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Sports

At Long Last, Ridge Becomes Somerset County Champ

Ridge finally gets the monkey off their back with a 63-52 victory over Gill St. Bernard's to win the Somerset County Tournament after two failed attempts the past couple seasons.

You saw it in their eyes. You heard it in senior Nick Cefalo's voice.

You saw the exuberant Ridge bench after the mission was completed.

Four years of program building by Coach Mark Taylor and the team's seven seniors culminated in what they've worked so hard for: The Ridge Red Devils are Somerset County Tournament Champs–finally.

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The Red Devils (21-5) fought off a game Gill St. Bernard's squad 63-52 Saturday afternoon at the William Westfield Gymnasium on the campus of Franklin High School to win the county championship after losing in the title game the past two seasons. Ridge takes on Franklin Tuesday night at home in the first round of the North 2, Group 4 state playoffs.

"Since we were little kids, like third or fourth grade, all we ever wanted to do was win County together," said senior swingman Christian Frisoli, who led the team with 20 points. "We always were the group that said 'We're going to turn Ridge basketball around,' and this was our opportunity and we did it."

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The Red Devils' locker room was a sea of boisterous celebration and hugs that came with the coveted victory. For Taylor, who came in and righted the ship, it was satisfying to see his seniors victorious.

"I'm so happy for [the seniors]," Taylor said after the game. "We've worked so hard and when I showed up four years ago, I told this class, we're going to change everything here.

"We're going to make a difference. The last two years have been great and in my opinion, have been the best team [in the county]. Today was the epitome of what we worked for."

Unlike their first meeting earlier this season with the Knights—which Ridge won 67-66 in overtime—there were fewer tense moments, but a couple of gut-check situations where the Red Devils relied on their seniors to answer the bell.

Save for two ties in the game's first four minutes, the Red Devils led throughout and stretched the margin to 14 points in the third quarter. After Frisoli's free throws made it 33-19, the young Knights got back in it, led by baby-faced spunky sophomore guard Alex Mitola and sophomore forward Morgan Dixon. The pair combined to score 14 of the team's next 17 points to cut the lead to 39-36 entering the fourth quarter.

"They are sophomores and their time is coming," Taylor said of the young, but talented Gill team. "They are a great team and I give them all the respect. But we're winning with seniors and that's what we did today."

After the lead nearly evaporated, the urgency was not lost on Cefalo prior to the start of the fourth quarter. Cefalo pleaded to his teammates, "We're not losing!"

The senior's words proved prophetic as the more experienced Red Devils heeded Cefalo's passionate plea and broke open a close game led by Andrew Madlinger, who finished with 14 points. With the margin still at three points with five minutes left, Madlinger scored five quick points, the last coming on a three-pointer that was set up nicely by Cefalo.

From there, the Red Devils sliced up the Knights' full-court press for easy buckets. It was fitting that Cefalo, who shared tournament co-MVP honors with Frisoli, capped the game in spectacular fashion. With under a minute left, Cefalo relied on his football instincts to tiptoe the sidelines after a steal and as the lay-in fell through the net, Coach Taylor embraced his assistant coach Bobby Farrell and boldly proclaimed, "We're county champs!"

"We all had that 'Refuse to lose' attitude," said Cefalo, who finished with nine points. "We all believed we could do it."

Ridge's defense stymied Gill's offensive attack and their big man, Dominic Hoffman, was rendered ineffective because he was plagued with foul trouble throughout the game.

Hoffman, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half, picked up two quick fouls courtesy of Conor Skea, who drew a charge on Hoffman and also forced a foul call while driving to the lane in the first quarter.

Junior center Tom Gambino, who finished with nine points, did a reasonably good job of limiting Hoffman's touches after he got off to a hot start. Hoffman scored 10 of this team's first 15 points. After Hoffman's lay-up cut Ridge's lead to 17-15, Gambino drew Hoffman's third foul on the ensuing possession and forced him to sit the rest of the first half. Ridge went on a game-changing 9-0 spurt to close out the first half.

The two aforementioned juniors' play down the stretch has been instrumental in the team's title run and Madlinger believes their play will springboard the pair for bigger things to come next season.

"We built a foundation," said Madlinger. "Now we're a powerhouse and that's going to carry over and that falls upon Tom and Conor. They played great today and have throughout the season."

The Red Devils' perimeter defense, which was bolstered by senior Rob McCarthy, did a number on Gill's guards. Despite his second-half hot streak, Mitola and backcourt mate Jaren Sina combined for just 17 points, a far cry from the 37 points the pair collectively had against Ridge earlier this season.

"(Coach) told us defense was going to win this game," said Frisoli. "We had to step up and they are deadly when they are left open, but we came out with a lot of energy and stayed in front of them."

With the proverbial county tournament monkey off of their backs, now comes a bigger giant: the state playoffs.

"Keeping this momentum is a big thing going into states," said Madlinger. "As Coach said, 'it's all good until Sunday night; then Monday is back to the grind again.'"

But for at least the next 24 hours, the Red Devils can revel in their victory and the program-arriving signature win they've sought the past few seasons.

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