(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: LAST FLING: Princeton Day School junior guard A.J. Rubin flings a pass in recent action. Last Saturday, Rubin scored a team-high 11 points but it wasn’t enough as 12th-seeded PDS fell 58-35 to No. 1 Pennington in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals. The loss left the Panthers with a final record of 11-14.

PDS Boys’ Hoops Falters in MCT Semis, but Proud of Progress Made This Winter

Bill Alden

Paris McLean was concerned that his Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team might experience some jitters when it hit the big stage of the Mercer County Tournament semifinals.

McLean’s fears were realized last Saturday night as the 12th-seeded Panthers faced rival and top-seeded Pennington in the semis last Saturday at a packed Mercer County Community College gymnasium.

Looking tight, PDS dug itself a 9-2 hole in the first three minutes of the contest.

“We got off to a very slow start and we played right into their hands between the tempo and the jitters,” said PDS head coach McLean.

“We knew both teams were going to make mistakes early on and it would come down to who would make fewer mistakes. Unfortunately, that wasn’t us.”

In the second quarter, PDS played sharper as the teams battled to a 7-7 standstill and the Panthers entered the half down 27-18.

“We were getting ourselves together,” said McLean, reflecting on his team’s effort in the second quarter.

“There just seemed to be times out there when we were lost offensively and defensively; we made mistakes that were a little out of character.”

In the second half, though, PDS kept making mistakes as the Red Raiders pulled away to a decisive 58-35 victory.

“They are a very good ball club,” said McLean, whose team finished with an 11-14 record.

“Once they get into transition, they are trouble. We never got into everything today.”

McLean was proud of the way his team gave foes trouble in its uplifting MCT run.

“It was a great run,” said McLean, whose club knocked off No. 5 Hamilton and 11th-seeded Hopewell Valley on the way to the MCT semis.

“A lot of people said it was a miracle run but when you think about it we felt as though we could play with any team. We have shown that throughout the year; besides a few bad losses, we were in every game.”

It was a good year for the Panthers overall as they rebounded from a dismal 2008-09 season.

“I am pleased but not satisfied,” asserted McLean. “The growth we had in going from four wins to 11 is fantastic but it could have been 15 or 16. This is the best we have played against the CVC, we were 6-1 in CVC games.”

McLean credited his group of seniors with helping to spark the improvement.

“They have had great individual records; two of the guys are possibly going off to play at the next level,” said Mclean, whose seniors included Cody Exter, Ian Crowell, Evan Quinn, Adam Oresky, and Kenny Holzhammer.

“They are good character kids; I am sure they would’ve liked a few more wins but overall they did a good job.”

With a solid core of players returning, McLean is confident the Panthers can pile up plenty of wins next winter.

“We have a great group of kids coming back,” said McLean, citing such standouts as A.J. Rubin, Davon Reed, Jordan Page, Robbie Smukler, Chris Bonnaig, and Dylan Quigley. “I think any coach would be happy to come back with those kids.”

McLean is hoping that those returners learned a valuable lesson through the defeat to Pennington.

“It is something they can build off of and not just being satisfied with where you are,” said McLean.

“I think a little of what happened tonight is that we were happy to be here and you can’t just be happy to be here. You fought your tails off and you have to keep going the whole way.”

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