Sunday,
January 12, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Matt Grassi helped Ramapo get off to a fast start and the Green Raiders handed rival Indian Hills its first loss, 51-43, on Saturday afternoon in Franklin Lakes. |
FRANKLIN LAKES – As both schools share students from Oakland, Wyckoff, and Franklin Lakes, it is always an event when Ramapo and Indian Hills lock horns in any sport. There is always an automatic rivalry in place. But in terms of boys’ basketball, the rivalry has been put on simmer in recent years as both teams have been through a growing process. This time around, it is much different.
Heading into Saturday afternoon's matchup, both teams were undefeated this late in the season for the first time in recent memory. In front of a packed house, it was apparent early that whoever set the tone would have a decided advantage.
Ramapo took an early lead and held it throughout, but it was a nine-second span late in the second quarter that gave the Green Raiders the necessary breathing room they needed. Consecutive turnovers led to 3-point baskets by Alex Gitkin and Matt Latka to make it a double-digit lead, one Ramapo held until the final seconds to stay undefeated with a 51-43 triumph over previously unbeaten Indian Hills at Ramapo High School.
“Indian Hills is a big rivalry, but we have to come every game ready to play,” said Latka. “We tried to pressure their guards. Any time their guards are dribbling the ball in the back court, we’re there in position just trying to cause havoc. Our conditioning was big today because we can wear their players down a bit and maybe force a few more turnovers that way.”
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Senior Ryan Warnet, who scored the 1,000th point of his career last week, led Indian Hills with 14 points. |
Matt Grassi got Ramapo off to a good start with a pair of buckets inside during an opening 12-4 spurt. The lead was six with just over three minutes to play in the first half when the Ramapo’s pressure finally wore down the Indian Hills backcourt. After a turnover in the frontcourt, Gitkin nailed a 3 near the top of the key. Mike Gostkowski then picked off a lazy inbounds pass and dished it off to Latka, who hit a 3-pointer of his own as Ramapo needed just nine seconds to double its lead from 6 to 12 before taking a 10-point lead, 26-16, into the locker room for halftime.
“Those two 3-pointers were killers for us,” said Indian Hills’ head coach Tom Curry. “They are so strong defensively and so strong on the glass that putting the ball in the basket on any possession is a challenge. When you fall behind by 10 against a team like Ramapo on their court, you’re in trouble.”
Ramapo led by as many as 16 when Joe O’Hagan’s only field goal attempt of the game resulted in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter with the Raiders in front 43-27.
Indian Hills got two baskets from Matt Jensen and another from Noah Menner in a 6-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter that cut the lead to 10 with six minutes to play. The Braves never got any closer until the final margin against a Ramapo team that was rock solid defensively with its mixture of full-court press strategies that it used effectively all game long.
“They disrupted our offense and never allowed us to get into any type of rhythm,” added Curry. “When we broke their press, made four or five passes and got a good shot, good things happened. But they are so long, so quick, and so physical that it’s tough to get those kind of shots consistently. This is a stepping stone for us to see how we matched up against one of the stronger public schools in the county. It’s a matter of getting to where we want to be, not where we are right now.”
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Matt Latka scored a game-high 15 points for Ramapo, which improved to 8-0 on the season. |
Latka scored a game-high 15 points and Grassi finished with 12 for Ramapo (8-0). Ryan Warnet, who scored the 1,000th point of his career last week in a win over Hackensack, led Indian Hills (5-1) with 14 points. Mike Korst also reached double-figures with 12 points.
Ramapo now has a target squarely on its back with four games in the next 10 days that include tilts against Bergenfield and Pascack Valley, which will be huge with the Bergen County Jamboree seeding meeting approaching fast.
“As a whole we played pretty good team defense. When we do that and we take care of the ball we’ll be successful,” said Ramapo head coach Joe Sandberg. “Once you can force turnovers and start dictating the pace, you start playing with more confidence and we used our depth to our advantage. Indian Hills is a good team that was off to a great start, we had to come out and play hard. This is a huge win for us. Even though we were both undefeated, you can throw the records out whenever Ramapo plays Indian Hills because of the natural rivalry. We just have to keep getting better and working hard day in and day out.”
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