NORTH EDISON, NJ–Late Wednesday afternoon, GMC Hoops took a short trip over to the Wardlaw-Hartridge school to see the Rams in action against South River in The Battle of the Rams. Wardlaw had the lead just about the entire way with South River only holding an edge briefly in the fourth quarter. Wardlaw turned a 34-33 deficit with five and a half minutes left into a 52-37 lead with just seconds to go en route to a 52-40 victory. Below are the notes from the game:
First Quarter
7:00–Arrive–Wardlaw leads 3-0. Â South River ties it a short time later.Â
5:00–Wardlaw goes on top on a layin by Noah Ganz.
4:27–SR–gets a basket and a foul, but misses bonus FT–score tied at 5-5.
4:16–WH–Matt Rosado is fouled, and makes both FTs for a 7-5 lead.
0:00–Wardlaw leads 11-8 at the end of one. Â Justen Davis provided one of the scores for WH while South River got a bucket at the 2:16 mark by Tyler Harris, and one of two from the line by Harris with 1:29 left in the frame. Â WH also drew two charges including one by Arturo Matrinez and another by John Belfer.
Second Quarter
6:26–Wardlaw jumps out to a 15-8 lead on two scores including one off a steal by Ganz.
3:32–Wardlaw timeout–follows a breakaway layup off steal, and a three pointer from the right wing by Thomas Drum. Rams on a 9-4 run. Â Both teams hustling, drawing charges, and blocking shots. Â WH leads 19-17.
1:01–South River calls for timeout after Wardlaw puts together a 7-2 spurt including a layup by Martinez and a three pointer from the left wing by Ganz  for a 26-19 lead.
Wardlaw leads at the half, 26-19.
Third Quarter
4:41–Wardlaw calls timeout–still leads 29-25, but South River is closing. The Rams have put together a 6-3 spurt to open the half including scores by Harris and Danny Boychuck. Â Wardllaw’s only points came on a three point play by Justen Davis at the 6:23 mark for a 29-21 lead.
36.9–Wardlaw calls timeout after getting hold of a loose ball. Â South has pulled within two points on a couple of occasions thanks to layups by Harris at the 3:11 mark and Gomez at the 1:50 mark, but Wardlaw still leads by four at 33-29 thanks to a layup by Rosado with 1:15 to go in the period.
0.0–South River pulls within one at 33-32 on a three pointer from the left corner by Harris. Â SRHS outscores Wardlaw by a 13-7 margin in the third.
Fourth Quarter
6:04–South RIver calls timeout. Â Wardlaw leads 40-33. Â After SR took its first lead of the game at 34-33 with 7:28 to go, Wardlaw scored seven straight points including a hoop by Davis at the 7:21 mark, a steal for a layup by Davis as he was fouled at the 7:14 mark, and then a three pointer by Ganz.
51.8–Wardlaw leads 50-37 with Kush Mody at the line. Â Mody makes one of two free throws for a 51-37 lead. Â Despite having struggles at the foul line, Wardlaw has put together an 11-1 tear after South River drew within four at 40-36 with 5:30 remaining. Â Rosado handed out an assist on one score while also converting a three point play at the 4:28 mark for a 45-36 lead. Â Belfer added a basket while Nick Palko added two scores also in the run.
0.0–South River gets a three pointer from the right side by Drum as time runs out, but Wardlaw wins 52-40. Â Rosado wrapped up WH’s scoring with one of two from the line with under 30 seconds left. Â Wardlaw outscored South River by a margin of 19-5 until the Rams got the late three from Drum.