GLEN RIDGE, NJ – The Glen Ridge High School boys’ varsity basketball team kept alive its fantastic season as the top-seeded Ridgers advanced to the championship game of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 state tournament.
Senior Max Thompson had 15 points; junior guard Tyler Liddy had 13 points and sophomore Liam Gunnarsson had 11 points to lead the Ridgers to a 64-56 win over 12th-seeded Shabazz in the semifinals on Saturday, March 4.
The Ridgers, under 11th-year head coach Liam Car, improved to a 23-5 record with their eighth straight win and will host No. 7 seed Newark University in the final on Monday, March 6, at 7 p.m. University defeated third-seeded Hoboken, 83-75, in the other semifinal to move to a 13-14 mark.
Senior Charlie DeLuca and junior George Kinzler each had eight points; junior David Weissenberger had four points and senior Ryan LIddy, Tyler’s brother, added three points for the Ridgers, who are seeking their first section title since 1988.
After trailing 15-13 at the end of the first quarter, the Ridgers outscored Shabazz, 15-11, in the second quarter for a 28-26 halftime lead. Shabazz cut it to 44-43 at the end of the third quarter, but the Ridgers maintained control with a 20-13 fourth quarter to win it.
The Ridgers’ last loss was in the Essex County Tournament preliminary third round against Christ the King Prep, 62-51, Feb. 10, in Newark.
NOTES: The Liddy brothers’ father, Tim Liddy, is the current GRHS athletic director who was a senior on that 1988 team. Tim Liddy also was a head coach of the GRHS boys’ basketball team before becoming athletic director. He was succeeded by Carr, a 1995 GRHS graduate and former standout basketball player for the Ridgers.
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