Boys Basketball Defeats Rahway 52-46

Sometimes it looked impossible. Sometimes it wasn't pretty, either, but the Summit High School boys basketball team managed to fend off a lightning-quick Rahway High School squad yesterday 52-46, getting an important win on the road and improving to a 3-2 record on the season.

"We have to tighten up our free throws and our decision-making," said Head Coach Eugene Maxwell.  "Our mental toughness was better, but our press defense has to get better.  We could have turned them over more.  Our man-to-man was good, but our zone (defense) wasn't–I worry more about defense.  Offense comes and goes."

In the first quarter, it looked to be anyone's game. Summit established a size advantage down low, with Matt Wooley rebounding well and Dwaine Dabney and Clayton Johnson holding down the sidelines. Rahway looked formidable off of turnovers: several cross-court passes resulted in points for the home team. At the end of the first quarter, Summit was ahead by three at 14-11.

Ryan O'Malley converted a long Shawn Hillis pass for two points, and drew a foul in the process to start the second quarter off with some intensity. Terry McKenna stripped a Rahway player in the paint shortly after, but Rahway picked up steam and went on a scoring run, cutting the Hilltopper lead to just a point at 21-20. 

Finally, a Summit turnover led to a Rahway bucket to put the Indians ahead by one. With the pace high, Coach Maxwell took a timeout to talk to his players. 

The break proved to be enough for the Hilltoppers to get some intensity back, as Cris Cafiero sprinted the length of the court to get a huge block without fouling after he gave up the ball on offense. Summit went into the half down two points, but well within striking distance.

In the third quarter, the Hilltoppers hit their stride: fighting a vicious full-court press, Wooley got the ball under the hoop and converted a layup, drawing a foul in the process, to give his team a one-point lead. Rahway fought back to make it 24-23 in their favor on the next possession, but a David Newton reverse layup put Summit in front again. The team went into the ensuing timeout looking confident, calm, and poised to fight for a win.

The lead exchanged hands again, as the Indians went up 32-27 off a series of Summit turnovers and missed shots. After another timeout, another turnover turned into two points for Rahway to give them a commanding lead at 34-27.

If you watch high school basketball, though, you know that it only takes a moment for a team to get hot. Sometimes, all it takes is a shot: Shawn Hillis drained a big three-pointer from distance to bring the Hilltoppers within four, and the run was on. 

A huge Matt Wooley block followed by points from McKenna and Hilllis off of Rahway turnovers tied the game at 34. David Newton was fouled, put away one of two shots, and dished the ball to Wooley for a layup on the next possession to put the Hilltoppers ahead 37-34 at the end of the third quarter.

Rebounding was important to Summit throughout the game, but a McKenna put-back off a missed layup helped to continue momentum into the final quarter - his heart in the final minutes of the game was hard to miss. On the next possession, he got the ball to Newton for an inside layup to make it 41-34 Summit, and on the next he hit a bank shot from the left side to tack on two more points.

One would be hard-pressed to pick an MVP, but both McKenna and Hillis came up big several times in the waning minutes of the game–the latter of whom knocked down a deep three after making a layup on the previous possession to put the Hilltoppers ahead 48-40 with 2:12 left on the game clock.

 After scoring on their previous possession, a three-point play for Rahway off a shooting foul put them within two points of the Hilltoppers as the Indians started fouling for the ball.  Both Newton and Cafiero put away their free throws, though, and the Hilltoppers held on for the 52-46 win.

Sean Hillis was proud of the way his team worked through adversity in the middle quarters of the game.  "We did pretty well to start," he said after the game.  "In the second half, they came back, but we rebounded really well.

"This was a big win for us," Hillis added, "coming off of a two-game skid.  We need to improve on free throws, but we can keep up with good teams.  I think we can make it far."

Hillis's teammate George Plaza agreed, noting that the team "played an average first quarter, but stepped it up in the second.  We boxed out well."

Summit's center Matt Wooley explained that, "it's tough to come back from a deficit.  Having them come back too, made it a tough game overall.  They were definitely good, but our interior defense is a strong point."

One thing the Hilltoppers have been working on in practice is strengthening the mental aspect of basketball.

"In practice all week we have been getting in shape, focusing on the mental game and getting mentally ready," Plaza said.

Maxwell said that while "keeping our head was the most important thing," there is plenty of room for improvement.

The Hilltoppers take on Governor Livingston at home on Tuesday, where they hope to continue their winning ways in pursuit of a state playoff berth.