Boy’s Basketball Takes Down Riverside to Open Season

Opening night of the 2015-2016 boy’s basketball season couldn’t come soon enough for the Pirates and it turned into the outcome they were looking for against Riverside with a 77-53 victory in front of the home fans.

“They really moved the ball tonight, looked for each other, and trusted each other. They really did,” head coach Mike Fries said.

“They realize how much they need to share the basketball to come together as a team. Their intensity tonight was off the charts. Diving for loose balls, getting all the rebounds, our intensity and sharing the basketball were huge.”

Box Score

Cinnaminson got off to a roaring start, building an 11-2 lead midway through the first quarter that forced Riverside into a timeout.

The Pirates led by just five after the first stanza and Riverside clawed to within four with 4:54 left in the half. That would be the closest the Rams would come to tying the game all night.

Even though Riverside pulled within four towards halftime, the game did not feel as close as the score showed.

“It was a great feeling to finally come out and play another team,” Devon Taylor said. “The scrimmages were great preparation for everyone because we have a very young team. The crowd did a great job coming out first night and made some noise.”

The Pirates held a 44-27 advantage at the break.

Despite the large lead, the Pirates struggled in one aspect of their game; shooting free throws. Free throw shooting is an area of the game that the Pirates wanted to improve upon from last season.

Cinnaminson converted just 50 percent of their free throws (14-28) on the night.

“At halftime I told them, go to the line and take a few deep breaths. Take a few dribbles. You have 10 seconds,” Fries said. “I think they rushed their free throws in the first half. When we’re playing big games we have to make them. Luckily, it did,n’t hurt us tonight.”

Taylor scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the first half.

Cinnaminson extended its lead to 50-33 midway through the third and then 62-43 with just over six minutes remaining en route to the 77-53 win.

“When we move the ball well, that’s when we play best,” Taylor said. “We have to continue working on moving the ball in practice because that’s how we are going to get success.”

Conor Bresnahan finished with 15 points, Rich Rickus finished with 13 and Pat McCarthy finished with 12 as the Pirates had four players score in double digits.

“Tonight is a big stepping stone and we need to build on this and go farther,” Fries said.

Nine of the 11 players to see time tonight scored at least one point.

“The guys on the bench, they have to learn quick, because a lot of these guys got their first varsity points tonight,” Fries said. “They’re learning quick. They watch the older guys and how they play together so when they go in, they know exactly what to do.”

The Pirates press play was dominant on Friday night, causing Riverside to make countless turnovers in their defensive zone.

Boy’s basketball returns to the court on Tuesday when they travel to take on Delran at 6:30pm.

“Everyone is excited about the win, but Delran is next and we lost last year at their place,” Taylor said. “We already know that practice is going to be hard Saturday because we gotta get a win on Tuesday.”