Bridgewater Avenges Earlier Loss to Franklin

With a 63-49 win over Franklin Thursday, boys basketball team avenged a 59-53 loss on Jan. 11.

Bridgewater's record now sits at 9-9, as the team has been hovering around the .500 mark for the entire season.

After the game, head coach Gene McAteer said he was very pleased with his team's performance as the boys have been playing some of their best basketball of the season during the last few weeks.

"We got a nice win on the road in the conference," McAteer said.  "Antime you go on the road in the conference, you know you're going to be in for a tough game. I'm really proud of our team because we are much smaller than Franklin. They had a definite rebounding edge on us, but we were able to stay physical with them."

Junior Steve Danyluk led all scorers with 22 points to go with six rebounds for the Panthers. He hit six three-pointers, including four in the first half that really set the pace for Bridgewater.  

McAteer credited his team with finding the open jump shooter and giving him an opportunity to score.

"Stevie had the hot hand for us today," McAteer said. "I credit our team for finding Stevie and getting him the ball so he could do what he does best, which is shoot and put it in the basket."

Junior Sal Vitello added 20 points for the Panthers and also had nine assists. Senior Justin Leeds added 11 points and five rebounds.  

For Franklin, Tyree Hare had a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds, and James Molson added 10 points off the bench.

McAteer went on to praise his point guard Vitello after the game, or, as he called him, "the floor general."

"Sal just really leads you with his point guard play," McAteer said. "He had a ton of assists tonight and makes great decisions for the most part. He does a great job of leading us as a team."

The recent plays by the Panthers have caught the eyes of many people around the area. Kevin Andersen, a 2007 graduate of Bridgewater-Raritan High School, attended his first game of the season Thursday, and was impressed with what he saw.

"The team looked great," Andersen said. "It's awesome to see our basketball team playing at a high level again. After hearing about Tuesday's game, I really wanted to come down and see what the team was about."

In Tuesday's game, Bridgewater lost to Gill St. Bernard, 72-68, a team that was ranked fifth in the state. In that game, Vitello had a game-high 25 points.

After a game like that, it is important to avoid a letdown game, which is what Bridgewater was able to do with the win against Franklin.

"I challenged our team," McAteer said about his team's preparation for Franklin. "I wanted to see if we are turning the corner and maturing as a team. I didn't want us to come out great on Tuesday, and then go through the motions on Thursday."

I wanted to see if we were going to play consistently offensively and defend with the urgency that it takes to win games," he added. "I think tonight was an indication that maybe we are that team. We want to consistently play basketball the right way."

Unlike Andersen, Dan Bridge is a fan who has seen nearly every Panther basketball game this year. The 2006 Bridgewater graduate, who is currently working security at the high school, has seen the potential that this team has, even after an inconsistent start.

"We opened up really well against Immaculata, but then struggled a little bit after that," Bridge said. "I thought we were going to pull the upset over Gil on Tuesday. We are playing at a really high level right now."

The Panthers team is hitting its stride at the right time. With the Somerset County and state tournaments looming, Bridgewater is in a good position to make a run in both, even though the task will not be easy.

"If we continue to play like we are, we have a chance to come up with a big win on Saturday," McAteer said. "There is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the state tournament, and when it comes down to who are we going to play."

"At the state cut-off we were right at the .500 mark, and I project us playing on the road," McAteer said. "In our section, we could go to places such as Linden, Bayonne or Columbia and you just never know where you're going to end up. Our section is one of the toughest in the state, so you just have to take it one game at a time."

Saturday's county game against Rutgers Prep will have multiple storylines as the Panthers look to continue into the semi-finals with a win. Bridgewater will have a lot to deal with, as Rutgers Prep poses many threats.

"Rutgers Prep is a very good team," McAteer said. "They have several good players that can cause matchup problems for us. Matt Ranney is another big body we have to deal with. He's 6'7" or 6'8" so we're going to have to keep him off the boards."

The team will be up against Rutgers Prep head coach Tim Ortelli, who will be facing the team he coached for nearly two decades. And on top of playing his old team, he will also be facing off against his son, senior captain Andrew Ortelli.

McAteer has been open to any suggestions that the younger Ortelli could make to beat his father and the second-seeded Rutgers Prep team.

"We've been trying to pick Andrew's brain all season," McAteer said with a chuckle. "Andrew is truly a coach's son. He knows a lot about the personnel and teams around the county and conference, not just Rutgers Prep. I joke around with my team all the time because if I have a question about a certain player, I will go to Andrew first before some of my coaching buddies."

The Panther fans are also believing that their team can pull off the upset and even make a run during the state tournament.

"If we play like we have been, we can do serious damage in counties," Bridge said.  "I think we're also going to surprise a lot of people in the state tournament.  It should be a lot of fun to watch."

Saturday's county quarterfinal game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Rutgers Prep.