By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
PINE HILL — Overbrook High boys basketball coach Donny Lang has been around long enough to know that it takes more than a glossy record to be successful the state playoffs. You have to outwork your opponent each night and find a way to advance — even if you came into the postseason sporting one of the best records in South Jersey.
The host Rams finished the regular season 24-3 and riding a seven-game winning streak, but they got all they could handle from upstart Sterling in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 2 tournament on Thursday night. The 12 th-seeded Silver Knights went on a 14-4 run in the third quarter and took the lead after trailing by seven at halftime, but ultimately No. 5 Overbrook rallied and hit its free throws down the stretch to pull out a 50-45 victory and advance to the sectional quarterfinals. The Rams will travel to No. 4 Cinnaminson, a 69-53 winner over No. 13 Cedar Creek, in the next round, on Monday.
“We talk about it all the time, every game you walk into, it doesn’t matter what your record is, you start 0-0,” Lang said. “We know they are well coached and a very good team. They are a very balanced team, so you have to cover everybody, and we were prepared for that. I thought our guys had a couple of missed assignments, but when it really mattered they locked in and got some big stops for us.”
“I knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Rams senior point guard Zair Green, who went 12-for-12 from the foul line, including 6-for-6 in the final 26 seconds to help seal the victory. “They were amped up for this one. They wanted to come in and win in our house, but we weren’t going to let that happen.”
Things were looking pretty good for the Rams (25-3, 10-0 Tri-County Diamond) at halftime, as they were up 25-17, but Sterling (15-13, 5-5 Colonial Liberty) came out firing in the third quarter, getting 3-pointers from Amare Kee, Zion Arnett and Travis Schmid to tie the game at 27. By the end of the third quarter, the Silver Knights had grabbed a 32-29 lead.
“We just wanted to keep everybody composed. We knew coming in that we could win this game as long as everybody kept their heads straight,” Green said. “I wouldn’t say we were nervous, we just had to close out on their shooters a little bit better. There weren’t really any jitters in our stomachs, we just had to close out a little better.”
“It’s a game of runs I think the team that handles that run and can get through it, and get over it, the quickest, ends up coming out on top. That’s what we try to preach,” Lang said. “We couldn’t score, the ball wouldn’t go in for us and we had a couple of turnovers, but if we could just keep it close we were going to go on our run, and that’s kind of what happened. The big thing we preach is making foul shots, and tonight we really locked in and hit some big ones in the fourth quarter. We went 17-of-18 for the game, and in a game like this, in an environment like this, to do that, I’m super proud of my guys.”
A 7-0 run by the Rams to start the fourth quarter put them up, 36-32, and then two buckets and a couple of free throws pushed the lead to 42-34 with a little more than two minutes to go. Sterling stayed within striking distance on 3-pointers from Arnett and Kee, getting to within 44-41 with 42 seconds left.
But Overbrook didn’t miss a free throw the rest of the way, led by Green’s huge six points from the line. The Rams also got 17 points, including four 3-pointers, from junior Lamar Little.
“(Green) takes care of the ball for us under some extreme pressure, especially late game situations where the pressure ramps up, he handles it for us,” Lang said of his senior leader. “We’re so lucky to have him. We’re happy when he gets to the free-throw line because we know he’s locked in and is going to knock them down for us.”
“We shoot free throws every day in practice, and coach Lang tells us when we’re at the free-throw line to take it seriously so that when the game comes it’s easy,” Green added.
Now, the Rams turn their attention to Cinnaminson, a team that has won four straight and six of its last nine games.
“It’s the cliché phrase, you know, ‘one game at a time,’ and that’s what we just told the guys,” Lang said. “We’re not trying to celebrate this too much. We’re obviously glad to come out with the win, but we’re right back to work.”
Added Green, “everybody has been doubting us, so in the playoffs we want to go on a run and show everybody that we’re one of the best. We’re always confident. We’ve put a lot of work in; everybody is always working on their game, so we’re always confident.”
WHAT’S NEXT: No. 5 Overbrook at No. 4 Cinnaminson in the South Jersey Group 2 quarterfinals, Monday, time TBD. Sterling’s season is complete.
