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Sparked by Senior Stars Savage, Murray; Hun Boys' Hoops Tops Lawrenceville
By Bill Alden
It was frigid outside last Thursday but the atmosphere was red-hot inside the Hun School gymnasium.
With archrival Lawrenceville School coming into town with its 14-3 boys' basketball team to take on the 11-4 Raiders, the gym was jammed with a standing-room only crowd ringing the court.
In one corner of the gym, Hun students were clad in their bright red "Stone Section" t-shirts (named for Hun head coach Jon Stone) and creating a wall of noise with their rhythmic chanting.
The action on the court was hot right from the opening tip-off as the teams battled each other tooth-and-nail from end-to-end. Hun went on a 9-0 run at the end of the first quarter to take a 19-12 lead over the Big Red. In the waning moments of the half, the Raiders turned a 24-23 deficit into a 31-26 edge at the break.
When Lawrenceville overcame an eight-point deficit to to take a 49-48 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Raiders turned to the cool-headed play of its senior duo of Mingus Murray and Noah Savage to guide it down the stretch.
Showing his coolness under fire, the 5'7 Murray put in a floater over 6'10 Joakim Noah to put the Raiders back in front. The feisty point guard then repeatedly dribbled through and around the Big Red's press, stroking in five key free throws when Lawrenceville tried to slow him by fouling.
Savage, for his part, calmly drained eight free throws as the Raiders ultimately held off the Big Red to win 71-63, triggering a raucous on-court celebration by the frenzied members of the Stone Section.
After the players' spirited post-game celebration which included yelps, leaping high fives, and hugs as they headed into their locker room, Savage acknowledged that he and Murray have developed a special connection during crunch time.
"We've got a trust between us where I know if Mingus has the ball at the end of the game and he's going to the line, that's money," said Savage, a Princeton resident who will be playing college basketball at Princeton University next season.
"I knew he was going to come up big. He made a big save, took a big charge, he's just real good. With me and Mingus, I know those shots are going in."
Murray maintained that he has developed a comfort level when it comes to handling things down the stretch. "I feel a little bit more comfortable as a senior," said Mingus, who scored a team-high 18 points in the win over Lawrenceville. "I have to, especially at the end of games. You have to have someone out there giving instructions, being an extension of the coach."
Hun needed its seniors to come up big down the stretch, considering that the team has lost four straight nailbiters to the Big Red including an overtime loss earlier this season in Peddie's holiday tournament.
"We always knew we could beat Lawrenceville, every game was close," said Savage, who scored 17 points in the win. "Coming down the stretch, it always went their way. It felt like it was time for us to get one."
In Murray's view, the breakthrough win should help Hun as it heads into post-season play later this month. It's going to give us some confidence when we face teams like St. Benedict's," said Murray. "We could play Lawrenceville a couple of more times. It's fun to play them."
Hun coach Stone certainly had fun guiding his charges past the formidable Big Red. "They're a great team, it was a good win for us," said Stone, whose club defeated Life Center Academy 58-47 last Friday to improve to 13-4. "I think that anytime we play them, we know it's going to be a close game. It's going to come down to a few plays here or there. Those plays were made by us tonight."
In assessing what made the difference after four straight losses to the Big Red, Stone said it came down to a total team effort. "We had guys making the little plays all day, it really helped us," said Stone, citing Leo Nolan's 13-point outburst in the first quarter, Conor Godfrey's key putback at the end of the second quarter and Jack Martin's two key foul shots in the last quarter.
The wily veteran Savage, however, knows that he and his teammates can't get carried away by last Thursday's special triumph.
"Our confidence is high but we're not letting this go to our heads," asserted Savage, who will be looking to lead the Riders to win as they play at powerful St. Anthony's on February 4, face Willingboro on February 6 in the Prime Time Shootout at the Sovereign Bank Arena, and then host Hill on February 7.
"We're real excited but we know we're going to get them at the end of the season."
