Delbarton Claims Morris County Title

GSBR's second game of the day was at CCM between Delbarton and Mendham with the Morris County Title on the line and it delivered a high drama finish worthy of a "trophy on the line" contest, with the Green Wave claiming victory by the slimmest of margins, 47-46.

Mendham junior Kevin King scored on a strong take to the bucket but was answered by Lincoln Zimmerman for Delbarton to get the 54th Morris County Final off and running. Mendham struck the first blow, jumping out to a 10-5 lead behind patient sets in the half court. The Minutemen led 12-7 after one.

Delbarton cut the lead to a possession to start the second behind a bucket and one by Pat Mahoney. The teams traded scores through the quarter, with Mendham leading 20-17 in spite of a pair of triples by Zimmerman. Mendham was able to find a corner triple from King, who had a strong contest, along with a layup to head to the lockers up 28-22.

Zimmerman continued his hot hand behind the arc after halftime, coming out the lockers with a triple to cut the lead to 28-25. Van Raaporst brought Delbarton to within a point at 33-32 after a pair of layups late in the third, which is where the score stood after three quarters.

In the fourth, the defensive battle continued to play out with VanRaaphorst and King trading layups to even the game at 38 midway through the fourth. VanRaaphorst scored a layup plus one to give Mendham a 41-40 lead, but King matched him to tie at 41 with 2:30 to play. VanRaaphorst's strong play at both ends along with team defense in the dying seconds were enough to tip the scale in favor of Delbarton at the final buzzer, giving them a 47-46 win and their third straight county title.

King led all scorers with a Herculean championship game effort,scoring 26 in the loss. VanRaaphorst, who was given the tournament MVP award, and Zimmerman each had 15 for Delbarton in the win.