GLEN RIDGE – Despite coming up short in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 state tournament championship game for the second year in a row, the Glen Ridge High School boys’ varsity basketball team can look back at this season with much pride.
The second-seeded Ridgers lost to top-seeded and host Bloomfield Tech, 43-38, in the championship game at West Caldwell Tech on March 7. Glen Ridge, under 12th-year head coach Liam Carr, finished the season with a stellar 21-8 record.
The Bloomfield Tech Spartans led 11-6 at the end of the first quarter and 18-14 at half. The Spartans extended it to 28-23 at the end of the third quarter. The Ridgers kept pace with the Spartans in the fourth quarter, but fell short.
Junior guard Liam Gunnarsson led the Ridgers with 15 points. Senior forward and tri-captain George Kinzler had nine points; senior guard and tri-captain David Weissenberger had seven points; senior guard tri-captain Tyler Liddy had six points and junior forward Simon Low added a free throw for Glen Ridge. Junior Christian Samuels also saw action for the Ridgers.
The aforementioned seniors certainly left their mark on the team, helping the Ridgers to back-to-back section final appearances. Senior guard Avery Hackett was another returning player.
Other players were senior guard Jack Ashkinaze, senior forward Kyle Kleinberg, junior small forward Kevin Mathew, sophomore guard Joe DeLuca, sophomore small forward Jack Cotrone and freshman Sam Trunley.
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