Bulldogs Payback Bucs In Battle of Ridge Road Rematch

Photo above: Rumson-Fair Haven’s Brendan Barry making clutch free-throw in fourth quarter

RED BANK – As the No.11 seed in this year’s Shore Conference Tournament, Rumson-Fair Haven just may be the hottest team out of the eight teams remaining in the tournaments quarterfinals.

After downing Red Bank Regional 50-42 Thursday night on the Bucs home floor for their eighth-straight win, the Bulldogs are playing their best basketball of the season when it counts most. They last lost on January 31 against this same Buccaneer team but have since been flawless.

“Great win for us,” Bulldog head coach Chris Champeau said. “A month ago we lose by two – a brutally tough loss – but we didn’t let that loss define us. These guys have worked so hard in the month since then to be more than just Brendan Barry banging three’s. And to see the seniors all step up and make some tough shots and play great defense was great.”

With the win, the Bulldogs (19-4) advance to the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since reaching the championship game in 2011. In that game, No.3 seed Raritan was led by Shore Conference Player of the Year Mike Aaman, who scored 22 points and had 24 rebounds in the Rockets 43-35 win over the No.11 seed Bulldogs. Aaman’s currently playing for Wagner College averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Seahawks.

In Thursday’s round of 16 game, the Bulldogs were clinging to a 25-22 lead with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter after the Bucs reeled off a 7-4 run to start the third quarter. Red Bank’s junior guard Shadiq Palmer then drove the lane but was whistled for a disputed charging call that would have pulled them to within one point at 2:09 of the third.

On Rumson’s next possession, senior guard Jack Luby hit back-to-back free throws before junior guard Brendan Barry nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key and to the left of the basket with under a minute left in the third. Junior guard Mickey Schluter set the play in motion with a steal and a pass to senior guard Thomas Famulary who then found Barry.

Barry’s three-pointer were his first points of the game but couldn’t have come at a better time as it gave the Bulldogs a 30-22 lead and all the momentum entering the fourth quarter and really changed the complexion of the game.

Barry, the third-leading scorer in the Shore Conference averaging 21.3 points a game, was once again slowed by the Bucs diamond-and-one defense and in particular by junior guard Jack Navitsky. Navisky, who held Barry to 12 points in their first meeting, kept the high-scoring guard scoreless in the first half and well below his season average once again.

“Ever since they ran that defense against us in the first game we’ve worked on it,” Champeau said. “We tried to attack it from the middle and if they stepped up we kicked corner and tried to knock them down – basketball comes down to making shots. I loved our aggression down the middle and if you box-and-one us we got more than one guy.”

Senior forward Morgan Maguire, who led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14 and seven respectively, scored the Bulldogs first seven points of the fourth quarter – including two three-pointers – to give Rumson a 10-point advantage with 5:35 left in the game.

“Morgan didn’t start in the beginning of the season and he didn’t give up,” Champeau added. “He kept grinding and he’s got that crazy Irish fire and temper in him which I can appreciate, but the last five or six games he’s been just huge for us. He’s 6-foot-2 but plays like he’s 6-foot-5; he’s a pit bull out there.”

Luby hit one-of-two free throws before freshman center Eliajah McAllister grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a put-back for a 40-29 lead with 3:50 left in the game.

McAllister was matched up against Bucs power forward Eddie Hendrex and the young 14-year old freshman more than held his own. At times he was dominant in the paint, blocking four shots and grabbing three offensive rebounds. Rumson seems to rally around this kid, and he has become somewhat of a defensive spark plug for the Bulldogs with his ability to influence a game.

“I had Eliajah playing JV the first half of the season so he could develop,” Champeau boasted. “He’s so long and he’s got very quick reactions defensively. I figured I’d put him in against their big guy and see if he could disrupt him a little.”

Maguire and Famulary were instrumental in stopping Red Bank’s leading scorer Shadiq Palmer and holding him to six points – seven below his average. Famulary finished with nine points, three assist, two rebounds and a steal. As a whole the Rumson’s defense was outstanding.

The Bulldogs kept feeding Barry the ball late in the fourth and the Bucs were forced to foul. Barry responded by going 9-for-12 from the free-throw line and scoring nine of Rumson’s final 10 points. He also had three of his five rebounds, two of his three steals and a blocked shot in the fourth quarter.

As a team, the Bulldogs went 20-of-26 from the free throw line after going eight-for-17 in their first meeting with Red Bank.

Senior Alex Geiger chipped in with 10 points, including two three-pointers in the first quarter to help the Bulldogs get off to an 8-2 lead.

Next up for Rumson is No.3 seed Freehold Township (17-5) in the quarterfinals Sunday at Brookdale with a 12:45 tipoff. The Bulldogs lost to the Patriots 63-55 in early January, so this is another chance for the Bulldogs to extract some revenge.

The Bulldogs are ranked third in the most recent Asbury Park Press poll while the Patriots are ranked fifth.

“When I saw the draw after we beat St.Rose the only two teams to beat us in our bracket were Red Bank and Freehold Township,” Champeau stated. “So I was calling it the “revenge tour.” Freehold Township is really good and we’ll be underdogs again, but hopefully we can give them a battle.”

Champeau gave a shoutout to his student rooting section - that was all prepped out - and he called them “the best student rooting section in Shore all year.”

Follow @getmready