March
10, 2005
WAYNE - At the beginning of December, Ramapo's basketball team traveled to Passaic Tech for a preseason scrimmage. On that day, sophomore Chris Fletcher came off the bench and hit five three-point field goals, most of them at the same end of the court.
Three months later on Wednesday night, the Raiders returned to Passaic Tech, only this time it was to face NBIL rival Demarest in the North 1, Group 3 sectional final. Fletcher, coming off a year in which injury and inconsistency had hurt his play, saw that his team would be shooting at that friendly basket in the second half.
For three quarters, Ramapo was having a nightmarish shooting game, but Fletcher took care of that in the fourth, hitting a trio of three-pointers as the Raiders overcame a double-digit second half deficit to defeat the Norsemen, 49-45.
The Raiders (21-6) earned their first sectional title since 1995, and will now head to East Orange High School on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. meeting with Shabazz, a 76-72 winner over Colonia on Wednesday in the North 2, Group 3 final.
With his team down 13 points in the second quarter, 10 at the half and 9 after three quarters, Fletcher was the catalyst of a 14-1 run that turned the game around in the fourth. He started the period with a three, hit another with 3:42 left to get Ramapo within one at 38-37, then swished an NBA-range trey with 1:52 to go that broke at 39-all tie and gave the Raiders the lead for good.
"I knew I would be coming off the bench," Fletcher remarked. "I knew in the second half we needed it, and I was really feeling it."
"He's been on the cusp all year," Ramapo head coach Joe Del Buono said of Fletcher. "We've been waiting and waiting. He's either been ill or nervous. It's hard to go from the 5:30 game (JV) to the 7:00 game (varsity), but we just couldn't give up on him."
Demarest (20-5) got a Steven Hunt free throw to go up four with 1:10 to go, then Jarret Solimando put in an offensive rebound to get Demarest back within two with 54 ticks on the clock.
The teams traded free throws to make it 44-42 before Jim Taranto hit one of two with 30 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game. A wild miss by the Norsemen was rebounded by Hunt, who was fouled and hit both with 19.8 to go. Taranto and Hunt each went one of two at the line before Jimmy Marsich hit a three-point heave at the buzzer.
While Fletcher was on fire, Demarest was not, as the Norsemen hit only 2 of 12 fourth quarter shots. Many of their attempts were in out-of-control situations with shooters flying across the lane.
"They got hot and we went cold," Demarest head coach Bob Rudolph lamented. "It's part of the game, but I thought we could have been a little more patient."
That was the opposite of the first half when Demarest was getting players in the lane for layups. Seven different players scored, with Christian Marghella dropping in 10 of his 11 points in the opening half. At one point, Demarest owned a 23-10 lead, and the Raiders missed all 11 of their three-point field goal attempts while shooting a paltry 7 of 29 from the floor.
"We needed to get the motion so that we're not easy to defend," Del Buono said of the second half, "Which freed up the kid for the drive and the kick, and sure enough, we found him. After the first three quarters, we were due."
Bill Bronander broke the ice with a three-pointer to open the third as Ramapo scored seven straight points to climb within 30-27. Rich Guillod helped Demarest stay up with three driving layups, the best offensive looks for Norsemen in a 6 of 24 second half shooting nightmare.
"Everyone just came together," Taranto said. "We had a bunch of kids come off the bench and play well and Shooter played well. We felt after the first half, with the shooting and turnovers, we couldn't play worse. Then we came right out and got those seven points."
The Raiders were just 1 of 15 behind the arc before Fletcher took over.
"We were expecting him to hit those shots," Hunt said of Fletcher.
"I kept fishing," Del Buono mused. "I needed an extra scorer because they were closing people out. This is something that he can do. That's my job, I'm the fisherman and I put the bait out there and the guys jumped at it."
Hunt had 19 points and 13 rebounds as the only player in double figures for Ramapo, which was 11 of 42 after three quarters before going 5 of 7 in the fourth to finish 16 of 49 from the floor (4 of 19 on threes). They were also 13 of 18 at the free throw line. Taranto had 4 steals and 3 assists after an uncharacteristic first quarter in which he turned it over three times.
Demarest got 12 points from Guillod and 11 rebounds from Kellen Hayes, but the aggressive Ramapo defense shut off Solimando (4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) and Hayes' point production, holding him to just 5.
"This demonstrates the chemistry we have on this team, and it is a compliment to the players," Del Buono said. "I am lucky to have the chance to coach these kids."
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