Edison team plays its way into state playoffs
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON - After a tough 60-48 loss to St. Joseph at the end of January, the Edison High School boys basketball team rebounded in a must win contest with a 51-41 win over Old Bridge.

"St. Joe's improved greatly since we first saw them," Edison head coach Charlie Mohr said.

"This time we had difficulty stopping their offense and we will always have a hard time when our opponents score 60 points."

The Eagles were down a bucket at the half, but fell into some foul trouble once the third quarter got underway.

"Once we got into foul trouble, St. Joe's started to put pressure on us," Mohr said.

"They took control with a big run in the third quarter. We just cannot let teams score 20 or more in a quarter. We don't have a high-powered offense."

The Eagle defense did a much better job against a much bigger Old Bridge team.

Edison's Terry Roland led the team with 16 points. Teammates Zach Manfre and Mike Campbell added 10 points each. Quintin Crawford got 18 points for Old Bridge.

"I thought we did a real nice job of taking care of the basketball," Mohr said.

"We were able to keep Old Bridge off the offensive glass and limit their second chance opportunities."

Prior to the loss to St. Joe's, Edison took what appeared to be headed to a close finish and turned it into a 20-point victory over Woodbridge.

The Eagles held a slim four-point lead at the half, but after some locker-room adjustments the team was able to pull away.

"We were able to hit some shots in the third quarter," Mohr said. "Woodbridge got too many clean looks at the basket in the first half. We closed out on their shooters much better in the second half."

Edison certainly had its hands full last week as it was do or die time for the Eagles. The week's task was to win two of its three games in order to qualify for the state tournament.

The Eagles entered the week's action versus East Brunswick, J.P. Stevens, and St. Peters with a 7-8 record.

In its first game of the week versus East Brunswick, Edison lost to the Bears for a second straight time this season by a 51-37 score.

The loss upped the stakes and forced the Eagles into must win situations against both Stevens and St. Peter's.

Manfre's 10 points and six assists and Holmes' team-high 11 points helped get the job done in round one with a 55-37 win over Stevens. The team followed this victory with a 57-47 win over St. Peter's to improve to 9-9 on the season and qualify for the state tournament.

"The key for us is to continue to concentrate on defense," Mohr said. "We need(ed) to hold these teams to 40 points or into the low 50s."

Homes led the team with 21 points with Manfre pumping in 11 points in the win. The Eagles built a seven-point lead after one quarter which proved to be too much for St. Peter's to overcome

"Because we don't have a high-powered offense or a lot of size, we can't give our opponents second chance opportunities on the backboards," Mohr said.

"We need to play solid defense and rebound well in order to stay with our opponents."