Kyle Hunter nailed trip 3-pointers and pulled a rebound. Sam Sponheimer finished with eight points, three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Jack Sponheimer had four points, four rebounds, two assists and a block. Anderson Pollack netted five points (3-pointer) and three rebounds. Jack Wall had three assists, two blocks and four rebounds. Brayden Gal sank a 3pointer and had a rebound. Caleb McDowell finished with four assists, three points, three rebounds, a block and a steal. Jacob Handy (steal) sank a pair of free throws.
Against the 15-7 Cardinals, the 195 Cougars had a 23-11 run in the second quarter to grab a 35-24 lead. The Cardinals cut the lead to 45-42 entering the fourth quarter but the Cougars stepped up their pace to secure the victory. Amitie was unstoppable with 32 points and 14 rebounds for another double-double.
“Yeah it was another fun game. This group is special, and obviously led by Nick. It’s easy to coach when you have a team that not only has great basketball players but plays really great team basketball and can also execute a game plan,” Cougar Head Coach Sean Trotter expressed.
Teel came close to a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Ketschke pumped in 11 points and grabbed six rebounds.Aveno had four points, Santarelli scored two points and McGuire sank a free throw. Kamai Lowery led the Cardinals with 14 points (2 3-pointers). Micah Gordon finished with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Marcus Richards nailed a pair of 3pointers and had five assists and four steals. Zander Anyanwu had seven points and four assists. Joel Cordoba and Antonio Ruiz each netted five points.
Coach Trotter concluded, “I’ve told our guys throughout the year that when we play to our ability, we can play with anyone. And it all comes from the work ethic of these kids. They took last year’s record personally. They were embarrassed but instead of sulking about it, they got in the gym and worked, so this season has been no surprise to me after seeing how hard they worked in the off-season. Now we need to keep on rolling.”
