Boy’s Basketball Grabs First Road Win of Season

Nothing beats a Cinnaminson-Delran boy’s basketball game, except for a 55-52 victory for the Pirates in enemy territory, which is just what Cinnaminson accomplished Tuesday night.

See Box Score Below

In their first road test of the season, a Freedom Division game, the Pirates went toe-to-toe with the Bears to come away with their second win in two games.

The first quarter was all Cinnaminson, leading 22-13, but the Bears came out firing in the second stanza, dropping 19 points compared to just eight for the Pirates.

“As long as we move the ball on offense, we are going to be alright,” senior Pat McCarthy (8 points) said. “We need to trust each other. We’re just coming out trying to build up the chemistry. We’re learning that everybody out there is a good player and we can lean on them at different times.”

The dagger came at the buzzer before halftime as Delran dropped a prayer of a three-pointer to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room.

“That’s the first thing I said to them after the game,” head coach Mike Fries said. “They could have put their head down and walked out of here with a loss, but they went into the third quarter fired up and took a lead going into the fourth quarter. They played so hard tonight defensively. I’m proud of them.”

Despite seeing their large lead disappear and turn into a deficit, the Pirates did not let the adversity affect their intensity or confidence in the second half.

“We already knew Coach Fries wasn’t going to be happy we were losing at halftime,” senior Devon Taylor said. “The seniors told the team to relax, keep your heads up, and forget about the second quarter and move on.”

Taylor took leadership of the five players on the court, dropping 10 of his game-high 22 points in the third quarter as the Pirates scored 13 in the quarter. He then had five of the Pirates 12 fourth-quarter points.

Cinnaminson had just two players score in double digits as Rich Rickus finished with 10.

Free throws were a major factor in tonight’s game, with the Pirates shooting 13-of-17 from the charity stripe after a disappointing (14-for-28) performance in the season opener against Riverside.

“Coach Fries always let’s us know how important free throws are,” Taylor said. “We shot about 50 free throws apiece in practice this weekend. We worked on free throws a lot and had to make sure we made them tonight.”

“Guys stepped to the line tonight and made their shots,” Fries said. It was much better than Riverside.”

Cinnaminson displayed its long-range shooting in the win, dropping six three’s, two of them from freshman JP Rickus.

The biggest difference for the Pirates from the first to the second quarter was their play as a team, which Fries was none too thrilled about at the break.

“I did not like the way in the second quarter that we played ‘me’ ball. We did not move the ball together as a team. We came down, one pass and then jack it up. We have to work on that and they know that. Things that you just learn from and move on.”

Boy’s basketball returns to the court on Tuesday, December 29 at 10am when they take on Salem at the Collingswood Holiday Tournament.

“It’s a big confidence builder going 2-0 going into the Christmas Tournament,” Fries said. “We have a good shot to win the Christmas Tournament. They’re very focused at practice, they are playing team basketball and they just want to learn and get better.”

55-52 Final CHS (2-0)

Devon Taylor – 22
Rich Rickus – 10
Conor Bresnahan – 9
Pat McCarthy – 8
JP Rickus – 6