Mar 01, 2025
Inside the Morris Knolls girls basketball locker room hangs a poster with a photo of the team and a quote on the poster from University of Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson.“Defend like it’s game point all game long,” is what the quote from Sampson says on the poster.Morris Knolls sees the poster each time it walks into the locker room. Defense is what Morris Knolls head coach Rob Moore wanted his team’s identity to be this season, and defense was going to determine the outcome of Saturday’s matchup against Old Tappan.Morris Knolls needed one more stop with just 3.4 seconds remaining and up by one point to make history. Old Tappan had the ball on its own baseline, looking to win the game.And as it’s been all season long, defense won Morris Knolls the game.Second-seeded Morris Knolls staged a fourth-quarter rally and then got a stop on the game’s final possession to beat seventh-seeded Old Tappan, 51-50 in overtime, in the North 1, Group 3 NJSIAA state tournament quarterfinals.With the win, Morris Knolls (22-5) advances to a sectional semifinal for the first time since 2004 and will host third-seeded and two-time defending sectional champion Teaneck on Tuesday. Old Tappen went 10-16 at the free throw line. The misses really hurt Old Tappan down the stretch.
For the first time since 2017, Old Tappan - ranked No. 4 in the NJ.com Top 20 - is a state champion. The Golden Knights’ 25-20, 25-11 tally over No. 9 Gov. Livingston in the NJSIAA Group 2 state finals on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Franklin High School capped one of the most incredible campaigns in program history, closing out the year with an unblemished 25-0 record.
