Cranford's Will Green dominated the basketball court Tuesday, scoring 21 points to lead the unbeaten Cougars to an impressive 63-50 road victory over Rahway.
"I was more open today, so I felt I could score more," said Green. "I rebounded for my team, played defense. I want to do that all year for us and win a lot of games."
The Cougars pounced on the home team in the first quarter, outscoring the Indians 18-4, although head coach Ryan Huber felt his team needed a jump start after the first few minutes.
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"We knew coming here, it was going to be a tough place to play," said Huber. "The first four minutes, we really didn't do what we needed to do, but after that, there was a time out called, we got on the kids a little bit and they responded to us."
"Definitely, coach told us to get moving," said Green. "We felt we could easily break this game open, take advantage of the situation, go to our strengths, win this game, blow it out and get the win."
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Cranford continued to hit big shots while playing strong defense, holding a commanding 32-13 lead at halftime.
The Cougars also received strong performances from Kendall Grier, who tossed in 15 points to go along with four assists. Sophomore Chris Gross chipped in with 10 points and 6 rebounds, Greg Goode had five and Sean Trotter and Nick Pace had three points apiece.
Green also had eight rebounds to go a long with his game-high point total, which followed a top-notch performance against Governor Livingston in the season opener last Friday night. Huber, meanwhile, did have some concerns after the Cougars big win against the Highlanders.
"I was worried a little bit about a letdown," said Huber. "But you know, they're competitors, we went out there, we competed today, we finished in the post a little bit, we hit some jump shots, extended the defense, and gave the big guys some room to operate down low."
"We can't get too confident but we're feeling real happy right now," added Green. "Last year we didn't have a start like this, so we just have to take advantage of this and keep winning games."
Now it's time for the Cougars to look ahead, where they'll get a big test in the Montclair Holiday Tournament, featuring the home team and highly-regarded Paterson Eastside and Paramus Catholic.
Green knows that playing that caliber of competition will only make the Cougars better when it's their turn to make a run in the county and state tournaments.
"Our coach told us he could have entered any tournament and blow out teams, but he wanted to go and beat the best," said Green. "To be the best, you have to beat the best. We have to come out and prove it".
The Montclair Tournament will tip-off next Wednesday. Game times are yet to be announced.
