Friday, July 2, 2010
New Basking Ridge high school graduates Andrew Madlinger, Nick Cefalo and Christian Frisoli will take their basketball games to the next level.
They broke records, established a legacy and most of all, made Basking Ridge High School boys basketball relevant. With graduation over and done with, it's time for Ridge's three best departing players – sharpshooting Andrew Madlinger (14.7 points), point guard Nick Cefalo (10.8) and versatile Christian Frisoli (12.8) – to take their talents to the next level. Cefalo plans to attend Cheshire Academy (CT) for one year to hone his basketball skills before moving onto college. Madlinger is heading to Bowdoin College (ME) and Frisoli will attend Gettysburg College (PA). "They brought different qualities that made them special," said Taylor. "It made it even special as a group and they all liked each other, which is very important and one of …
Saturday, February 27, 2010
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. 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 …
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ridge fends off Watchung Hills Regional on their senior night with a 55-48 victory. They now turn their attention to their own senior night Wednesday against North Hunterdon.
It wasn't pretty. It was more lethargic than anything. But basketball is not meant to be a beautiful game at times. For the Ridge Red Devils, their performance, albeit not up to their usual high standards, was good enough Tuesday night to escape Watchung Hills Regional's senior night with a 55-48 victory. Ridge (19-5) now turns it attention to its own senior night Wednesday when they face North Hunterdon before Saturday's showdown with Gil St.Bernard's in the Somerset County Tournament Finals. The loss drops the Warriors' record to 8-17 overall. "They came at us and took us by surprise," said junior swingman Conor Skea, who, along with Andrew Madlinger, led the scoring with 15 points apiece. "They were playing towards the end and they were…
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Ridge romped Hunterdon Central 74-46 to win the Skyland Delaware West Conference title outright for the third straight year.
With a pending date against impressive Monroe looming at Friday's Primetime Shootout, Ridge didn't lose its focus or its true mission with a 74-46 drubbing of Hunterdon Central Regional High School Tuesday night in Flemington. The win for Ridge (15-3) was its eighth in a row and 26th straight in the Skyland Delaware West Conference. But most importantly, the win clinches the conference title outright for Ridge, their third straight year of winning it. "This is big," said Red Devils coach Mark Taylor of winning the conference outright when reached by phone after the game. "Monroe is a good team but we're not going to discuss Friday's game. Friday is meant to be fun. "One of our big goals is to finish undefeated in the conference. Our main …
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Ridge clinches a tie for the Skyland Deleware West Conference title with its 42-28 road victory over Phillipsburg.
PHILLIPSBURG -- On Jan. 19, prior to their game against North Hunterdon, Ridge boys high school basketball coach Mark Taylor preached the number "10" to his team. Taylor wanted 10 wins in a row. The number came at a pivotal time. The Red Devils were coming off a loss to Passaic 58-51 a few days earlier and senior guard Andrew Madlinger was returning from his wrist ailment. With the tale end of January now meeting the beginning of February, Ridge is only four off the magic number. A little under 24 hours after a memorable overtime victory over Gil St. Bernards, the Red Devils fought off wearied legs, a noisy crowd at "The Pitt" and a hungry Phillipsburg team to win 42-28 Friday night. "Ten was the goal we set out and we're getting closer…
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Red Devils boys basketball team overcome exams and Warren Hills for the 48-38 victory.
Ridge Red Devils head coach Mark Taylor wasn't gun-ho about his team playing Warren Hills Regional Tuesday night. The reason? It was rudimentary. His team is in the middle of exam week. "I wish we didn't play this week to be honest," said Taylor about playing basketball through exams. But play they did, and despite some uneven moments, the Red Devils squeezed out a 48-38 victory over the Blue Streaks on its homecourt to stretch their overall record to 11-3 and 6-0 in the Skyland Delaware West. It was Ridge's third straight victory and fifth in its last six games. "I'm proud of the kids," Taylor said. "They found a way to win. We didn't take care of the basketball and we had more turnovers than any other game of the year. "We didn't shoot …
