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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 26, 2009
Holiday Tournaments--Len Sepanak Tourney

Ridge Hangs On To Beat Colonia After Third Quarter Tear, 52-49

By Greg Machos
Decebmer 26, 2009

BASKING RIDGE, NJ--There weren't any holiday greetings for the Colonia Patriots on this day. A team that was playing with a roster that has nobody taller than 6'3", and only two seniors, was playing its third NJ Hoops Pre-Season Top 50 team when it traveled up to Northern Somerset County and Ridge High School to take on the Red Devils. Ridge, which lost standout player Ishaq Pitt, who transferred to St. John Vianney in Holmdel prior to the start of the season, was without another top player in Andrew Madlinger, who was injured. Nevertheless, the Devils, which compete in the Skyland Conference's Delaware West Division, were still in good shape with the likes of the talented Nick Cefalo taking the court.

Cefalo, who led Ridge to the Championship Game of the 2009 North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Football Championship before losing to Phillpsburg, is not a bad basketball player either. Although he struggled from the line in this one, he still managed to put together a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists while grabbing two rebounds and swiping a steal. Cefalo made four of eight shots from the floor, and another four from the free throw line while teammate Connor Skea had a team high of 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the floor, and 4 of 7 from the line while grabbing 9 rebounds and handing out three assists in a 52-49 victory over Colonia in the opening round of the 2009 Len Sepanak Holiday Tournament.

Ridge center, Tom Gambino, chipped in with 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the floor, and one of two from the line while grabbing five rebounds, handing out an assist, and blocking a shot. Christian Frisoli added 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals while Rob McCarthy contributed with 5 points and 3 rebounds. J.D. Moore rounded out the Ridge scoring with the first points of his varsity career on a three pointer. Meanwhile, Colonia was led by junior guard/forward, C.J. Gray, who registered a game high 18 points on 7 of 17 shooting from the floor including two threes while also making both free throws. Gray also collected four rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Junior guard, Matt Wagner clicked on 4 of 9 shots including 3 of 7 from long distance for 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Dave Cole added 8 points on 4 of 8 shooting along with 4 assists, 3 rebounds, a steal, and a charge while Justin Williams chipped in with 9 points on a perfect 3 of 3 shooting from the floor, and 3 of 4 from the line to go along with five rebounds and a steal. Aubrey McGlaughlin (2 points and a rebound) and Greg Jones (a point, five assists, and two rebounds) rounded out the scoring for Colonia while Moumoud Seleman (four rebounds and a charge) and Jordan McDaniel also played for the Patriots, but didn't score.

For the game, Ridge outscored Colonia in two of the four quarters with the fourth finishing in a 7-7 tie. The Devils, which reached the semifinals of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament last year before losing to eventual champion, Plainfield, made 20 of 38 shots from the floor for 53 percent including 3 of 13 from three point land. Meanwhile, the Patriots went 19 of 40 overall from the field for 48 percent including 5 of 18 from long distance. Moving to the foul line, Ridge was 9 of 20 for 45 percent while Colonia was 6 of 8. In other statistical areas, Ridge had edges in turnovers (14-18), total rebounds (23-22), offensive boards (9-7), assists (16-12), and blocks (1-0). Colonia had advantages in steals (5-4) and charges (2-0).

This contest was close throughout with neither team having a lead bigger than eight points while there were four lead changes and two ties. There was, however, a decisive run in the game. After Colonia went up 38-30 on a Wagner three pointer, Ridge embarked on what would be a decisive 15-2 tear over a span of about three minutes or so in the third for a 45-40 lead. The Patriots would get within one on several occasions in the fourth quarter, but couldn't pull out the win or force overtime. The first period was just about as even as you could get with Ridge taking a 16-15 lead while both teams shot 6 of 13 overall from the floor including two threes. The Devils got the edge at the line by going 2 of 4 in the frame while the Pats were just one of two.

Ridge jumped out to an early 6-3 lead thanks to three pointers by Frisoli and McCarthy while Colonia countered with a trey from Wagner prior to Gray getting fouled on the floor at the 6:43 mark of the first. The Red Devils then scored four of the next six points despite a turnover at the 4:38 mark as Frisoli and Skea got buckets for a 10-5 lead while Gray was 0 of 3 from the floor to start the contest. Cole got the Pats within three on a field goal before Skea stepped to the line, missed the first free throw, and another a 30 second timeout by CHS, made the second for an 11-7 lead at the 3:52 mark. RHS got a score to go up by six at 13-7 before Wagner connected on a trey from the left wing and Williams made one of two from the line after being fouled on a follow attempt for a 13-11 Devils lead at the 2:30 mark.

Gray then got on the board when he grabbed a rebound at the defensive end, and drove upcourt for a layup that tied the game at 13-13 with 1:30 left in the first. Wagner followed that up with a foul line jumper for the Patriots first lead of the contest at 15-13, but Ridge ended the period with the final three points incluidng a field goal and one of two from the line by Gambino for a 16-15 lead. Both teams had only two turnovers in the quarter while Colonia picked up four team fouls, and Ridge had three. In the second period, the Pats took the halftime lead with a 15-12 showing as they made 6 of 10 shots in the quarter including one of two from three while making two foul shots. The Devils, on the other hand, just made 4 of 8 shots from the floor including 0 of 4 from downtown while connecting on 4 of 6 at the charity stripe.

