Hettinger Leads Cherry Hill East to Playoff Win Against Clearview

If Gary Hettinger’s last game in Cherry Hill East’s DiBart Gym ends up being Monday’s playoff victory—and the chances are good, given the road ahead of the team—then the senior can say he went out on a high note.

Hettinger led all scorers with 20 points and anchored a defense that clamped down after an ugly opening quarter, as East held off a pesky Clearview squad, 55-49, in the opening round of the South Jersey, Group 4 playoffs.

“Odds are…this is my last game playing on this court,” Hettinger said. “It’s been quite a run here, so I didn’t want it to end today.”

The senior nearly took the game into his own hands after a rough first quarter, which left East trailing, 18-11, with the team’s trademark outside shooting coming up short.

Against a somewhat undersized Clearview team, Hettinger, who stands 6-3, turned into an inside-the-paint force, out-jumping the Pioneers for rebounds—he finished the game with 15—and giving the Cougars second chances on offense.

“My coaches told me just pound the ball inside, go up strong and finish, and that’s what I tried to do,” Hettinger said.

That inside game helped open things back up for East’s gunners, who picked it up as the game went on. Jake Silpe finished with 14, while Andrew Brown and Austin Wetzler each scored seven points.

As solid as the offense proved through the middle of the game, it was the Cougars’ defense that sealed things. After giving up 18 first-quarter points, East allowed Clearview just four points in the second quarter. The Pioneers finally broke up a 12-0 East run with a basket at the 4:48 mark, and East went into the half up eight points.

“They clamped down…that really gave us the advantage, being at home,” coach Dave Allen said. “When you have a lead like that, it’s hard to give it up.”

That’s not to say Clearview didn’t make it interesting.

Down 10 with less than three minutes to play, the Pioneers chipped away, cutting East’s lead to as little as five points, but couldn’t get any closer, as Hettinger swatted a couple of key blocks in the second half.

On both offense and defense, every player wanted to make sure he did his part, and no one was willing to let the game slip away, Hettinger said.

“That’s the mentality we had today,” he said.

And having experience in the playoffs—the Cougars went all the way to the finals before falling to Atlantic City last year—gave the team the edge this year, Hettinger added.

“We saw from last year—it’s defense, it’s foul shooting, it’s not turning the ball over that wins in the postseason,” he said.