Senior Erind Kurkaj scored all of his game-high 24 points from behind the arc for Ridgefield Park, which won its sixth straight game, 67-45, over Kearny.
RIDGEFIELD PARK – It is this time in a season where success can be measured on a long term basis. Is a team better than when it started or has it underperformed compared to realistic preseason aspirations? Has a team grown together or has it fallen apart?
Ridgefield Park falls into the former category. A team that was four-game under .500 at one point in the season just won its sixth straight game to move two games over. Playing their best basketball right now, the Scarlets took care of Kearny, 67-45, in a President’s Day matinee on Monday to move to 13-11 on the season.
“The boys have really bought into really sharing the basketball and that is a huge key. You are starting to notice on a given night that our leading scorer might also be our leading assist guy as well,” said long-time Ridgefield Park head coach Chris Gaskin. “I always talk about the word ‘trust.’ Basketball is a game where it can be easy to get a little selfish, a little complacent and I think our guys really trust one another to not get caught up in that. We are working hard to improve on both ends of the floor and I do believe they enjoy being with one another.”
Six-game win streaks can bring out a lot of smiles and the Scarlets looked like they were having fun against Kearny, especially during a 12-0 spurt that closed out the first quarter and, as it turned out, the competitive portion of the game.
Four different Scarlets scored during that stretch starting with Christian Carter’s 4-point play after he was fouled on a made 3. Mark Martinez added two free throws; Erind Kukaj nailed his first 3-pointer on what turned into an epic shooting afternoon for the senior captain and Jordan Impalli added a trey to give RP a 15-6 after the first quarter of play.
Luis Rodriguez scored 10 points to lead Kearny, which is now 12-11 on the season.
Kukaj went on to score a game-high 24 points all from behind the arc and seven of them came in the middle two quarters as the Scarlets pulled away.
“My teammates found me in the right spots and I made open shots,” said Kukaj. “I think we are more connected as a team. We have started to swing the ball more, working with each other, trusting each other. That has brought us a lot of success on and off the court and it has brought us a six-game win streak.”
Ridgefield Park went up by double digits for the first time, 18-6, when Kukaj opened the second quarter scoring with a 3 from the corner. Kearny got back as close as 25-19, but Impalli, Kukaj and Carter all hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the second quarter as RP forged a 31-24 lead at the break.
The Scarlets first three baskets of the third quarter were all Kukaj 3s, he made four in the quarter. Carter hit one with 22 seconds left and Martinez added a 3-point play the old fashioned way as RP led 51-35 heading into the final 8 minutes and it cruised home from there.
“Our chemistry has definitely grown as the season has gone on and I feel like that is bringing more success to the team,” said Carter, also a senior captain. “We are just playing better all around.”
Christian Carter finished with 7 points for Ridgefield Park, which has two regualr season game left before opening the state playoffs on the road at Lyndhurst
Kearny was playing short-handed and hung in there for most of the first two-and-a-half quarters. Luis Rodriguez led the Kards with 10 points followed by Allen Rivera (9 points), Kevin McKenna (8 points) and Chris Ruiz (7 points). Kearny had won five of six games before losing its last two and is now 12-11 on the season. The Kards went 1-1 in the Hudson County Tournament with a first round win over McNair Academic before being knocked out by Snyder.
Kukaj and Martinez (12 points) each finished in double figures to lead Ridgefield Park. Impalli finished with 8 points, Carter and Kevin Steadman each added 7, Francisco Then added 6 and Parker Choea’s second quarter 3-pointer rounded out the scoring for the Scarlets, who will likely play at Lyndhurst in the opening round of the upcoming North 2, Group 2 state sectional playoffs.
“We have Englewood [on Tuesday] with a chance to take second place in the league, which would be a feather in our guy’s cap, we have Mahwah on Thursday for Senior Night and we are pretty much locked in to go to Lyndhurst,” said Gaskin, whose team dropped a 73-70 decision at home to Lyndhurst in the opening round of The BIT. “That was a home game for us and now we are going down there where they are tough and they have a good fan base, but, come March, anything can happen as we all know.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT PLEASE CLICK HERE. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY PLEASE VISIT 4-FeetGrafix.com.
