GRHS boys' basketball team continues to work hard

By Steve Carfagna
Staff Writer
After the first half of the regular season, the Glen Ridge High School boys’ varsity basketball team has gone through its share of setbacks.
But head coach Liam Carr knows that with a few bounces here or there, his Ridgers’ fate would be different. 
“Our guys are working hard,”  said Carr, whose team had a recent 2-9 record. “We just haven’t played a full game with a sense of urgency. We’re just missing a couple of little ingredients, but we can’t give up. We have to stay positive and keep working hard.”
The Ridgers fell at Belleville, 63-54, on Jan. 19 in a contest that went back and forth.
“We haven’t won any close ones and in this game, Belleville got ahead by like 10 points early,” Carr said. “We battled back and cut it to one, but they they hit two quick threes.”
Playing in a talented Super Essex Conference-Independence Division, Carr said the challenging schedule has been a pleasant experience.
“It’s been tough, but it’s been fun though as there’s so much parity in our league,” he said. “We took Verona to overtime and nearly beat Nutley and both of these schools are near the top of the standings. The chips haven’t fallen our way but we’ve been right there. Our point differential this season is just 3.2 points, so that’s how close we’ve been otherwise. Our record could easily be like 8-2 instead.”
Moving forward, the coach said his team needed to continue with the same work ethic.
“We’re hoping the tides turn. We still have a shot of making it to state playoffs but we need to get a few wins and we need to keep plugging away,” said the coach. We’re now starting to play everyone in the league twice.”
Notably, Glen Ridge beat Golda Och for its lone league win while its other victory came against Academy Charter in the William Ferguson holiday tournament in North Arlington.
Carr said the Ridgers have been led by leading scorer and senior Jamie Smith.
“He’s been doing a heck of a job,” said Carr. “He’s tough to defend, and overall, he’s been scoring about 15 points a game.”
Carr said junior captain Devin Garrity was another player who has led the way.
“Devin will do whatever is best for the team,” said the coach. “He’s doing a terrific job and has been our main centerpiece.”
Carr also praised junior Solomon Givens. “Solomon has been a consistent player and has been doing a nice job,” he said.
In addition, Carr said sophomore Jackson Kinley has played really well.
“He’s an intense defender and he’s got a lot of rebounds for us,” he said. “He brings intensity and is always ready shoot.”
In addition to those players, Carr cited the strong efforts from  senior captain Dan DiGioia and freshman point guard Zach Thomas.
“Dan is also doing a great job and so is Zach Thomas,” Carr said. “As our starting point guard, we ask a lot out of him and there is a lot of pressure on him but the freshman has came through and has done a really nice job.”
Garrity had 16 points and  Smith and DiGioia each had 10 points in the home loss to Belleville. Kinley had seven points and Givens added six points.
GRHS, seeded 29th, will visit No. 16 seed East Orange Campus in the first preliminary round of the Essex County Tournament on or by Saturday.  The winner will face the winner of No. 17 Caldwell and No. 28 Cedar Grove on or by Feb. 2. Seton Hall Prep, the defending champion, is the top seed.
GRHS statistics per game
Smith, 11 games, 14.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 1.5 assists.
Garrity, 11 games, 10.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals.
Givens, 11 games, 6.4 points, 4.5 rebounds.
Kinley, 11 games, 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists.
Thomas, 11 games, 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals.
DiGioia, 10 games, 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds.