Cranford Loses to Montclair With Last-Second Shot

The Cranford boys' basketball team took what Montclair was willing to dish out Monday, with the Cougars bending, but never breaking, holding the lead late into the fourth quarter. At the very end, though, the Mounties nailed a three-pointer with two seconds left, to put the finishing touches on an exciting 47-46 comeback victory in the first round of the IABPFF Ghosts Festival held at Paterson Eastside High School.

"It was a tough game," said Cranford head coach Ryan Huber. "They're a perennial Group 4 power, they send kids to Division-1 all the time. I thought we had a shot coming into the game, to execute our game plan. I told the kids, certain things are going to win or lose the game, and the thing that lost the game was the foul line, we can't go 10-for-19 and expect to beat a good team like that."

Cranford, which came in 3-0 on the season, was led by senior forward Will Green, who tossed in 14 points, and Nick Pace, who added six points and a game-high five steals. But it wasn't enough to stop the sharpshooting Mounties, who hit a pair of three-pointers to draw Montclair within one late in the fourth quarter.

"I think our effort in the second half was the difference," said Green. "We had an eight point lead, we didn't capitalize, they came back, they went on a 14-6 run, that's what killed us the whole game. We can't let that happen again. When we have leads, we need to maintain them."

"A lot of people think we came up here for a challenge, but we think we belong with these teams this year, and it hurts to come up here and lose because we played so well," he continued. "At the end of the game, they hit a couple of big three's."

Pace hit a pair of free throws to make it 41-38, before Ghenua Young tied the game up with a shot from downtown. The Mounties took the lead on a bucket by Marquis Staton, before sophomore Chris Gross (14 points) tied it back up at 43.

With :19 left, Green found himself open in the low post, and banked a shot off glass to give the Cougars a 46-45 lead.

But Marquis Staton answered with time running down, hitting the game-winner from 18-feet with just :02 left on the clock to make it 47-46. The Cougars had one last gasp shot from just inside halfcourt which fell short, and Montclair had the hard-earned victory.

"I think we showed we can play with anyone," said senior Nick Pace. "As long as we play hard, we'll be in every game."

"I think we played hard," said Huber. "I don't think we executed as well as we would have liked. I think our decision-making wasn't as sharp as it should have been. Everyone who played, though, contributed in a positive manner."

The Cougars will play in the tournament consolation game Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. against host Paterson Eastside.