Cougars Fight Back to Beat Vikings 56-53

The Cranford Cougars boys' basketball team might look back on Friday's game against Union Catholic as a turning point if things play out well for them down the road.

Having lost three straight after starting the campaign 2-0, coach Ryan Huber's squad had a "gut-check" game against visiting Union Catholic. The Courgars came through in a big way, defeating the Vikings 56-53 in a back-and-forth nail-biter in front of a large and boisterous home crowd.

"In the first quarter, we came out real big," said Will Green, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds. "We started losing the lead, had turnovers, missed foul shots, missed layups. Coming out in the fourth quarter, we had to show people that the game against Westfield yesterday, that wasn't us."

Cranford had trouble from the field and at the line against Westfield Thursday, losing by 21, but the real Cougars were on the hardwood Friday night.

"We worked really hard," said guard Sean Trotter. "It's great to come back from a terrible loss yesterday. We came out on fire, slowed down a little bit, just a good game in general."

Cranford was fired up right from the start, rolling off nine straight points before settling for a commanding 24-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Vikings battled back in the second stanza, trailing by just six at the break, with the Cougars ahead 31-25.

Things continued to unravel in the third quarter, when Union Catholic outscored the home side 24-11 to take a seven-point lead into the fourth period. At that point, some teams would have folded the tent, but not the Cougars, who were not about to be denied.

"We know it's a game of runs," said Huber. "We always say it's like a boxing match, we came out swinging, they took it, they came back swinging, we took it, and that's what it is. We gotta keep fighting all the way for 32 minutes. Luckily, we got a win out of this one."

"We talked about how we couldn't have another loss especially at home," said Green. "We would do anything to win the game. This was a conference game and this is one of the best team's in the conference, so we had to come out and win this game and break our (losing) streak. At least we got to .500 now."

Sophomore forward Chris Gross, whose career-high stands ar 21-points and 7 rebounds, helped the team to their victory.

"He was excellent," Huber said. "Me and him sat and we had a little talk today, and I told him coming in before the game, that this is going to be the key. The first play we're running for him, and if that kid sits back, you better shoot that three. Just step into a rhythm and shoot it. And that's what he did."

And the steady play of senior Will Green is reminding Huber of a former star player at Cranford from a few years back.

"Will's turning into a kid that played a couple of year's ago named Simon Smith, getting his rebounds and his points," Huber said. "Will's a competitor, he worked his butt off today. When he needed to, he stepped up and played for us."

Sean Trotter added nine points, five rebounds and five steals while Kendall Grier tossed in six points.

The win improves the Cougars' mark to 3-3, with a big test coming up against Roselle on Tuesday. But between now and then, they know they need to find a way to improve their free throw shooting, which has been an Achilles heel the past few games.

"Montclair, 10-for-19, yesterday Westfield 3-for-13, today 5-for-16 at the line," said Huber. "It's already cost us one game. It would be horrible if that would cost us another game."

The Cougars will have three days off before they take the floor against Roselle Tuesday at 4 p.m. They will visit North Plainfield Thursday before coming back home for a Friday night game against Summit at 7 p.m.