JV Basketball Ties Both Scrimmages in Preparation for Regular Season

The JV basketball team was successful in both of their scrimmages against Morris County teams – Chatham and Mount Olive. The Rams ability to play lockdown defense and run their strong offense would pay dividends in coming away with ties in both games, each of which were only two quarters. Freshman Ryan Fay would lead the team in scoring with 4 points in the first game and 5 points in the second game, despite only playing two quarters. Sophomore Henry Bolster would also help out by having a combined 8 points of his own in the scrimmages. Coach Muoio’s ability to give the boys confidence would result in some success in their scrimmages, but he looks to accomplish even more in the regular season. However, before talking about the regular season, here’s a recap of the first two scrimmages.

Scrimmage #1: @ Mount Olive

-The Rams’ offense would start slowly, with them failing to get foul calls and missing shots by inches, yet their strong defense was a constant. The Rams would find themselves down 4-0 early in the game, but points from freshmen Ryan Fay and sophomore Henry Bolster would put them ahead 5-4. Mount Olive would respond with a couple of points of their own to take a narrow lead, but the Rams would quickly counter. Freshman Robert Santoro would dribble in, spin, and shoot a difficult fade away shot to put the Rams ahead, cutting Mount Olive’s lead down two points at the half. Bolster and Fay would keep the scoring going, combining for four more points to make it a 12-11 game halfway through the 2nd, and final quarter. Mount Olive would lead 15-12 in the final seconds of the game, when an Aidan Fahy shot just bounced off the rim, but Ian Heffernan was there to rebound and pass out to Ben Gaffney, who would try to tie it with three seconds left. Gaffney’ shot absolutely turned the ball to rain drops, draining a game tying, buzzer beater three. Mount Olive and the Rams would finish the game 15-15 in 2 quarters of play.

Scrimmage #2: Home vs Chatham

In the first quarter of play, the Rams found themselves down 4-0 once again, this time to Chatham. That was until Ryan Fay and Henry Bolster combined for 5 points, to combine with another Rob Santoro fade away. By forcing Chatham to shoot outside the paint and grabbing key rebounds after misses, the Rams only allowed four points in the first quarter. With only one quarter of play remaining, the Rams would finish the quarter 7-4. Chatham would respond with a few layups, and a three-pointer to start the quarter with seven points. The Rams would not let up, hitting key shots including a Jack Olohan mid-range jumper and a crucial Fahy layup. Ryan Fay would continue his incredible start to his freshman season by adding another tough layup to his total, bringing it to seven by the end of the game. The game would end in a 13-13 tie, between the Rams and Chatham. The Rams begin their season on the road against Hillside on December 15th, looking for their first win since last season.