February
27, 2007
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| Point guard David Weinberg made two key plays in the final 30 seconds to help Ramsey hold off Pequannock, 45-42, for its first State tournament win in seven years | |
RAMSEY -- Ramsey had not played a state tournament game since the 1999-2000 season, so it would be easy to excuse the Rams if they had gone out and laid an egg in their postseason opener.
Once they owned a 13-point lead over Pequannock entering the fourth quarter, it would have been inexcusable to have not won their first playoff game in seven years. Yet, there they were, having squandered the entire advantage and actually gone down a point in the final minute.
The Rams needed somebody to step up, and it was the smallest player on the floor who made two of the biggest plays in the final half minute, allowing Ramsey to live to play another day with a 45-42 boys basketball win the first round of the NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 playoffs.
Ramsey will return to its home floor on Wednesday when it takes on Glen Rock, a winner over Jefferson in their first round game, at 7:00 p.m.
David Weinberg stands maybe 5-foot-4, but he stood tall in the waning moments of the game. Trailing 42-41, Pequannock missed the front end of a one-and-one with 38 seconds left. The Rams rebounded and got the ball to Weinberg, and the point guard brought it across halfcourt.
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| Jay Bionde led Pequannock with 15 points, 10 of them during the furious fourth quarter rally. |
Clint Lynch made a diagonal cut to the basket from the left side, and Weinberg fed him as he was foul line extended. Lynch drove and scored the layup with 31 seconds to go to put the Rams (12-13) back in front.
“Lynch just called out,” Weinberg recalled. “We had good communication.”
The Panthers (10-14) came down and got the ball to Jay Bionde, who had already scored 10 points in the fourth quarter rally. His baseline jumper would not fall with 13 ticks on the clock, and Ramsey’s Tim Van Harmelen rebounded and was fouled. After a timeout, Van Harmelen dropped in both free throws to extend the lead.
Pequannock tried to come down the floor quickly to set up a three, but a pass to the front court came a bit short and ended up near the feet of a Panther player. Weinberg came in and took it away with six seconds left. He was fouled with :02 on the clock, and even though he missed the free throw, there was no time left to Pequannock to get off a final shot.
“He’s the smallest guy on the court but he has a huge heart,” Ramsey head coach Ken Schmarge said about Weinberg, who had seven steals, five assists and six points. “He has poise under pressure.”
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| Ramsey center Scott Peterson found some space inside in the third quarter when the defense switched from zone to man-to-man. |
It didn’t
look like there was going to be a need for any late heroics, as Ramsey turned
a 12-11 lead after one quarter into bulges of 25-18 at halftime and 37-26
after three periods. Weinberg hit a pair of jumpers in the lane early, Lynch
had seven first half points and Scott Peterson had eight in the third period.
“The middle was wide open and we were able to get some easy shots,”
Weinberg related.
Lynch hit a three-point field goal and Weinberg scored off a steal to open the second quarter, and the Rams were able to control the tempo.
Peterson, their leading scorer at 17 plus points per game and a 70 percent shooter from the field, had only three in that first half, but he finally got the ball in the paint in the third quarter, scoring three baskets off highly contested passes and shots.
“They did a good job of putting two guys on him the whole time,” said Ramsey head coach Ken Schmarge. “When they switched to man-to-man, he was able to shake loose a few times and we moved the ball to get it inside.”
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| T.J. Speer's final basket gave Pequannock a lead with 1:43 to go. |
Van Harmelen hit the final bucket of the third period and opened the fourth with a layup to make it 39-26, and the lead was still ten at 41-31 when Bionde stole a bad pass in the Ramsey end and scored a layup with 3:19 to go.
That bucket sparked the Panthers, who went on an 11-0 run beginning with that hoop. Bionde had a layup and T.J. Speer hit consecutive baskets, getting fouled on the latter with 1:43 to go.
He missed the free throw, but Jordan Tabakman got the rebound and the putback basket to tie the game. A Ramsey miss was rebounded by Speer and the Rams fouled with 1:03 to go.
“You really can’t replicate the urgency in practice,” Schmarge said. “We just had to concentrate and execute, and we got just enough.”
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Collector's
Print of Ramsey's STATE TOURNAMENT WIN |
Bionde hit the first to give Pequannock the lead, but missed the second. Nick Buonforte rebounded for the Panthers, who were fouled with 41 seconds remaining. Again they missed the free throw, and again they got the rebound, this time from Matt Breen. He was fouled and also missed the foul shot, setting up the final scenario.
Bionde had 15 points and Tabakman 12 for the Panthers, who were 16 of 47 shooting (1 of 12 on three-pointers) and 9 of 16 at the line. Speer had 10 rebounds and 3 assists while Bionde added five steals.
Ramsey hit 18 of 40 field goals (1 of 9 threes) and 8 of 13 free throws. Peterson had 13 points and Lynch 11, with Peterson and Raphael Husunu each grabbed seven rebounds.
“This feels good,” Schmarge commented. “It’s great to get one under our belts the first time back in the tournament.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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