No. 2 Chatham High School (N.J.) Boy’s basketball fell into an early 7-2 hole to Cranford.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!But behind a game-high 21 points from senior Michael MacAniff, the Cougars dug themselves out of the ditch and turned it around en route to a dominate 72-53 victory over seventh-seeded Cranford (18-9) in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Tournament Monday at home.
Though Chatham (23-5) did not play its best, according to head coach Todd Ervin, the team got the job done it the end. As the saying goes, a win is a win.
“We ended the first half poorly, and (we committed) lot of mistakes in the second half,” Ervin said. “We played sloppy, and we did not make any foul shots. Anyway, we’ll take it.”
Senior Marco Mannino said that one player on Cranford’s squad that gave him some trouble. But after he went to the bench, it opened up his game for scoring opportunities.
However, he did admit that the Cougars’ poor foul shooting could cost the Cougars in the near future.
“They had one big kid, but every time that kids was off the floor, I kind found my way to the basket pretty easy,” said Mannino, who poured in 12 points. “But we got to knock those foul shots if we want to win bigger games.”
While the Cougars trailed by five points 2:30 into the game, scoring contributions from several players in the first quarter had them leading Cranford, 25-15 by period’s end.
Chatham went on an 10-3 run over 2:53 to start the second quarter for a 35-18 advantage.
Cranford outscored the Cougars, 9-8, but Chatham held a sizable 43-27 lead at the break.
Junior Jalen Forehan-Kelly drained a three-pointer to open the scoring for a sizable 19-point Cougar lead in the first minute of the second half.
After a Cranford bucket, Kelly nailed one from behind the arc to extend Chatham’s advantage to 20 points.
Every time Cranford starting to show a little life, the Cougars doused its flame and kept their lead at 54-37 to end the third period.
With Cranford running out of gas, MacAniff dropped in another three to start the fourth quarter festivities and make it 57-37.
Chatham put the undeniable nail in Cranford’s coffin with a 11-0 run to swell its advantage to 70-43 with 3:40 remaining in the contest.
Senior Ryan Leach contributed 11 points, while senior Sonny Arden and Forehan-Kelly added nine points apiece in the victory.
The Cougars host No. 6 South Plainfield Wednesday night in sectional 2 semifinals (T.T.B.D.).
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