Boys Basketball – Goodes, Defense Propel Rumson to Ridge Road Win Over No. 5 Red Bank

RUMSON -- While many of the other ranked teams of the Shore Conference battled one another or stared down high-profile competition, the Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball team racked up wins during a stretch that included four straight games vs. teams with a losing record and five in a row vs. teams not ranked in the Shore Sports Network Shore 16.

All the while, the Bulldogs were champing at the bit to get to this current stretch of games and after starting it off with a thrilling finish on Friday at Marlboro, Rumson-Fair Haven played its way into the flow of the 2023-24 season with an impressive home win over its local rival and one of the Shore's hottest teams to start the year.

The Bulldogs -- ranked No. 9 in the latest Shore Sports Network Shore 16 -- broke open what was a tie game late in the third quarter and ran away with a 51-38 win over No. 5 Red Bank Monday in front of a capacity crowd at Rumson-Fair Haven High School.

Senior center Andrew Goodes led Rumson-Fair Haven with 17 points and 13 rebounds and classmate Nick Rigby contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead the offense, but it was Rumson's defensive effort that stood out on Monday, particularly in the final nine minutes.

"So far, everything has almost been like a warm-up for game like this," Rigby said. "The big crowd, that environment is kind of what most of our guys thrive on. These are the games we come into knowing we've got to win for the fans and for us and put everyone on notice that we are a legit team."

Junior Riley Gill led a defensive effort that held Red Bank's leading scorer, junior Zayier Dean, to five points. Gill and senior Leo Passalaqua both came off the bench and stuck to Dean and Bucs senior Jameson Ackerman throughout the game. Ackerman -- Red Bank's second-leading scorer -- finished with eight points after going scoreless in the first half.

"We knew those were the two guys coming in (Dean and Ackerman) so we put our two best guys on them -- Leo Passalaqua and Riley Gill," Rigby said. "They locked it down. They played great. Two great players and they showed out."

"I just didn't want to let him go left," Gill said of Dean. "If he gets to his left, it's over. If he is going right and gets down low, he is trying to spin back to his left, or he is just going left. Sometimes, when you're running up and down at full speed, it gets confusing and you forget, but I just tried to remind myself to take away his left."

Rumson's defense blocked 10 shots in the game, five of which were courtesy of 6-foot-8 sophomore Luke Cruz while three came from Gill. Along with his eight rebounds and five blocks, Cruz dropped in five points and hit a corner three-pointer that broke a 32-32 tie with a minute left in the third quarter. After Cruz's three, Rumson did not relinquish the lead.

"We knew we had size on them so we tried to exploit that," Rigby said. "Goodes, Cruz, they played great: rebounding, putbacks, blocks, all that. We knew we had size, so we tried to target that."

"This team probably goes about 10 deep, but what I can do with the size is I can throw a lot of different lineups out," Rumson coach Champeau said. "I can always have one guy waiting in the middle if somebody beats their man, so it's a nice luxury to have."

Two significant runs helped Rumson secure the win on Monday, the first of which Goodes sparked at the end of the first half. The Bulldogs scored the final eight points of the first half to flip a 20-18 deficit to a 26-20 lead at halftime. Goodes scored the first six points of the run and capped it with a steal and pass ahead to Rigby for the layup that capped the first-half scoring.

Goodes also hit a free-throw that opened the third-quarter scoring and officially polished off the run at 9-0 for a 27-20 lead.

"Our length and toughness were huge," Champeau said. "This not a Rumson, let's shoot it up and sleep in the streets team that hits 40 threes. When we hit them, I'm like, 'Oh, nice!' These guys just play hard. It's old school."

Rumson built its third-quarter lead as high as 30-22, but Red Bank responded with a 10-2 run to pull even, 32-32, before the final minute of the quarter. Ackerman hit his two second-half three-pointers during the run and freshman Justin Valentino tied the game with a pair of free throws.

After the equalizing free throws, Rigby answered immediately by driving and kicking to the right corner, where Cruz set his feet and knocked down the go-ahead three that capped the third-quarter scoring.

The Cruz three also began a 10-0 run that build up Rumson's lead to 42-32, with Gill hitting the second of his two second-half three-pointers to cap the run. Goodes and Rigby each scored during the run as well.

"Each part of the game, the team fed off of," Gill said. "We defended, we rebounded, we hit some big shots and in the end, we just pulled away."

Red Bank crept back within 42-37, before the two-minute mark, but the Bulldogs held the Bucs scoreless over the next two minutes and went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line to close it out.

"We gave up 17 points in the second half, so it doesn't really matter how many shots we miss," Champeau said. "If you give up 17 points, often times, you're going to win."

Junior Ryan Fisher led Red Bank with 11 points, eight of which came in the first half.

Rumson opened its season with a win over People's Prep of Newark, followed by a 47-45 home loss to Christian Brothers Academy in an atmosphere that closely resembled what the players saw Monday night vs. Red Bank. After the loss to CBA, Rumson dominated a 7-3 Manalapan squad, then won four straight vs. teams at or below .500 (Barnegat, North Plainfield, Rahway and Long Branch).

Friday at Marlboro began a stretch of games in which Rumson's competition would pick up and the Bulldogs kicked off that stretch by beating the Mustangs, 43-42, on a winning shot at the buzzer by junior David Carr. Rumson won less than 24 hours later against St. John Vianney and made it eight straight wins on Monday with a win over Red Bank.

"I feel like Carr hitting that shot exorcised a few demons from that CBA loss," Champeau said. "When you make it, everyone gets a jolt of confidence."

The Bulldogs will continue their prove-it week with a trip to Jackson Memorial on Thursday, followed by a visit from 8-0 St. Peter's Prep -- the No. 4 ranked team in New Jersey by NJ Advance Media.

"It feels great to play this game because we know we're a good team," Rigby said. "Playing lesser team, maybe people didn't count us as a top team in the Shore but when the time comes, we show out."