Having won 4 out of their last 5, Varsity Hoops was looking to extend their win streak and keep the positive momentum rolling against Cranford. Coming off an 18-point victory against Governor Livingston, Coach Daugherty decided to reinstate the intense full-court pressure that was largely responsible for the blowout victory just days earlier. Similarly to the game against GL, the tenacious defense completely rattled the Cranford guards and forced a multitude of first quarter turnovers for the Cougars. As a result of this, the Rams went up 23-7 to end the quarter with Asher Bradley and Susquehanna commit Mike Pirone leading the scoring. In the second quarter, OP remained on the offensive and dictated the pace of the game. Patrick Conniff, who was recently named Union County Conference Player of the Week, scored 9 of his 11 first half points in the 2nd quarter to pair with 2 first half blocks. At half-time, Conniff’s point total was tied for a game high with Mike Pirone who also scored 11. Fellow contributors to the Rams 43-23 half-time lead included Asher Bradley with 9 points and John Pirone who had 6 points on 50% shooting from behind the arc at the end of the half. In the 2nd half, the Rams lead only grew with a 24-12 run in the 3rd quarter. All 5 starters reached double digits as the lead increased to 40 midway through the 4th quarter. Off the bench, Nick Servitto had a varsity career high with 7 points while Max Ince, Henry Bolster and Gabe Costa also appeared in the box score. The Rams leading scorer was once again Mike Pirone with 17 points to go along with 5 steals; Asher Bradley chipped in 16 as well. Greg Jones led the team with 8 assists while Pat Conniff had a game high in blocks. OP will next face the 18-3 South Plainfield Tigers on the road in an attempt to increase the win streak to 4 in a row.