The atmosphere was electric at the beautiful North Hunterdon H.S. main gym for the annual Unified Basketball game vs. the North Staff. Before the tip-off, the crowd honored the seniors during a moving ceremony accompanied by Mrs. Byron handed out roses as the seniors walked out with their families.
The seniors shared their favorite memories: Andrew “Brick House” Baucom (Unified) loved watching his teammates celebrate after scoring; Elsa “The Elsa-Vator” Boyer (Unified) cherished laughing with friends on the bus; SaraBeth “Beth Mode” Bradley (Unified) enjoyed simply making memories with the team; and Sylvia “Bella Baller” Buccini (Unified) will never forget the team huddles. Mackenzie “The Mack Zone” Gilbert (Unified) mentioned she loves hearing everyone’s nicknames; Carly “Xena Warrior Princess” Moore (Unified) recalled her basket against West Morris; and Marisol “Magic Time” Moreno (Unified) highlighted the stretching circles led by her teammate Sean (Shaq Diesel) Pettegrove. Meredith “Nuzzo-Matic” Nuzzo (Unified), Lucy “Sklar-Y Night” Sklar (Unified), and Amber “Wronkskinator” Wronski (Unified) all looked back fondly on the Ridge games, while Sean “Shaq Diesel” Pettegrove (Unified) remembered dancing at the Unified Club. Finally, Colin “Rewind The Tape” Tran (Unified) noted how much he loved being with his friends during sports. Michael (Rock Star) Kotran performed the National Anthem in perfect form! Great job!
The Unified Lions, led by Head Coach Garrett “Lel-Goat” Lelko (Unified), came out firing. Sean “Shaq Diesel” Pettegrove (Unified) was unstoppable, racking up 24 points and 3 rebounds. He was supported by a balanced attack, including 10 points each from Aliya “A-Train” Bello (Unified), Maria “Storm” Sousa (Unified), and Will “The Big Deal” Acosta (Unified). Jamie “Luck of the Irish” Sullivan (Unified) also contributed 8 points to the early lead.
The North Staff, coached by Jake “The Big Dog” Ruscher (Staff), tried to keep pace. Kyle “Feed Me The Rock” Rehrig (Staff) led his team with 17 points including (5) three point shots, while Nicole “North Star” Meister (Staff) added 14 points. Ashley “Smooth As Silk” Post (Staff) and Meghan “Shake N Bake” Plaxe (Staff) controlled the boards with 8 rebounds and 6 points, but the Lions’ speed was too much. At halftime, the Unified team led 48-21. During the break, the North Hunterdon Dance Team—led by coaches Megan Harty/Hope Kiel. This past weekend, the North Hunterdon Dance Team competed at the (New Jersey Cheerleading and Dance Coaches Association State Competition and placed third in Varsity Pom and third in Varsity Jazz. They also placed 2nd in jazz routine at Hillsborough competition on January 25th. – wowed the crowd with their performance.
In the second half, the Staff saw contributions from Mike “V-Train” Vellucci (Staff), RJ “Cool Hand Hoops” Calabrese (Staff), and Chris “Buzzer Beater” Link (Staff), each scoring 4 points. Summer “Señora Hoopla” Morris (Staff) hit a trey, Cheyenne “Show Stopper” Young (Staff) and Amy “Air Time” Attanasio (Staff) also added 2 points each to the tally. However, the Lions remained dominant with baskets from Bettina “Bat Girl” Manasseri-Castro (Unified) and Elena “Supernova” Plaza (Unified) 4 points each, and Sophia “Phi-Slamma-Soph” Moushon (Unified) 4 rebounds. The game ended in a 78-64 victory for the Unified Lions.
The night concluded with a massive 80th Birthday Celebration for Dave “The Rave” Robbins, a NHHS Athletic Hall and Special Olympics Hall of famer with over 88 Special Olympics medals. Steve Hartman and CBS News: On the Road with Steve Hartman were on hand to capture the moment as Mayor of Clinton, Janice Kovach and Councilwoman Molly Padmos presented a proclamation for Dave. Thanks to friend of Dave’s family Sean Rogan along with Dave’s Barber (Sal) and employer got the ball rolling with Steve Hartman producers to grab this heart felt Dave “The Rave” Robbins story. It was a perfect ending for a man famous for his backward, over-the-head halftime shots, net football catches and his unwavering “Lions Pride”. Happy 80th Birthday buddy!!
Thanks to Marielle (Swallow the whistle) Thorsen and Justin (T-Me-Up) Matisak for refereeing a great game; medical coverage by Kristen (Ice Queen) Mandicz and scoreboard operations by Ellen (Broadway Show) Anderson.
Click HERE to review the slideshow details and characters playing and performing at the game.
Click HERE to review the game statistics.
Click HERE to review Dave “The Rave” Robbins Facebook post from Sean Rogan.
