Monday, January 28, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

The return of Phil Morman has coincided with Cresskill's 10-game winning streak, which continued in the opening round of the Jambo.

ORADELL – After a loss to Pascack Hills in the Northern Valley/Demarest Holiday Tournament, Cresskill was in a position that was foreign to one of Bergen County’s most successful boys basketball programs. The Cougars were sitting at 2-3 and were clearly missing an inside presence to balance out the guard-heavy squad.

They needed 6-3 center Phil Morman to get healthy and give the Cougars’ patient offense another added dimension. He came back in early January and the Cougars haven’t stopped winning since.

Morman continued his dominance of the paint in Sunday’s first round game of the Bergen County Jamboree against Hasbrouck Heights. He led 13th seeded Cresskill with 19 points and 15 rebounds as they led wire-to-wire in a 53-41 victory over the Aviators, the No. 20 seed.

Brian Fisch scored all of his points on a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter to give the Cougars an early lead and Morman got off to a strong start for the Cougars. However, Zack Ketcho, who scored eight first-half points to keep the Aviators close at the half, 21-16, matched him.

Tory Lepera scored on a layup three minutes into the third quarter to get Heights to within four points.

Heights got as close as four on a lay-up from Tory Leprera three minutes into the third quarter, but the Cougars never allowed them to get closer and embarked on a decisive run to end the period. Sumner Weitz hit two straight jump shots, including a three-pointer, in the midst of a 12-4 run. The spurt gave Cresskill a 37-25 lead at the end of the third quarter and Hasbrouck Heights did not threaten again.

“The run they made at the end of the third quarter was huge and it was too much for us to overcome,” said Hasbrouck Heights head coach Jerry D’Alessio. “Cresskill is very well-coached and they are a sound team, especially on defense. Our shot selection needed to be better and the good shots we got didn’t go in. Morman really hurt us inside and the rest of the team is so disciplined that it makes it extremely tough for any team to make a comeback against them.”

Leprera led Hasbrouck Heights (8-4) with 12 points. Ketcho added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Outside of Morman, no other Cresskill (12-3) player scored more than seven points. But six other players scored at least four points, led by Weitz with seven off the bench.

“I thought we settled down in the second half and Phil (Morman) was really active inside,” said Cresskill head coach Marty Rivard. “But there are a lot of things that we still have to work on.”

Sumner Weitz came off the bench to help Cresskill rip off a 12-4 run that put the game away.

The Cougars own the longest current winning streak in the county with their 10th win a row yesterday. According to the seedings, 13th seeded Cresskill would face fourth-seeded Pascack Hills in the Round of 16 next weekend.

But since the teams met back in December and the Bergen County Jamboree rules mandate that teams that have faced each other in the regular season cannot face that team again until the quarterfinal round, the match-ups had to be switched around.

So instead, the Cougars will face fifth-seeded Hackensack in the Round of 16. But the change does not bother Cresskill’s legendary head coach Marty Rivard one bit.

“The switch doesn’t make a difference to me, we know we’re getting a tough team no matter what,” said Rivard. “We’re happy to get here and win a game. Any time you advance in the Jambo, it’s an accomplishment.”

Photos by Michael J. Coppola

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