With 2:35 left in the second quarter, Chatham senior Adam Kovonuk pump-faked the Mountain Lakes defenders and took the ball to the hole to put his team ahead 17-16.
From then on out, the Cougars never looked back.
The 8-4 Chatham squad pummeled the 2-8 Mountain Lakes Lakers on Thursday night at Chatham High School, winning by a score of 61-47.
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"We were a little sloppy in the first half, but in the second half we really locked them down and forced them into some tough shots," sophomore Jonathan Berntsen said. "We really harassed them on the defensive end."
After starting the game with a layup by senior Casey Gill, Chatham gave up four consecutive three-pointers to the Lakers. But with a strong inside game, the Cougars managed to pound the ball inside and go into the half with a 24-18 lead. Junior Brendan Damodaran closed the first half with a drive to the basket from the top of the key, swishing a layup at the buzzer.
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Once Chatham established a lead, it was able to open up its offensive attack by spreading its perimeter game. The team hit all six of its three-pointers following the second quarter lead change, with Kovonuk and Berntsen contributing a pair each. Chatham senior Chris Conroy added a three-pointer of his own after fighting for his own rebound and dribbling beyond the arc to hit the shot.
"I think in the third quarter we picked it up. Once we got the lead, we were comfortable, and we did enough to get the win," Conroy said.
Despite the lopsided 14-point differential in the final score, the game was actually closer than it appeared. Four technical fouls committed by the Lakers resulted in six extra points for Chatham.
The first technical was for a Mountain Lakes player not being listed on the roster. The other three were a result of inappropriate language and behavior on behalf of the Lakers' coaches and players.
"We put the ball in the basket in the beginning, and then there was a period of time we didn't, and the technical fouls certainly didn't help us," said Lakers Head Coach John Bydook. "You get a technical foul here or there, they make a couple of three balls and all of a sudden a seven-point game is a 14-point game."
Chatham's next game will be on Saturday at home at 7 p.m. against Delbarton.
