Sophomore Chris Gross had a career-high 21 points in the Cougars 59-53 victory on Friday against Union Catholic. He didn't waste any time setting a new standard for himself, pouring in 22 points as Cranford defeated Roselle 64-50 at Martin Gymnasium in Cranford.
"I just try to go out and do my best every game," said Gross, who was the sixth man on the varsity squad last year as a freshman. "When I'm in the zone, I just keep letting it fly and it just keeps going in."
This was the second straight win for the Cougars, who improved their record to 4-3 on the season. Senior captain Will Green delivered nine points to go along with eight rebounds, while guard Kendall Grier added 14 points for the home side. Greg Goode and Sean Trotter added nine points apiece.
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"We had some good moments, we also have to play a full 32 minutes," said head coach Ryan Huber. "It was a 10-point lead at the half after it was 18, I think it was five in the third quarter, but we responded, we got it up to 60-39, so I'm happy with the effort we gave."
Senior guard Nick Pace ignited the offense with a number of passes as the Cougars drew off to a 21-point lead.
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"It was a good team effort today," said Pace. "We passed the ball well, played good defense and got the job done."
After a 2-0 start, the Cougars lost three straight, and now find themselves on a winning streak again. They're looking to keep the good karma going.
"We could be one of the best in the conference and the county," Pace said. "If we play hard every game, we'll be all right."
"The fact that we're over .500 now is great," said Gross. "We have two tough games this week and if we can get those, we'll be in really good shape. I think we can get in the states, and make some noise there and in the counties as well. It's just a matter of how hard you want to work."
As for the 6'4 Gross, he's very happy he can make an impact in just his second year.
"I've been working on my jumping, rebounding, defense, I think that's improving a little bit," said Gross.
"That's what we should be getting out of Chris every game," said Huber. "I tell him, he's got that ability, he's just got to transcend that into every single game regardless of who we're playing."
And teaming up with Will Green in the frontcourt has also helped Gross's overall game.
"Will's a great player, and every game, teams' know that he's a scorer, so they're just gonna double him, and it just leaves me the opportunity to put the ball in the basket," said Gross.
Cranford faces North Plainfield on the road on Thursday at 4 p.m., and then travels to Summit for a Friday night showdown at 7 p.m.
"North Plainfield is a small team, athletic, we're going to have to still pound the ball inside, we're going to have to finish in there and win the game in transition," said Huber.
