Boys Basketball: Bressler powers Watchung Hills into SCT semifinals
WATCHUNG – The Watchung Hills High School boys basketball team has everything pretty much covered, from long-range shooters in Steve Bressler and Gavin DeFuria, a standout inside/outside player in forward Dan Pilsbury, and an athletic center in promising freshman Chad Martini.
But the Warriors have been a bit over-shadowed despite an 18-6 record and six-game winning streak that includes Tuesday night’s 61-51 win over fifth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan in a Somerset County Tournament quarterfinal. Fourth-seeded Watchung Hills will play at top-seeded and three-time defending county champ Gill St. Bernard's on Thursday night in the semifinals.
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Watchung Hills thought it had done enough to have been a third seed, but got nudged to No. 4 behind Montgomery, Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard's. The Warriors are out to show the doubters what they have been missing, and they delivered against the Panthers.
Bressler hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points. DeFuria had eight points with two 3s in the fourth quarter that kept the Warriors safely in front. Pilsbury, who recently became the program’s all-time leading scorer, had 13 points. Martini finished with eight points, with half of them coming from the free throw line in the final quarter. Mike Hopwood scored in each quarter and recorded 11 points.
"The three ball definitely helped us tonight," Watchung Hills coach Justin Salton said. "I thought we had a great game plan. We had a great practice (Monday) in preparation for Bridgewater."
Salton said the season-opening 59-55 setback to the Panthers may have led some peers and opponents to believe the Warriors weren’t as good as their record.
"We feel like some teams, some coaches, don’t fully respect us," Salton said. "We thought we could have been a third seed. Nobody believed us, but I’m glad we were able to show it on the court how good a team we are and what kind of special year we’ve had. No matter what happens from here on out, the boys have been phenomenal."
The Warriors sustained momentum from the opening tip Tuesday, leading 17-16 through the first quarter, 27- 23 at the half and 39-34 through three.
"When we are moving the ball, that’s when we’re at our best," DeFuria said. "We thought we were stagnant in the first half on offense. We came out in the second half and we were really moving the ball again and getting good shots."
The Panthers’ Sterling White chased Bressler around as he looked to get open for the 3-pointer that has really been a cog. Bressler now has 63 3s for the season, is averaging just over 12 points per game and is two points shy of 300.
"Sterling White was guarding me and he’s a great defender, but my teammates set me up pretty well with screens," Bressler said. "The first game (against Bridgewater) I struggled a little bit, but we made a concerted effort to move the ball better."
Confidence was also a key, Salton said.
"Our guys kept believing. I don’t know if there was a huge difference (from the first game), it was the same type of game," Salton said. "Maybe we made a few more shots and made a couple more winning plays. Everyone has gotten better since opening night. People believe in each other that much more."
DeFuria's shot was off in the first half, but it came around when the Warriors needed it most.
"I was struggling in the beginning and my shots weren’t falling, but the coaches believe in me, my teammates believe in me and I hit some shots down the stretch," DeFuria said.
White and Aaron Gao each scored 18 points for Bridgewater-Raritan (13-11).
SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL ROUNDUP
Montgomery 61, Hillsborough 34: Kevin Fromelt scored 19 points to lead third-seeded Montgomery (15-9). Riley Greene recorded 12 points and Rohan Prakash added 11 points. Gary Redden scored eight points for No. 11 Hillsborough (10-16). Montgomery will face second-seeded Rutgers Prep in the semifinals on Thursday.
Rutgers Prep 58, Ridge 49: Richie Greaves finished with 17 points, three steals, two assists and one rebound as second-seeded Rutgers Prep (14-8) defeated seventh-seeded Ridge (13-11). Trey Patterson recorded 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Jonah Charles contributed 13 points, four assists, three steals, one rebound and one block.
Gill St. Bernard's 79, Immaculata 58: Alex Schachne led top-seeded Gill St. Bernard's () with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Paul Mulcahy posted 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. William Soucie added 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. William Yarbrough chipped in 14 points, three assists and one rebound. For eighth-seeded Immaculata, Jared Chambliss scored 16 points. Stephen Dwyer tallied 13 points. Gill St. Bernard's will host fourth-seeded Watchung Hills in the semifinals on Thursday.