Schools
Ridge Gets Revenge over Phillipsburg, 61 – 49
In a physical contest, the Red Devils defeat the school they lost to in the football state finals.
After a faulty fire alarm delayed tip-off, Ridge revenged last falls' painful football state final loss, pulling out a 61 – 49 victory over the Phillipsburg Stateliners to kick-off the New Year with a W.
In an aggressive game featuring two technical fouls, Conor Skea put up his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Cefalo distributed the ball well as always, combining 7 assists with 12 points and 4 steals. Hot handed Christian Frisoli continued his scoring tear with 18 points, and Rob McCarthy finished with 11 points.
Ridge came out the gates strong going on a ten to two run from the start of the game, ending the quarter with a nine point lead at 19 – 10. Frisoli scored eight of his 18 points in the first quarter, forcing the Stateliners into a large deficit. In a string of controversial plays, both benches were warned at the end of the first for trash-talking.
Unfortunately the message was not taken seriously, as Dana Lee was T-ed up in the second for trash-talking. He was also hit with a personal foul for swinging an elbow at Nick Cefalo. With emotions running high, Frisoli continued hitting shots extending Ridge's lead to 32 – 18 at the half.
In what seemed to be his only mistake of the game, Frisoli let his emotions get the better of him in the third, responding to being hit the face by Lee with his shoulder, forcing the referee to give him a technical. The Stateliners' Kyle Hash, who finished with a team high 26 points, hit both free throws bringing Phillipsburg within 10.
Ridge pulled away again with Conor Skea warming up in the second half, hitting some aggressive lay-ups and pulling down some crucial rebounds. As victory slipped beyond grasp, Phillipsburg turned to fouling for hope.
With bitterness from the football championship still in the air, Coach Mark Taylor pulled some of his starters, "I didn't want any extra-curricular stuff happening at the end, which was starting to happen" he said after the game. Taylor was proud of his team's resilience, "We did our job tonight, we held on and won."
Ridge will travel to Hillsborough on Thursday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
