Cougar Classic: Chatham HS Boy’s Basketball’s Big Run Ignites Win Against Cranford; MacAniff Drops in 23

Chatham High School Boy’s basketball team seemed to have its hands full with a solid shooting Cranford squad early on in the affair.

But it took a 17-0 Cougar run over a five-minute stretch from the near end of the third quarter to 4:05 left in the game that helped distance themselves from Cranford (3-1), as it won, 71-58, Monday night at home in the day three (Day 2 for Chatham) of the Cougar Classic.

Behind 23 electric points from dynamic senior guard Michael MacAniff, Chatham ran its record to 5-0 with the victory.

Cougar head coach Todd Ervin felt the tide turned when Cranford began to show signs of wearing down, enabling Chatham to execute its game plan more effectively.

“We started making some shots, started spreading the ball around a little bit,” Ervin said of the turning points of the game. “I think they got tried. We’re used to playing at that speed, mostly the whole game. We’ll take it. They’re a good team; they shot the ball well.”

The Cougars trailed 16-10 in the first quarter, as Cranford shot well from the floor.

But Chatham, true to form, battled its way back into the contest, with MacAniff dropping in 11 points to help slice the deficit to a point (32-31) by the end of the first half.

However, Cranford junior Brody Ewing nailed a three-pointer to give his team a four-point lead early in the second half.

But Cougar senior point guard Ryan Leach brought the contest to a point before Cranford sank two from beyond the arc to take a seven-point advantage.

Then, Chatham senior Marco Mannino scored back-to-back baskets to make it a three-point affair with 4:21 to go in the third period.

But senior Dylan Aveno pushed Cranford’s lead to 43-38. Cougar senior Nick Fabijanic responded with a bucket of his own to trim it to a three-point game with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

Then, Mannino hit one of two from the charity stripe, and senior Lochlan Mahoney tied it at 43-all with 1:36 to go in the third period.

However, sophomore Nate Aveno fired a successful three-pointer for a 46-43 advantage before Chatham’s unprecedented run separated them from Cranford in the fourth period.

Leach poured in 14 points while his sick ball-handling skills kept the rock away from Cranford in the waning minutes of the tilt. Senior Sonny Arden, a two-sport athlete, contributed eight points in the victory.

Senior Enzo Madrini scored a team-best 20 points for Cranford.

The Cougars face New Providence today at 7:00 p.m. in the final day of the 2025 Cougar Classic.

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