Cardinals Defense Shuts Down Cranford To Pull Away, 56-33
RAHWAY, NJ–Still in the mood to watch some more hoops action on Wednesday night after Colonia’s win over Wardlaw in the lone GMCT Preliminary Round matchup of the day, the site traveled over to Rahway High School to watch the remainder of the contest between sixth seeded Plainfield and Cranford in the second round of the 2013 Union County Tournament.
Cranford was coming off a first round win over Jonathan Dayton on Sunday night. Dayton had entered the game with a 16-2 record, which was good enough to earn the top seed in the North Jersey Section 2 Group I tournament, which is scheduled to begin later this month. Plainfield has come close to having some upsets itself with close losses to the likes of the Patrick School, Ridge, and Roselle Catholic while compiling a more pedestrian 10-12 record this season after two straight Group III State Championships, and appearances in the Tournament of Champions final.
While the Cardinals lost their entire starting lineup from last year including Justin Sears (Yale), Sekou Harris (FDU), and Dijon Allen-Jordan, they still have plenty of talent with a lot of athleticism. The Cards still also know how to play defense. Plainfield had four different players score in double figures led by Wade Brown with 13 points. Ahmad Baker added 11 points while Denzel Johnson and Jachai Simmons each added 10. Plainfield’s defense was the story though. Over the last 12:30 of the contest, Cranford only scored 10 points, and had two significant scoring droughts.
The first came in the final 4:30 of the third period. With Plainfield leading 34-23, the Cardinals shutdown the Cougars the rest of the way while scoring the final 11 points of the period including a breakaway layup by recent Piscataway transfer, Clarence “Jo Jo” Hoover, and a three pointer from the left corner in the waning moments of the period for a commanding 45-23 lead. Cranford tried to battle back with a 7-0 run to start the fourth as the hit on a couple floaters, and then a three pointer from the right wing to pull within 45-30 with a little more than a minute and a half gone by in the final frame.
At this point, Plainfield was a bit vulnerable. The Cardinals were missing shots, turning the ball over, and also struggling at the line. The Cards missed their first five free throws in the fourth, and then committed lane violations on the second of two free throws twice. Despite Plainfield’s struggles, Cranford couldn’t take advantage and perhaps make a run to get back into the game. Plainfield’s defense rose to the challenge, and shut the Cougars down for another four minutes as the Cardinals went on a 9-0 run for a 54-30 lead. Cranford didn’t score again until the Cougars hit a three from the left wing with 2:33 left.
Plainfield may be a bit rough around the edges offensively, but they were stout on defense. The Cardinals limited Cranford to many one and done possessions. Standout player Reggie Green, who recently collected a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds against New Brunswick, and had 10 points in the win over Dayton, had no points in the final 12:30 of the game, and went to the bench midway through the fourth. The Cougars were just limited to four field goals including two threes in the final quarter and a half of the contest, and were held scoreless four about 10 of those minutes.
If the Cardinals can concentrate better on offense, minimize the mental mistakes, and produce better on offense, they may be able to pull off a shocker yet this season.