Cougars extend winning streak by defeating Lenape

The Cougars continued their 13-game winning streak by defeating a tough Lenape team 42-37 yesterday. It was the typical low-scoring affair that games against Lenape usually are as the Cougars put themselves in better position to win the division by making up for their earlier loss to Lenape.

The first quarter contained virtually no scoring. Neither team scored for almost three and a half minutes until Jake Gurkin ('12) drained a three with 4:35 left. Lenape scored four in a row to take the lead. Chris Santo ('11) capped of Cougar scoring for the quarter with a layup with 2:33 left and the Cougars trailed 6-5 going into the second.

The second quarter was also very tight. Lenape further extended their lead by scoring the first three points of the quarter. Then, Marc Schlessel ('12) momentarily shifted the momentum back to the Cougars by recording a steal then going in for the layup. Schlessel was not finished as he hit a three later in the quarter. Gurkin tied the score and then Dan Melleby ('11) scored to take the lead off of a Jesse Gold ('12) assist. Santo hit a free throw before the quarter ended to give East the 15-14 lead.

Santo opened the second half with a bang as he scored East's four points off of a Schlessel steal, then on two free throws. Right when Lenape began to cut into the five-point Cougar lead, Gurkin and Santo struck again as they both scored to bring the lead back to five. Santo scored once again on a pass from Melleby that appeared to be a shot but in reality was an alley-oop pass as Santo converted for a layup. Santo capped the scoring in the quarter with an offensive rebound and a put-back for the five-point lead. Lenape cut the lead back to two as the Cougars held a 27-25 lead going into the fourth.

Gurkin opened the fourth quarter scoring within the first 15 seconds. On a later Cougar possession, he scored on a pass from Gold to extend the lead to six. After a Lenape field goal, the Cougars extended the lead to eight via a Gold pull-up jumper and a Melleby three. Of course, Lenape stormed right back to cut the lead to one. However, during this time, Santo perhaps epitomized this game as he dove out of bounds to make a save on an errant pass, obliterating the East bench and anyone in his way. This win was going to be difficult no matter what. Santo extended East's lead to three as the time dwindled in the game. Lenape scored again to cut the lead to one. With 17 seconds left, Lenape sent Schlessel to the line for a one-and-one. He converted on both free throws to give East the three-point lead. Lenape failed to score on their next possession and Santo hit two more free throws to ice the game and give East the 42-37 victory.

Player of the Game-Santo. On his way to scoring 17 points, he fought past early struggles and a tough Lenape defense to give the Cougars the win.

Key Stats

Santo-17 points, 5 rebounds

Schlessel-7 points, 3 steals

Gurkin-11 points, 7 rebounds

Melleby-7 assists

Gold-4 assists