One year ago, the boys basketball team was knocked out of the Morris County Tournament by neighborhood rival Chatham High School.
On Saturday night in Madison, the Dodgers returned the favor, stopping Chatham 58-47 in an MCT first-round showdown.
The Dodgers will face another rival, Delbarton, in a second-round tournament match-up next weekend.
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Madison overwhelmed Chatham throughout the entire game as the Dodgers used their size to stifle the Cougars' attack inside, forcing bad shots, while converting their rebounds into points.
“That was our mantra when we were going to play them the first time,” Madison head coach Bill Librera said. “We might shoot from outside, but we were trying to win the game inside.”
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Despite Madison’s physicality, Chatham was able to stay within an arms reach through one quarter. But just as Dodgers fans have seen time and time again from this team, Madison began to heat up.
“It’s a great win for us,” Librera said. “We really respect Chatham’s program, we think it’s one of the best in Morris County, and for us to beat them in the county tournament is a real testament to what we have on this team.”
With 5:17 remaining in the second quarter and senior point guard Aaron Fant on the bench, senior Jake Meister and junior Matt Gilbert led the Dodgers on a 9-0 run.
Gilbert, who recorded six blocked shots against Chatham, sealed the Dodger run with his fourth block of the half, leading to a Meister layup and a 22-12 lead.
“I think we came out real fired up tonight,” said Gilbert, who finished with 10 points, six blocks and four rebounds, “and I felt like I had a little more energy coming into this game. We knew we were faster and bigger than them and we wanted to take advantage of that.”
Meister would rack up a team high 26 points—including 10 points from the foul line—to go along with six rebounds in the win.
“We love these games,” Meister explained. “We’ve got a lot of experience, we know what to do and we know how we want to do it. We know we have guys who can step up and take big shots.”
While Madison was in control throughout the entire game, Chatham worked their way back to a five-point deficit with just five minutes remaining in the game.
But just as quickly as Chatham worked back to striking range, Madison would close the door as Fant and Meister combined to hit three three-pointers and put the game out of reach.
“It feels good because we’re going to need them later on, against Delbarton [in the next round] next week and later in the season going into states,” said Fant of Madison’s clutch shooting late. “It feels good to know that we can hit big shots in big spots.”
Madison's head coach was happy to see his star point guard heat up from downtown, and not only because it finished off the win for his team.
“Aaron’s been shy and dry from the three-point line for a little while and I think the two three’s that he hit against Hanover Park kind of opened up the well,” Librera said. “Those [three-pointers in the fourth quarter] were definitely daggers. To see a kid of that ability and that character, to hit those big three’s, makes you proud to be a coach.”
As for Delbarton, Madison has a simple plan.
“We’re going to try and leave at least one point higher than them on Saturday,” Librera said. “From one border war to another.”
