By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher OCEAN CITY — When you’re trying to run up a hill and the grass is wet, it’s an arduous task to get to the top. That may have been what the Ocean City boys basketball players felt like against Winslow in the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Group 3 tournament on Wednesday night. Each time the Red Raiders made a basket to cut into a second-half deficit, the Eagles responded to keep them at bay. Eventually, Mike Cubbage and Devon Robinson were too much to handle, as fifth-seeded Winslow upended No. 4 Ocean City 67-59 to advance to a semifinal matchup with No. 1 Timber Creek. Cubbage scored 20 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 27, while Robinson added 14 points. The Red Raiders trailed just 24-21 at halftime, but a strong third quarter by the Eagles gave them just enough of a lead to make a comeback attempt very difficult for Ocean City, especially when the Red Raiders started to get into foul trouble. “The biggest thing was we turned the ball over too much, especially in the first half. We did a much better job in the second half, but I think the combination of turning the ball over and not hitting our shots definitely hurt us. We knew they were long and athletic, and there aren’t too many teams like that in the Cape-Atlantic League. We came into it with the same mindset as if we were playing Atlantic City. We knew we were going to have to give it all we had,” said Ocean City senior Connor Laverty, who finished with a team-high 20 points. “Some of us got into some foul trouble. I’m pretty sure both teams were in the double bonus in both halves, so we had to do some subbing that maybe was a little abnormal. But those guys came in and did a great job, as they always do. They work their butts off in practice, and they come in and do the best they can. Truthfully, I don’t think many people thought we would beat them. I think we were considered the underdog coming into the game. We felt we could beat them, though. We had confidence.” Ocean City's Noah Gillian puts up a shot against Winslow on Wednesday night. Ocean City’s Noah Gillian puts up a shot against Winslow on Wednesday night. Cubbage had just six points in the first half, but came to life in the second and became a big matchup problem down the stretch for the Red Raiders. “I thought one of the keys for them was he took over the game for them. We wanted the ball out of his hands. But he did just as well passing the ball as he did scoring,” Bruno said. “But I can’t say enough about the effort we had. When you look at the size factor, guys like Sean Jamison and Noah Gillian giving it all they have, Garrett Jones, Laverty. I couldn’t ask for anything more than to be in that game with two minutes to go and down by six. “The effort that we had, I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. We had a locker room full of tears, but they were happy tears for me because I’m so proud of what these kids accomplished.” Laverty, who finished his career with more than 1,000 points, said this was the best season of his high school career. “This is definitely the best team I’ve been a part of, top to bottom,” Laverty said. “Every guy knew his role, wanted to work. This was a hard-working group every day at practice, and it’s the best team I’ve been a  part of.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]