Page 179 - 1998 Wardlaw Hartridge

W-H Boys Win With Talent, Poise
byRudyBrandi Classof1983
When a basketball team enjoys the edge in talent and shows more composure in a big game, count on that unit to come out on every time. The Wardlaw-Hartridge boys used that formula to capture the Mew Jersey State Prep B championship over Pennington with a 53-35 victory.
Most people expected top-seeded Wardlaw (22-3) to win the school's second Prep B title in the last three years, but the tro­ phycertainly wasn't handed to the Rams. Pennington bolted to a 9-2 lead and had the favorites back on the heels in the earlygoing. That's when 6-4Junior Ryle Chapman decided to take over the game.
Chapman, who led all players with 25 points, scored in every way possible on a basketball court. He hitJump shots, drove tothe basket, finished in the transition game and even threw down two monstrous dunks that had the Immaculata High gymnasiumJumping.
"I had to start playing better because if 1don't play, everyone else doesn't play," Chapman said. "Once I started to play, everyone else started to play."
Chapman and his mates found themselves in an unusual predicament early in the game -they were losing. W-H spent most ofthe last month blowing out teams by 40 points, but the Rams proved they were mature enough to handle a close game ina pressure situation. "We knew we had to play tough defense to get back in the game and we held them to two points in thesecond quarter," Chapman said.
"We knew they'd be a tough competitor and we were very concerned, especially after theyjumped out to the big lead," W- fl head coach Bill Ruchar said after winning his third state title at the school. "We normally don't play zone, but we switched out of our man and it forced them to hit outside shots, which they didn't hit." WhiletheRamswereabletomakeadjustmentsandnotpanic,Penningtonstartedtoloseitscoolwhenthingsgottough. The Red Raiders were called for two technical fouls, including one that produced a five-point swing in the critical 13-2 sec­ ondquarter run. Pennington 6-5 power forward Chris Adams dominated the opening period with nine points and appeared unstoppable in the paint. Adams scored Just seven points the rest of the night, but did block quite a few W-H shots.
One shot Adams couldn't block was Chapman's electrifying fourth quarter dunk. The Rams had pushed their lead into dou­ ble figures with Chapman's all-around scoring and two 3-point goals each by guards John Phelan and Ramon Auciello, so the Red Raiders had to press.
Thisopened the floodgates for fast-break opportunities and Chapman made this his own personal highlight film. First, he collected a loose ball at midcourt and threw down a left-handed dunk with 6:36 left in the game. Moments later. Chapman introduced himself to Adams above the rim and rocked the house with a powerful right-handedJam.
"That was the best dunk 1ever had in my life," Chapman said with a huge smile. "He was killing us the whole game with blocked shots and we had to come together. 1was the big dude coming, but 1was already up there so I went for it."
The W-H fans celebrated with a wild frenzy after Chapman put a huge exclamation point on the school's fifth state title. Ruchar, who's won 648 games in nearly four decades of coaching, hasn't seen many better than his 6-4Junior.
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jl suchagreatslasher.Hehasanuncannyabilitytokeephisbalanceandmakehisshots.He'satremendousballplayer."
I Chapman's teammates all did their part as well. Phelan and Auciello started to hit from the perimeter after an ice-cold first I half. Big man Revin Qarrity did a solid Job on the boards, especially late in the game when the Red Raiders attempted a p rally. Luke Burroughs played solid defense and chipped in with five points. Seniors Abdul Byron and Matt Pekarofski came ^ offthebenchtoscoretwopointsapiece.
i Byron, Pekarofski and Phalen all contributed to a championship victory in their final high school game, while the Chapman i andtherestoftheRamswillbegunningforarepeatnextwinter.
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"Kyle Chapman is a future Division 1 point guard," Ruchar said. "He's been doing it for us all year. I've never had a kid who's
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