Dodgers Fall To Chatham, 51-47

For the second time this week the Madison High School boys basketball team (12-4) hit the court to face border rival Chatham High. This time, the Dodgers came out on the losing end, as Cougars clutch shooting late proved too much for Madison to handle, leading to a 51-47 Chatham victory.
 
Unlike the Dodgers opening round Morris County Tournament winner on Feb. 5, the Dodgers headed into halftime on Thursday night trailing Chatham (10-7), 26-21, thanks in large part to seven-points from junior guard Jon Berntsen and six-points from sophomore Drew Ballard.

“We just never really got into our rhythm and we didn’t get to the line a lot,” Madison head coach Bill Librera said. “Even when we did, we didn’t capitalize, so I feel like this game for us was a lot of missed chances and missed opportunities.

While the Cougars were rolling through the first two quarters, Madison struggled to convert quality chances into points, shooting poorly from the floor early and never seeming to find a rhythm.

“We couldn’t hit shots in the beginning and we didn’t play very good defense,” Madison point guard Aaron Fant, who finished the day with five points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals. “We’ve got to play a lot better defensively. They hit a lot of big shots, give them credit.”

The opposite was true for Chatham as the home team’s shooting seemed to get sharper as the game progressed.

Chatham's sharpshooting was never more evident than with four minutes remaining in the game, as sophomore Drew Ballard hit consecutive three-pointers to put Chatham ahead 41-38.
 
Minutes later, Ballard would come up big once again, recording a steal, leading to a Joe Timmes three-pointer and a 44-40 Chatham lead.

“I just tried to get down in the corner, that’s my hot-spot, and I tried to get the shots off,” Ballard explained. “Fortunately I hit them."

Madison's Jake Meister would hit a three-pointer with 1:08 remaining to get Madison back within three, but that would be as close as the Dodgers would get as Timmes and Berntsen each sank two free throws, leading Chatham to the 51-47 win.

Meister would finish with a team high 21-points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists.

“I want to give [Chatham] a lot of credit, they hit some big shots,” Librera said. “[Drew] Ballard really hit two big three’s right when I thought we were grabbing control and down on offense we just never seemed to be clicking.”

On Saturday the Dodgers have another test as they face Delbarton High in a second round Morris County Tournament match-up and Madison's senior point guard is confident that the team will be ready.

"We'll fix it in practice tomorrow [Friday]," Fant said of the Dodger deficiencies, "and we'll get better by Saturday."