SOMERVILLE, NJ–After the Middlesex game against Hillsborough at the Immaculata Fall League, GMC Hoops stayed around to watch the final two contests of the evening, which involved non-conference schools. The two contests pitted teams from the Skyland Conference versus squads from the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. The first game matched up Ridge against Morristown while Bridgewater-Raritan took on Mendham in the nightcap. Below are capsules on both games:
Morristown vs. Ridge
Ridge jumped out to a 10-2 lead over the first five or six minutes of the game before Morristown scored the next four points including a steal that led to a nice move for a layup that closed the gap to 10-6 with 10:12 left in the first half.
Curtis Lyons and Chris Feringa then connected on short jumpers for a 14-6 lead at the 6:14 mark of the first half. Morristown closed the half on an 8-4 run including two FTs with 1.96 left to narrow the deficit to 18-14 at the break.
In the second half, Ridge scored 8 of the first 11 points over a span of 4:24 for a 26-17 lead at the 15:36 mark. Jeremy McCavera then added a conventional three point play for a 29-19 lead with 12 minutes remaining. Morristown wouldn’t go away though as the Colonials scored the next five points including a bucket at the 7:43 mark to cut the deficit in half at 29-24.
After a Ridge timeout, Morristown added a traditional three point play at the 5:22 mark to pull within two at 29-27. Mike Harris came up with a clutch basket as he was fouled to give Ridge a four point cushion prior to a timeout at the 3:33 mark. Morristown was then assessed a technical at the 1:54 mark, which resulted in two FTs by Feringa for a 33-27 Ridge lead.
Jake Hererra then added one of two from the charity stripe for the Red Devils with 1:48 left. Morristown rallied with two layups off steals including one with 1:16 left to close the gap to three again at 34-31. Hererra and Harris both helped keep Ridge ahead at 38-33 by knocking down a pair of free throws.
Feringa then put the game away with a huge block that was rebounded by McCavera, who was fouled and made one of two FTs for a 39-33 edge. Hererra then made both ends of the bonus with under 14 seconds to play to round out the 41-33 victory. Ridge is now 3-0 on the fall while Morristown falls to 2-1.
Mendham vs. Bridgewater-Raritan
The Minutemen of Mendham from Morris County and the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference jumped out to a 9-5 lead at the 12:27 mark after a layup and two technical free throws. Bridgewater rallied with 6 of the next 8 points over a span of 3:54 to tie the game at 11-11.
Mendham scored 4 of the next 6 points for a 15-13 lead before calling timeout with 6:40 to play in the first half. Bridgewater fought back again by scoring four unanswered points to take a 17-15 lead at the 2:44 mark. Despite just missing a heave inside the half court stripe before the end of the first half, Bridgewater scored another four points to end the half on an 8-0 run for a 21-15 lead at the intermission.
Bridgewater-Raritan opened the second half with a 10-9 run over the first 9:23 to increase its lead to 31-24. Over the next 2:53, the Panthers scored 6 of 10 points including a transition layup at the 7:44 mark for a 37-28 lead as Mendham called for time.
Mendham then scored 7 of the next 12 points over a span of 5:45 to close within 42-35 with 1:54 remaining and then sank a three pointer with 1:40 to play for a four point Bridgewater lead. The Panthers put the game out of reach with 26 seconds left for the 44-38 victory. With the win, Bridgewater win its first game of the fall and improved to 1-2 while Mendham lost its second straight after defeating Piscataway in the season opener to drop to 1-2.