By Jerry Del Priore
It’s been a pretty tough season for the Chatham Cougars boys basketball team, But senior Tim Fell, in his first career start, saw fit to do something about snapping their seven-game slide, scoring a club-high 14 points in their 50-37 win over host Morristown-Beard Friday night.
However, Fell didn’t do it alone, as fellow senior Ryan Doherty and junior E. J. Leskauskas contributed 13 points each in the Cougars’ first victory of the new year.
Leskauskas was happy with the victory, but he said there’s room for overall squad improvement.
“It was a good team win, but there are a lot things to work on, whether it’s cutting down on turnovers or playing better defense,” said Leskauskas, who was playing in his third game back since subluxating his shoulder three weeks ago.
Things didn’t begin well for Chatham (3-11), as Crimson jumped out at to 6-0 lead. But the Cougars clawed back with a 13-point run, that gave them a 13-6 lead before Morristown-Beard hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 13-9.
Chatham built a 25-17 advantage heading into the locker room, and extended its lead to 37-20 after posting 12 consecutive points, capped by a trey by the six-foot-three Fell, with 4:21 left in the third period.
Not to outdone, Crimson (3-9) went on a 9-0 run to close the gap to 37-29 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
But the Cougars squelched Mo-Beard’s threat with seven straight points, putting them ahead, 44-29, with 5;29 remaining in the tilt.
Chatham’s defense was able to keep Crimson at bay the rest of the way for the 13-point win.
The Cougars host Eagle Academy Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
