Last-Second Layup Lifts Chatham to MCT Title

Jonathan Berntsen's last-second layup propelled the fourth-seeded boys basketball team to the Morris County Tournament championship with a 77-75 win over sixth-seeded Mount Olive Saturday night at the County College of Morris. It was the Cougars' second MCT title and first since 2007.

IN SHORT

With 11 seconds remaining in the game, the ball came from out of bounds to Berntsen, who broke away and scored a layup with just three seconds left. Mt. Olive took the ball out of bounds and called a time out with just 1.8 seconds remaining, but was unable to get off a final shot.

"I saw how upset my sister was last night after the and I knew I didn't want that to happen to me," Berntsen said. "I was ready to do anything to get this win.

There was no clear advantage throughout the game as Mount Olive substituted five players every two minutes to maintain a fresh group on the floor. Chatham, however, was unfazed and kept pace.

"We didn't want to get caught up in their tempo," said Joe Timmes, who was named to the all-tournament team for Chatham. "That is where a lot of teams were caught off guard by them and why they had such a good record.

"We like to slow the game down to get the best shot possible and what we did was slow it down and made them work hard on defense. This is what everyone wanted: A high-tempo game with both offenses going at it."

Only one point separated the teams at the half and three points at the end of three quarters, both teams went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter. Mount Olive scored 26 points fueled by a 9-of-10 performance at the free-throw line and a pair of 3-pointers from Jimmy Pastena. Chatham got nine from Berntsen and five from Joe Timmes en route to its 25-point fourth-quarter outburst.

"After the first four minutes, we kind of got a feeling for the Mount Olive 'system' and we got used to playing with that. In the fourth quarter, I thought we did a great job," Chatham coach Todd Ervin said. "We didn't turn the ball over to often, we made good decisions and we made layups. We tried to concentrate of taking care of the ball and getting good looks."

COUGAR OF THE GAME

Jonathan Berntsen—Still mending from recent knee surgery, Berntsen not only led the team with 25 points, but also scored the winning basket and was named Tournament MVP.

KEY PERFORMANCES

Joe Timmes (Chatham)—Timmes scored 13 points, including a key five points in the final quarter, and was names to the all-tournament team.

"My coach just kept telling me to go to the boards and I just tried to get as many rebounds as I could," Timmes said. "And the guys were hitting me in the open court so I was able to knock down some shots. It feels great. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but for now, you hear the buzzer go off and it feels amazing."

THEY SAID IT

"It was so nerve-racking. I am so excited I can hardly talk."—Alice Berntsen, grandmother of Jonathan Berntsen

"I am probably the proudest person on this floor right now. I saw how hard he has worked his entire life for this. He just had knee surgery about a month ago and he is back just six weeks later. I played for Chatham back in the day, but I am more proud of him than I would be for myself."—Jeremy Berntsen, brother of Jonathan Berntsen

UP NEXT—The Cougars will host Nutley for the first round of the NJSIAA North 2, Group 2 state sectionals Monday, 7 p.m.