RFH boys hoops compete with state's elite

CHRIS KELLY staff Rumson-Fair Haven's Christian Puma (r) scores from underneath against St. Anthony's Dominic Cheek (23) during a Jan. 10 home game. RFH went on to lose by a score of 44-29 to the Friars, the defending state and national champions. The reasoning for Rumson-Fair Haven High School boys basketball coach James Young wanting to schedule defending state and national champion St. Anthony High School of Jersey City was simple: if you want to be the best, then you have to play the best.

"After the postseason last year [where the Bulldogs lost to Abraham Clark in the Central Jersey Group II semifinals], I wanted us to have a tough game against a team that was

better than us, so we went and got the biggest, baddest team on the planet,'' Young said.

For a while, the packed house at RFH may have been surprised that the home team was only down 20-14 at the half.

"We really felt like we were in it in the first half," Young said. "We were shooting from a little too deep, but guys like Matt Blumel [13 points] and [James] LeCardi [nine] are good enough shooters that I'm going to give them the rope to take 22-footers. I think sometimes against St. Anthony that you're so excited when you actually have an open shot that you can rush it.''

But a 12-2 Friars advantage in the third quarter broke things open, with St. Anthony cruising to a 44-29 win. The win left the Bulldogs with a 5-4 record, but more importantly, the knowledge that they could hang with the best.

"Overall, I thought we played pretty well," Young said. "We tried to get them out of their rhythm. We're a blue-collar team, and so we just have to outwork other teams."

Although the Bulldogs were down from the start of the game, they showed that they were not going to go down without a fight against the Friars, who have at least six Division I prospects, including national Player of the Year candidate Dominic Cheek, who was held to just six points. Teammate Jamee Jackson finished with a game-high 19 points.

"There were a few things that we didn't know how to handle, especially Jackson down low," Young said. "He's a beast."

The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow at Raritan at 6:30 p.m.