Rumson-Fair Haven's Playoff Run And Season Come To A Crashing Halt

Photo above: Bulldogs Brendan Barry finds Mickey Schluter in the corner for one of his two three’s.

RUMSON – And just like that, it was over. Holding a 53-44 lead over No. 8 seed Bordentown with 5:51 remaining in the fourth quarter, the No.4 seed Bulldogs were outscored 18-3 the rest of the way and lost 62-56 in Friday night’s Central Jersey Group II semifinal at Rumson.

Hoping for their second straight trip to the sectional final, the Bulldogs 13-game winning streak and impressive playoff run instead came to crashing halt at the hands of this very talented Bordentown team.

Even though the Scotties (24-5) were only seeded eighth and some may consider this game an upset, after beating No. 1 seed Lakewood in the quarterfinals and now Rumson in the semifinals, the winner of today’s No.2 seed Manasquan versus No.11 seed Matawan game better not overlook this athletic and highly-skilled Bordentown team; this is not a team to be taken lightly.

It was a one-point game, 43-42, after three quarters as the Bulldogs (24-5) erased a nine-point, 29-20, halftime deficit. Rumson then went on a 10-2 run in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to grab a seemingly insurmountable nine-point lead to take control of the game.

However, Rumson would only score three points the rest of the way, as the switch went on for Bordentown and they ran away from the Bulldogs with an intensity that overwhelmed Rumson in the final 5:51 of the game.

It was a crushing loss for the Bulldogs, especially the way the game unfolded, and a hard way to go out in particular for its seniors.

Senior forward Morgan Maguire, who had 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and led the team with six rebounds along with two assists and a blocked shot, was almost speechless after the game.

“They’re a good team, they had nothing to lose coming in here and played their hearts out,” Maguire said as he fought back tears. “We couldn’t stop them and our shots weren’t falling. I’ve never played with a better team and I never will, I love these guys.”

The bitter loss shouldn’t overshadow the accomplishments of this gritty Bulldog team. They won 24 games – including 13 straight down the stretch - were co-champions of the Class A Central and won the school’s first-ever Shore Conference Tournament title in a game that will go down as one of the biggest upsets in Shore Conference history.

“I told them that this loss doesn’t define this team,” Bulldog head coach Chris Champeau said. “This team is one of the best in RFH history. They brought a town together - a whole community together - and I couldn’t be more proud of them. This team captivated what I felt this program should be all about; guts and unselfishness.”

Senior Thomas Famulary finished with 15 points and kept the Bulldogs in the game in the first half scoring all eight first-quarter points and the first 10 of the game for Rumson. Junior Brendan Barry added 15 points but was only 2-for-11 from the three-point arc. Barry’s game though is so much more than just hitting three’s. He grabbed three boards, handed out four assists, had two steals and blocked a shot. Junior guard Mickey Schluter added 10 points – including two big three’s in the third quarter.

All-Burlington County guard Myron Gordon – who scored his 1000th career point this week – was sensational in scoring a game-high 28 points while Dante Gibson had seven assists and five steals and senior forward Brion Teel-Scott hauled down a game-high 16 boards.

“We took a punch and we lost,” Champeau said. “A couple of times in the fourth quarter we shot a couple of shots that are normally daggers for us that go in and it’s warm up the bus time; we just didn’t get those tonight. It was one of those nights where the bounces didn’t go our way, we didn’t hit clutch shots and they got it.”