(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: STERLING EFFORT: Hun School post-graduate forward Sterling Melville (with headband) flies in for a put-back in recent action. Last Saturday, Melville chipped in a team-high 17 points as Hun beat St. Luke’s (Conn.) 60-57 in overtime to snap a three-game losing streak.

Hun Boys’ Hoops Snaps Losing Streak; Aims to Build on OT Win Over St. Luke’s

Bill Alden

The holiday season wasn’t kind to the Hun School boys’ basketball team.

The Raiders ended 2007 by squandering a late lead in a 48-45 loss to St. Patrick’s on December 20 and then suffering lopsided losses to American Christian Academy (87-60) and Academy of New Church (59-39) in the Jameer Nelson Classic.

Last Saturday, Hun played at St. Luke’s in Connecticut and looked to be starting the New Year the way it finished things off in 2007. Hurt by missed free throws, Hun blew a late lead and faced overtime.

The Raiders, though, snapped out of their doldrums, battling back from a three-point deficit to pull out a 60-57 win.

While Hun head coach Jon Stone acknowledged the win wasn’t a thing of beauty, he liked the way his team persevered down the stretch.

“We honestly should have won the game in regulation and won it fairly easily,” said Stone, whose team improved to 6-6 with the victory.

“We made some mistakes and let them get back into the game. We were down three in overtime and we showed some resilience. Four different guys scored in overtime. Mike Auriemma hit a big three when we were down by two. Lance Goulbourne made a couple of steals and Doug Davis made a free throw to put us up by three.”

In Stone’s view, it was critical for his team to start 2008 with a victory.

“We needed a win, no question about it,” asserted Stone, who got 17 points from Sterling Melville with Doug Davis scoring 13 and Auriemma chipping in 12. “We got a little confidence. We just need to take things as they come.”

The Raiders lacked some confidence as they took their lumps over the holidays. “We played some very, very good teams,” said Stone. “We have to learn to overcome things; we lacked a competitive edge.”

This week, Hun will face some more good teams as they head into the thick of their Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) season, playing at Blair on January 9 before hosting Peddie on January 12.

“It’s always tough to win up there,” added Stone, referring to Blair who edged Hun 51-50 in early December. “It’s a long ride on a weekday; there are a lot of winding roads.”

With his team having ended last season with a surge that saw the Raiders win both the MAPL and state Prep A titles, Stone is hoping this year’s club can follow a similar road.

“Each year, the team is so different,” said Stone. “It takes a while to figure out the chemistry. I think we are coming together more as a team; it’s a collective thing.”

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