Turnovers were on the rise though as Colonia committed three in just the first 1:13 while Ridge added another bucket thanks to a Skea field goal off an assist by Cefalo for an 18-15 lead. Colonia responded though with a layin by Gray off an assist from Wagner to close within one at 18-17. Frisoli then missed two free throws at the 5:29 mark, but his teammates picked him up with a score for a 20-17 lead before Gray connected on the first of his two threes to tie the game at 20-20 with 4:19 to go in the opening half. A short time later, the Patriots were called for their seventh team foul, and Skea took advantage by making both ends of the bonus for a 22-20 lead at the 4:03 mark. Ridge added another score before Williams scored six straight points for Colonia including a layup from Cole, a steal for a layup, and two free throws for a 26-24 CHS lead at the 2:26 mark.

The Pats then added another score for a four point lead before Cole picked up his second foul of the game, and Cefalo netted two free throws at the 1:03 mark for a 28-26 Patriot advantage. Gray gave Colonia some breathing room temporarily with a steal for a layup, but Cefalo closed out the half with a score off a feed by Skea to make it a 30-28 Patriots lead at the intermission. Looking at the halftime team stats, CHS was 12 of 23 from the floor while RHS was 10 of 21. Colonia was 3 of 8 from beyond the arc while Ridge was 2 of 8. The Patriots were 3 of 4 from the foul line while the Devils were 6 of 10. Each team had seven turnovers and 12 total rebounds. Offensive boards were even at 4-4. Ridge had more assists (8-6) while Colonia had more steals (4-1) and charges (1-0). Neither team blocked a shot in the game's first 16 minutes.

Moving on to the individual statistics, Skea led all scorers with a game high 11 points at half as he made all four of his shots from the floor, and three of four from the line while picking up three rebounds and two assists. Gray led Colonia with 9 points on four of nine shooting while also collecting three rebounds and a steal. Cefalo chipped in for Ridge with 6 points and 4 assists while Wagner did the same for Colonia with 8 points on 3 of 6 shooting including 2 of 4 from three along with a rebound, assist, and steal. Williams scored seven of his points in the first half while grabbing four rebounds for the Pats, and Cole added 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a charge. Frisoli contributed for the Red Devils with 5 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist in the first two periods.

The third quarter saw the Patriots take control for a bit only to have the Devils surge into the lead for good. CHS began the second half with an 8-2 spurt over the first three minutes or so despite Cole picking up his third foul at the 6:12 mark. Gray and Wagner highlighted the run with three pointers. Gray's was from the left wing off an assist by Jones at the 7:35 mark for a 33-28 lead while Wagner's was from the right wing off a pass by Jones for a 38-30 lead. However, Ridge roared back with 15 of the next 17 points including one of two charity shots by Skea, a foul line jumper by Cefalo, a layup by Gambino (from Skea), a jumper by Skea, and a steal for a layup by Cefalo for a 45-40 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the third. Colonia got going again in the waning moments of the period as McGlaughlin got his only points of the game on a layup off a feed by Wagner with 11.2 seconds remaining for a 45-42 Ridge lead heading into the fourth.

Colonia then picked up right where it left off at the end of the third as Cole passed to Gray for a field goal at the 7:38 mark for a 45-44 Ridge lead. However, a little while later, the Devils entered the bonus as CHS picked up its seventh team foul. Cefalo couldn't take advantage as he missed the front end of a one and one at the 7:14 mark. The Red Devils would go back up by three again with a score before Cole responded with a floater for a 47-46 score. Williams then picked up his fourth foul at the 5:37 mark, and Cefalo made one of two from the line for a 48-46 RHS lead. Jones got Colonia within one again by making one of two from the charity stripe for his only points of the game, and a 48-47 score at the 4:29 mark. The Devils then went back up by three on a layup by Gambino off an assist by Frisoli before Ridge called a 30 second timeout with 4:13 to play.

Following the stoppage, Cefalo made a nice drive and dish to Frisoli for a score, and a 52-47 lead, but Gray got Colonia back to within three at 52-49 on two foul shots at the 2:52 mark. Neither team would score the rest of the way though. Although Cole picked up his fourth foul at the 1:58 mark, Skea missed the front end of a one and one. Ridge then went into the double bonus, but it made no difference. With 46.4 seconds remaining, Cefalo missed the first foul shot, and then after a Patiots timeout, he misfired on the second, but Skea picked up his teammate by grabbing the offensive rebound. After a Ridge timeout with 31 seconds left, Colonia stepped it up on defense, and forced the Devils to step out of bounds with 16.1 seconds to play. Unfortunately, Colonia was unable to tie.

The Patriots called a timeout with 10.8 seconds to go after getting the ball to midcourt. Colonia set up one last play, and got the ball in the hands of Wagner, but Ridge's defense forced him to take a tough shot from beyond the arc, and it went off the backboard and rim as time expired with the Red Devils emerging victorious with the 52-49 win. With the victory, Ridge advanced to the semifinals of the tournament to play Irvington, a first round winner over Rutgers Prep. The Devils improved to 3-0 while Colonia fell to 0-3, and played Rutgers Prep in the consolation round. Read the blog entry on this game as well as the one on the contest between Piscataway and Immaculata in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.

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