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 (Photoby Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Hun Boys' Hoops Shines in Prime Time; Aims to Excel in Season's Crunch Time
By Bill Alden
Hitting the court last Friday at Trenton's Sovereign Bank Arena to face St. Augustine in the Prime Time Shootout, the Hun School boys' basketball team was determined to show that it belonged with the elite of high school hoops.
The Raiders didn't waste much time in making their point as they used a suffocating defense to race out to a 25-14 lead at halftime over St Augustine, which brought a 16-2 record into the contest.
Led by a dominant 24-point, 12-rebound effort from sophomore forward Idris Hilliard, Hun cruised to a 62-47 win as it improved to 16-6 on the season.
By prospering in the Prime Time event, Hun head coach Jon Stone is hoping that his club can excel in the crunch time of its season which will see it compete in both the state prep A tournament and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) tourney in the next week.
"I was real happy," said Stone in assessing his team's performance against St. Augustine. "They were a good team and that was good preparation for us. We didn't play a perfect game but we did a lot of good things. I would say our defense and sharing the ball were two of the best things we did."
Certainly, another one of the best things abut Hun's game was the play of the 6'6, 190-pound Hilliard, who has become a force in the paint for the Raiders.
"Idris had a tremendous game," said Stone, who got 14 points from Gary Garris and 11 from Leo Nolan in the victory over St. Augustine.
"Idris has been playing well all year. I think he has been averaging something like 18 points a game over the last two weeks. He's continuing to improve."
Stone, who has guided the Raiders to the semifinals of the state Prep A tourney the last two years, is hoping his club can improve collectively as they deal with playing two post-season tournaments in the same week.
"It's a little different from the past," said Stone, noting that the MAPL tourney generally preceded the state competition.
"We're certainly excited about being in both tournaments. We just need to work on shifting gears."
In Stone's view, his club has the depth to successfully fight its two-front battle. "We're balanced, anyone can do it on a given night," asserted Stone, whose team gets tourney play underway by hosting Peddie on February 16 in the state Prep A semifinals.
"We've got four guys averaging in double figures (Hilliard, Nolan, Garris, and Charlie Fritsch). The only starter that isn't scoring that much is the point guard Geoff Rizk and he's averaging five assists a game."
Stone acknowledges that Peddie will pose a tough challenge for his club. "They are a good team, we had a good game with them earlier," said Stone, whose club edged Peddie 53-46 in mid-January. "They have a couple of good post-grads. They have a good guard and a big guy in the post. We have to do what we can do."
Stone, for his part, is confident that the challenges posed in the last week of the season will push his team to reach its full potential.
"Hopefully, we're not at our best yet," said Stone, whose club competes in the MAPL tourney from February 18-20 at Mercersburg Academy and would play in the state Prep title game on February 23 if it beats Peddie this Wednesday. "We hope to peak when it counts the most. We want to continue to grow."
