Stars realize dream of playing at Rutgers thanks to their poise under pressure

Cliff Joseph Nottingham boys basketball
Cliff Joesph of Nottingham makes the layup against Delsea in the Group III semifinal game. Photo by Michael A. Sabo

By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com

Mar. 8: What does it mean for Nottingham to be playing at Rutgers for a state championship on Sunday?

Depends on who you ask.

“It’s amazing,” guard Richie Jones said. “It was a goal since the beginning of the season.”

Kostro Montina Nottingham Boys Basketball

Kostro Montina defends against Delsea in the NJSIAA Group III state semifinal game at Brick Memorial High School. Photo by Michael A. Sabo

Kostro Montina feels it’s the by-product of work ethic.

“It means so much,” Montina said. “It shows how much work we put in. I believe we are the most hard- working team so we deserve to be there.”

For Darell Johnson, it means there is still another game to win.

“I’m happy,” Johnson said. “I’m not too happy though. I’m not gonna just be happy to play there, I want to win it.”

One of the things that it really means, is that the Northstars are more than just a group of talented players who thrive on blowing other teams out. All through the year as Nottingham was cruising to 40-point victories, people wondered how it would react to the pressure of a close game.

Well, now they have had three and answered the call each time – against Trenton Catholic in the Mercer County Tournament final; against Moorestown in the Central Jersey Group III final, and against Delsea in tonight’s Group III semifinal.

Trailing by one, the Stars converted a lay-up with five seconds left to beat TCA. Trailing by two with three seconds left, they tied it at the buzzer and won in overtime at Moorestown. After letting a 25-point lead slip to two tonight, Nottingham ended with a 5-0 run to hold off the Crusaders.

How have the Northstars been so good in tight situations, with so few situations to prepare them?

“We know what to expect,” Jones said. “We know teams will give it their all, we just have to give the same in return.”

“It just shows how resilient we are as a team in general,” Montina added. “We can always fight back.”

 

Johnson feels it’s more of a maturation process and a case of learning from growing pains.

Darrell Johnson Nottingham Basketball

Darrell Johnson battles under the net against Delsea in the NJSIAA Group III state semifinal game at Brick Memorial High School. Photo by Michael A. Sabo

“This tells us a lot,” he said. “It shows that we’ve grown a lot since our sophomore and freshman year. We can handle close games. In the past we’d lose them. This shows we’ve grown and it feels good to show that we’re young men and we can handle close games.”

And, of course, the process of playing together for so long helps, as coach Chris “The Baron” Raba never tires of telling folks.

“These guys played probably over 100 games together,” said Raba, who may very well get that engraved on his headstone. “They know where each other are on the court, they keep their composure. In the Moorestown game, that play (to tie the game) we practice, and they ran it because of all the practice together.”

And by winning such tight games, Nottingham is prepared for whatever it must face in Sunday’s state final. The Baron has been there before, leading Hamilton West to a state title.

His advice?

“To just play the way we’ve been playing,” he said. “It’s been our goal since the day we left Ewing’s gym last year (after losing the CJ III final). I have that picture of Ewing hoisting up that sectional trophy and I kept that in my room, it’s been stapled to my bulletin board and I’ve been showing the kids that picture once or twice a week. I finally took it down this week.”

And will he show the Northstars a photo of his Hornets holding up their state title trophy for motivation?

“No,” he said. “They’re gonna have their own legacy.”

About The Author


Rich Fisher has been around the Hamilton Township sports scene for so long that he actually got Rich Giallella’s autograph when Giallella was still a player! Proud product of Hamilton YMCA and Lou Gehrig baseball leagues and former teammate of Jim Maher on a very average Barton & Cooney rec basketball team, Fish graduated from Nottingham Junior High and Steinert High school and has covered township sports since 1980. His goal in life is to convince Maria Prato that Jersey tomatoes are at least 100 times better than California tomatoes.