Hillsborough boys hoops score big win on Senior Night

Nothing has been easy for the Hillsborough High School boys basketball team this winter.

A two-week COVID-19 shutdown just two games into the season and recent snowstorms have limited the amount of times the Raiders have been on the court during February.

The tough circumstances have been a challenge for Coach Scott Kallens and his young Hillsborough squad, but the Raiders have continued to push forward and stick together.

That showed on Feb. 23 when the Raiders made Senior Night a special one for teammates Rocco George, Jordan Gumpel and Tyler Murdock in their game against Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School.

Hillsborough led wire-to-wire and came out with its second victory of the season by beating its Skyland Conference rival, 60-49.

“It feels good to win,” Kallens said on Hillsborough’s victory on Senior Night. “When you can do it on a night when you have festivities ahead of time, it makes it feel that much better. This team is resilient. They’re learning and have incredible grit.”

The first quarter was all about Hillsborough’s three senior players as both George and Gumpel knocked in a three-pointer to start off the contest.

Hillsborough started the game on a 12-2 run and took a 15-4 lead going into the second quarter, seeing Murdock knock in four points to fuel the host start.

“We have a great group of guys that came together (tonight) and played well,” Murdock said. “We went up big in the first quarter and were able to get the win. One of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

The Raiders continued to lead by 11 midway through the second quarter, but Bridgewater-Raritan finished the half on a 16-8 run and cut the Hillsborough lead to 29-26 going into halftime.

Junior Maysen Lane helped Hillsborough start off the second half strong by knocking down two baskets to extend the lead to six.

Lane finished with 12 points in the victory for Hillsborough.

Fellow junior Ethan McLaughlin tallied six of his nine points in the third quarter to help the Raiders take a 42-35 lead going into the final quarter of play.

Hillsborough added to its lead in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, going up 47-36 as Murdock dished out a perfect bounce pass to teammate Andrew Drinkwater dashing to the rim for the thunderous layup.

“We came out and expanded the game right away and played really good defense,” Kallens said. “I’m proud of the way we played. We played together and trusted each other.”

Junior point guard Camryn Loniewski finished out the victory for the Raiders with a strong eight-point fourth quarter.

Battling cramps in both calf muscles during the second half, Loniewski racked up 11 of his team-high 15 points in the final two quarters of play, doing whatever he could to help his team close out the contest.

“Injuries are part of the game. You have to keep fighting through it,” Loniewski said after the game. “We got a good team win. We moved the ball around well and played good basketball.”

Loniewski has tallied a team-leading 79 points in six games played this season for Hillsborough.

The 60 points scored in the victory over Bridgewater-Raritan is the most points Hillsborough has scored in a game this season.

Hillsborough heads into its contest against Watchung Hills Regional High School on Feb. 25 with a 2-5 record.

Kallens knows his young squad is hungry for more victories to close out the final two weeks of the season.

“They’re not satisfied,” Kallens said. “They’re hungry and they want to learn. They make me be at my best because they have so much to learn. We’ve won twice, but they want to do more and that’s what I want.”