Panthers Beat Howell, Win Montgomery Tourney

The opening and closing periods during Thursday’s boys basketball match-up between Bridgewater-Raritan and Howell were tightly contested—neither team could gain a clean advantage in either period.

Instead, it was the middle two periods when the Panthers were able to do all of their damage and take the deciding game in the Montgomery High School Holiday Tournament.

Twelve different Panthers scored throughout the course of the game as Bridgewater-Raritan overcame a slow start. The Panthers outscored the Rebels, 40-15, in the second and third quarters of the game to win by a score of 64-37.

“We saw Howell play the other day on Tuesday, and we had a chance to scout them and we anticipated that they play the zone,” said Panthers head coach Gene McAteer. “Not every team out there gives you the whole zone look, so it is a little bit of an adjustment, and I think that’s what you saw in the first quarter.”

After being down briefly in the first quarter, the Panthers charged back to take a 13-11 lead into the second quarter. From there, the Bridgewater-Raritan boys started using their speed to wear the Rebels down.

Key shots from the Panthers, including two consecutive three-pointers from senior guard Sal Vitello in the period, helped the team go up, 29-18, by halftime.

“We did do a good job as the game progressed," McAteer said. "I think our speed was a factor, I think our quickness was a factor and we had 12 guys score [throughout the game]. I think we shared the ball pretty well. I’m happy with our win today, it’s a solid team effort.”

The momentum stayed in the Panthers’ favor into the third quarter, when Bridgewater-Raritan continued to knock shots down with ease. This included six points from forward Rob Myers, as well as a three-pointer apiece in the quarter from Vitello and fellow senior guard Scott Bieda.

That team effort, coupled with the Panthers’ speed, is proving to be a dangerous trait for any Bridgewater-Raritan opponent.

“We all played together with a team, everyone was knocking down shots, and it was a team effort," said Bieda, who finished the game with seven assists for the Panthers. "That’s how we have to play, because we have four guards who start. We play fast, we run up and down and we like to push the ball a lot. It’s tough for the bigger teams to handle us sometimes, and that’s what we did today.”

The Panthers outscored Howell, 24-8, in the third quarter, taking a 53-26 lead into a final period that mostly saw action from bench players from both teams.

Now sitting at 5-0 on the young season, a convincing win is just what the Panthers needed to meet the challenge of the upcoming schedule. In the next two weeks, Bridgewater-Raritan will face teams from Hillsborough, Rutgers Prep, Gill St. Bernard’s and Franklin, who are a combined 12-4 on the season thus far.

“We’re really gonna find out what we’re made of," McAteer said. "If we’re going to be able to compete with the top teams in Somerset County, we’ll find out. They’re among the best in the county, so we’ll find out where we stack up with those teams.”

Therefore, a fast start to each of those games will be just as important for the Panthers as it was Thursday against Howell.

“Those are big games where the intensity’s going to be high," Bieda said. "The main thing is that we have to come out really fast in the beginning. We can’t have a slow start, we’ve had slow starts for the first four games, which is not good. We can’t have that. We need to come out firing and show the teams that we’re here to play.”