In every March Madness Tournament a 10 seed upsets a 7, but in the second round of the MCT the West Morris Wolfpack could not keep the streak alive. The Wolfpack suffered a 37-36 defeat to the Crimson Tide of Morristown-Beard on a last minute shot by Jiyon Ruffin.

From the beginning of the game it looked as if the upset would take place with West Morris starting of on a 5-0 run, but the Crimson Tide quickly regained the lead to take a 11-6 lead to end the first quarter.

As the Wolfpack switched from their 2-3 zone to a man to man defense to start the second.  Al Jones and Josh Brown began to heat up, and combined for 14 of the Tide’s 27 points in the first half. James D’Angelo and Zach Nolan kept the Wolfpack within six going 5-6 from the field for twelve of the team’s 21 points in the first half.

As the second half began West Morris went on a 6-0 run behind their 2-3 zone and forced Mo-Beard to call a time out with 5:59 in the third. The Wolfpack kept chipping away with help from captain, Tim Drezwinski who produced 4 points and forced many turnovers. The Wolfpack’s run caused a 32-32 tie going into the fourth quarter.

At the start of the fourth quarter both teams were determined to play Delbarton in the next round, and stepped up their defense. Scoring was almost non-existent until the last two minutes of the game.

Cabarle hit back to back lay-ups to put the Tide down by four. Mo-Beard answered back with a quick basket by Marlon Bascombe. After a Wolfpack lapse on offense Chris Jenkins penetrated to the hoop, and dished to Jiyon Ruffin who hit a shot with 1:15 left in the game to give the Crimson Tide a one point lead.

The Wolfpack could not shake Mo-Beard’s defense, and D’Angelo who had the hot hand chose to shoot a three which rimmed out. After a Crimson Tide time out West Morris decided not foul, and caused a turnover with 15.1 seconds left on the clock. Shapiro called a time out, and the Tide came out of the break with a 1-3-1 zone that caught the Pack by surprise. Unfortunately, West Morris’s play was unsuccessful and Senior guard, Derek Kambour took a fade away shot with time expiring that rattled in and out ending the Wolfpack’s County Tournament run.

Player’s of the Game:
West Morris: James D’Angelo
Morristown-Beard: Jiyan Ruffin