By Lesley Graham
The Ocean City High School boys’ basketball team defeated Cherry Hill West, 62-50, in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 3 state playoffs Tuesday night.
The Red Raiders improved to 20-4, while Cherry Hill West ended its season with a record of 8-17.
The starting five for Ocean City consisted of Donovan Graham, Joey Sacco, Luke Varallo, Mike Rhodes and Gannon Brady.
Sacco led all scorers with 18 points, while Brady was right behind with 17.
In what was a hotly contested and competitive game, the Red Raiders used multiple scoring runs to outlast the Lions.
The first half saw a lot of back-and-forth action. With under one minute to go in the first period, Ocean City held a two-point advantage. The Red Raiders chipped in another bucket to end the first period up, 18-14.
As the second quarter got underway it was more of the same back and forth play, with both teams trading baskets.
The score was knotted at 22 with three minutes left on the clock when Ocean City used a 9-2 run to carry the momentum into halftime. The Red Raiders entered the locker room with a 31-24 lead.
With the start of the second half, both teams’ crowds were getting into the game, adding to the intense atmosphere inside the gymnasium.
Cherry Hill West climbed its way back into the contest, down by only six points with a quarter left to play.
The teams were fired up – the energy was indicative of the win-or-go-home mentality of the state tournament. Neither team wanted their season to end.
As the final eight minutes played out, Ocean City used another strong scoring run similar to the second quarter to pull away from Cherry Hill West once and for all.
The Red Raiders utilized strong ball movement and controlled possession to limit Cherry Hill West’s opportunity at the basket, dominating possession time in the final quarter.
Although the Lions attempted to foul Ocean City to claw back into the game, it was too little, too late and the Red Raiders were victorious with a final score of 62-50.
Ocean City, the second seed, advances to the second round of the playoffs and will face 10th seeded Seneca on Thursday evening.
