Bulldogs make history with strong early play
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

METUCHEN — The Metuchen High School boys basketball team is off to its best start since the 1988 season with an 11-1 record.

Not since the days of Larry Spigner, one of the Bulldogs’ most decorated players in school history, has the team looked this strong.

After dropping its first game of the season, a 74-56 defeat at the hands of state powerhouse Atlantic City, Metuchen bounced back with an impressive week in which it demonstrated the ability to win both the close one and the mix match.

The close one was a 67-65 win over Cardinal McCarrick thanks to a 30-foot bank shot by Lamar Nichols at the buzzer and big ones came with a 78-42 win over JFK and a 70-40 victory over Spotswood.

The Dogs trailed most of the game to Cardinal McCarrick thanks in large part to the play of the McCarrick’s Vincente Rosario. Rosario finished with a game-high 32 points.

“He [Rosario] was impressive,” Metuchen head coach Rich Stoner said. “He was certainly tough to stop.”

While the Bulldogs played most of the contest from behind, they never let McCarrick’s lead get out of sight.

“They led by about five most of the way,” Stoner said. “We had three small leads at different times in the fourth quarter and McCarrick even went up seven in the fourth.”

As the minutes ticked away in the final frame Metuchen tried to put the pressure on Rosario and force him to give the ball up. With 10 seconds on the clock and the score tied at 64, Rosario found his way inside and drew a foul from Metuchen’s Marqus Blakely. For Blakely, it was his fifth foul and he exited the game with a team-high 29 points.

“Marqus played another great game,” Stoner said. “He was doing everything — passing well, scoring and getting rebounds.”

Rosario hit the second of two free throws to put the Eagles up 65-64 but four seconds was enough time for Nichols to take a couple dribbles and sink the winning shot.

“It was amazing,” Stoner said. “Everyone stormed the court after the shot went in, and it was crazy.”

Nichols finished with 14 points to go with his dramatic buzzer-beater.

“Lamar was a big presence inside the paint,” Stoner said. “He’s crafty and plays pretty big despite his 6-foot frame. He’s sneaky down there with the ball and he’s tough to defend.”

The Dogs followed the win over McCarrick with a 78-42 win over JFK in which Blakely led the team with 19 points. Nick Storts pumped in 13 points with Dejuan Miller adding 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Jon Brown finishing with nine points and eight assists. Metuchen led 40-13 at the half and coasted for the remainder.

“Our defense played really well, especially in the first three quarters” Stoner said. “Overall, we played a solid game.”

The Dogs finished the week with another rout and this time it was Spotswood. Storts, Nichols and Brown all finished in double figures, with Storts leading the way with 14. Blakely and Miller finished with nine points each.

“It was a real balanced attack,” Stoner said. “Storts hit some key outside shots and Nichols played well off the bench. Lamar always does what he needs to do to make us better as a team. I know what to expect out of him every night because he’s such a solid player.”

After a key matchup with Bishop Ahr earlier in the week, the Bulldogs will travel to South River at 7 p.m. tonight before hosting Middlesex at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“We have four more games before the state seeding meeting on Feb. 4,” Stoner said. “These games are very important for us and should help determine the seed we get in the state tournament. We’ve played some bigger schools and should we end up at 15-1 by then we should have a strong case for a high seed.”