Monday, January 30, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Evan Bartlik was all over the place for Ridgewood, which went from bubble team to the Round of 16 with a 59-41 win over Lyndhurst on Sunday at Bergen Catholic.

ORADELL – Before last week there was a question of whether Ridgewood would even make the Bergen County Jamboree. The Maroons were squarely on the bubble with a schedule that included both perennial power Hackensack and previously undefeated Northern Valley/Old Tappan. A loss in either one of those games could easily have left Ridgewood on the outside looking in. All that has happened since then is that the Maroons won both of those games and barged into the Jambo as not only a solid qualifier, but as one of the hottest teams in Bergen County. The question was, how would they adapt now that the underdog role was gone and it was their first-round opponent that would be playing with that same fire looking to spring an upset?

The answer was that it took the Maroons a whole first half to adjust to playing with a new mindset. That was until Evan Bartlik rose up both figuratively and literally to provide just the spark Ridgewood needed to get over the hump and regain control of the game.

The high-flying Bartlik was all over the place in the second half, including a thunderous two-handed jam in the midst of a 15-0 third-quarter run where Ridgewood pulled away for a 59-41 win over Lyndhurst, the No. 21 seed, in the opening game of the Bergen County Jamboree at Bergen Catholic High School.

“The intensity Lyndhurst was playing with was the intensity we played with for the past week, we needed to get that back,” said Ridgewood’s Alex Cohen. “We never saw them play before and I think that showed early. They were very scrappy. Even though we were bigger and quicker, they made you work on every possession. We had to get the ball inside, force a few turnovers and get some easy baskets to get back into a rhythm.’

Danny Kesack had a team-high 14 points for Lyndhurst, which was making its first Jambo appearance since 2005.

Lyndhurst scored a hard-fought win over Saddle Brook on the night of the cutoff last Thursday to earn its first Jambo bid since 2005. It was given the lowest seed of all the teams in the tournament, but showed early that it was not intimidated. Justin Cosenza hit a jumper from just inside the top of the key and then another just outside the top of the key on consecutive possessions midway through the second quarter to give the Golden Bears their largest lead, 16-13. However, Ridgewood responded quickly as the 6-foot Bartlik finished off a fastbreak with another two-handed stuff and Alex Cohen hit Stefan Sengun for a backdoor layup that put the Maroons back in front, 25-21, at the half.

“I thought we had a shot there, but they forced some turnovers and then got on a roll,” said Lyndhurst head coach Jeff Radigan. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. How we handled their trap was going to be the difference in the game, one way or the other. In the first half, we handled it well and we got good shots. In the third quarter, we turned it over a couple of times in a row and before we knew it, we were down double-digits.”

Danny Kesack hit for a three-point play and then scored a tough basket inside to cut the lead to 29-26. The Maroons then got a spark from an unheralded player who was as crucial to their success as anyone on the floor. Senior guard Jon Edghill helped force three straight turnovers and scored the first five points of the game-changing run. Bartlik capped the run with a pair of acrobatic layups surrounded by another huge dunk. By the time it was all over, Ridgewood reeled off 15 consecutive points and ended any hopes of a Lyndhurst upset.

Stefan Sengun and Ridgewood will take on Tenafly in the Round of 16.

“Jon Edghill, I felt, was the one guy who really got us going and did it with defense,” said Ridgewood head coach Mike Troy. “Lyndhurst dictated the tempo the entire first half and we had to do the same to them in the second half. You know when you come into this tournament, every team is going to give it everything they’ve got and we had our hands full today. Once we got a few turnover and fastbreak baskets in the third quarter, it gave us a chance to relax and play our game.”

Bartlik scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the second half for Ridgewood (10-7). Cohen also had a solid performance with 16 points and seven rebounds. Kesack led Lyndhurst (9-5) with 14 points. Cosenza and Mike Walker each hit a pair of three-pointers and combined to score 18 points.

Ridgewood will turn back to the role of the underdog in next weekend's Round of 16 as it faces off against fifth-seeded Tenafly. Not only will the Maroons have to try and contain one of the county’s top players in Chris Orozco, but they will also have to face the Tigers on their home court. Either way, the Maroons are happy at where they are and look forward to proving themselves once again on a big stage against a top-notch opponent.

“We have nothing to lose and we’re going to come out ready to play,” said Bartlik. “Our defense really created our offense today and that’s what got us on track. Against Tenafly, it’s going to be a much harder game, but we’ll be ready for it. The level of play we had in the second half, we have to do for a full four quarters if we want to keep going. But we feel like if we play well that we have a pretty good shot and anything can happen.”

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