The Alternative Press

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – Right from the start, it was a rough game for the Governor Livingston Highlanders, who played the Linden Tigers on Thursday night. It was the last home game for the Highlander seniors, who were honored before the game, but there would be little to celebrate once the game was under way.

The Tigers started off the game incredibly hot, jumping out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter, a lead they would never surrender, highlighted by a dunk by Quadri Moore. The Highlanders would never cut significantly into this lead. The run was fueled by numerous Highlander mistakes, including numerous errant passes and sloppy ball handling. The Highlanders finally got on the board after Kelley hit a three point shot with 1:06 remaining the first quarter, which would be the Highlander’s only points of the quarter.

There was little improvement by the Highlanders in the second quarter, as the Tigers were in control throughout the game. A fast break layup by Linden, which put the Tigers up 22-3, forced Coach Steve Petruzelli to call his third time-out of the game only 35 seconds into the second quarter. The sloppy play, however, would not end there for the Highlanders, who would go on to commit over 20 turnovers on the night. The Highlanders were also noticeably out-rebounded, as nearly every loose rebound seemed to end up in a Linden player’s hands; the Tigers also grabbed many offensive rebounds which led to easy baskets.  Junior forward Cameron DeFronzo cited this as a problem for the Highlanders, explaining they “could have crashed the board a little more frequently on both ends.” The Governor Livingston squad would go on to score two baskets during the second quarter, putting them behind 30-7 at the half, with Kelley scoring all 7 points in the half.

Before the game, senior players, cheerleaders, and managers were honored with their parents. Senior players who were honored were guard Logan Turner and Logan Kelley, and forwards Rendyll Moorman, Andrew Romeo, and Matt Peltier. Also honored were cheerleaders Kat Chinicci, Alicia Collins, Briana Figueiredo, Marina Russo, Samantha Shepphard, and Emily Stecher, along with manager Allie Deegan. The night was emotional for the whole Governor Livingston team, as it would be the last home game for the Highlander seniors. Kelley described playing his last game at Governor Livingston as “exciting,” but that he would “miss that gym a lot.” DeFronzo explained that replacing the seniors would be difficult, saying “it’s like losing your older brothers. The seniors are the leaders on the team that help us though tough games and hard times, so we appreciate them and we will miss them.”

The third quarter brought some excitement, as an infuriated response from the Linden coach on a foul call drew a technical foul, which resulted in Kelley making two free throws. Governor Livingston was able match Linden basket for basket, and looked to be making some progress in cutting the lead during the early part of the quarter. The Highlanders could never quite reach Linden, however, who began pulling away during the latter end of the quarter and would go on to reach their largest lead of the night, going up at one point 47-15 with 1:52 remaining, and would go into the fourth leading 47-18 following three Kelley free throws.

The Highlanders fought valiantly in the fourth quarter, continuing to play hard even through Linden was well ahead. Kelley sank a long three point field goal with 6:11 left in the final period to cut the lead to 49-21, and then followed that up with a three-pointer and a foul, which ignited the noticeably quiet Highlander crowd, if only for a moment. From there Linden would regain control, responding with a layup and a foul. The Highlanders would eventually pull their starters with 1:02 left in the game, and would go on to lose 56-29. Kelley had 21 of the Highlander’s 29 points, playing 30:52 out of 32 minutes in the game. The only other baskets came from DeFronzo, Peltier, Turner, and junior guard Ron Jordan.
The Highlanders dropped to 9-12, and will try to rebound at Roselle on Tuesday, Feb. 21.