Northstars keep battling, winning

Dave Perry’s hard-working Nottingham High boys’ basketball team continues to work toward its goal of making the NJSIAA Tournament.

The Northstars found themselves 6-4 after one of the toughest stretches of their schedule in mid-January. Even though a tough road loss at Ewing capped the string of games versus rivals Hamilton West, Trenton and Ewing, Nottingham was able to at least pull out a four-point win over archrival Hamilton on its home court during the stretch to stay above .500.

“That was important for us,” Perry said. “We’ve been doing okay. We’re doing everything we can to make the playoffs.”

The Northstars also gave a good showing at Tornado Alley, where they only lost to a top-notch Trenton team by 10 points.

“To stay that close to Trenton is a good sign for us,” Perry said. “I consider them and Ewing to be the cream of the crop in the Colonial Valley Conference this season.”

If that is truly the case, then Nottingham should be fine as March Madness nears as its game at Ewing proved.

Behind a 19-point game from six-foot junior guard Pete Kelly, the Northstars gave the Blue Devils fits in the early going. Kelly was a big part of that because he drained five 3-point field goals in the game. His eight points in the first quarter were a big part of the reason the Northstars were able to stay even with Ewing, 13-13, after eight minutes of play.

“Pete Kelly had a phenomenal game,” Perry said. “We just couldn’t execute when we needed to. Turnovers killed us.”

The Northstars finished with 29 turnovers, mostly in the second half, which turned out to be deadly in a game which the visitors only trailed, 27-24, at intermission.

Few of those turnovers hurt more than the sloppy ball-handling they displayed in the final three minutes of the third quarter to help Ewing stretch a close game to double digits. It took another 3-pointer by Kelly (on which he was also fouled, but missed the chance at the four-point play) with 5.7 seconds left to halt a 10-0 run and bring the Blue Devils’ lead down to 45-38 heading into the fourth quarter.

Matt Joiner, a 6-foot-4 junior swingman, added 11 points for Nottingham, but with no one taller than Joiner, the Northstars had trouble containing Ewing’s 6-foot-5 ½ big man Stephen Shimko, who finished with 16 points to tie for the Blue Devils’ scoring lead.

To try to keep Ewing within striking distance, Nottingham was forced to foul in the final six minutes. But the Blue Devils responded by hitting 10-of-14 free throws to pull away for a 67-55 win.

“It’s a tough loss, but this still isn’t a bad showing for us,” Perry said. “They are a very good team. We have to cut down on the turnovers and keep battling and we’ll be okay.”

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