He had the "ups" to elevate above defenders, pinpoint accuracy on his jumper and the court presence to steal the show.

Cresskill’s Erik Torenberg couldn’t be stopped in the 74-41 win over New Milford extending the Cougar’s winning streak to seven.

Torenberg had the touch right out of the gate, hitting jumpers and draining three-pointers to score 15 of his 25 points in the first quarter to lead the Cougars in a packed New Milford gym.

"I can’t explain it," said Torenberg. "We had a good week of practice, in warm ups everything felt smooth and my confidence was building after each shot."

It looked like an even match with each team going shot for shot. The game was tied at 13 with 1:40 to go in the first when Torenberg took over to give Cresskill the lead for good, capping an 11-2 run to end the quarter.

"We weren’t really missing," said Mike Sanchez. "The execution was amazing and everyone was hitting their shots off the open looks."

Both teams played man-to-man defense, but the Cougars seemed to outhustle and outmuscle the Knights. In the first quarter Cresskill allowed New Milford to take inside shots, but soon after stifled their cutters and draped them in tight coverage.

The scoring gap only grew from there, as the Cougars went from working the perimeter to getting inside to the paint. The Cougars slipped into a slight scoring drought, but still outscored their opponents to leave the Knights in the rearview.

Phil Morman was able to grab rebounds and used savvy inside moves for baskets.

"The key was making adjustments and after that we were able to provide that physical presence down low," said Morman. "Everybody contributed and you can see the progression, as we’ve been all working harder."

Even Cresskill’s bench executed to perfection and was able to spread the ball with ease, getting key performances from Sumner Weitz and Dan Apice.

"We have guys all over this team that can score," said Weitz. "Once we regained our patience, it added that confidence to put us over the top."

On the defensive side the Cougars shut down New Milford and only allowed four Knights to score. Robin Rebustillo was held to nine points and Matt Norton scored 19 points.

Cresskill came out of the half with monster numbers, while New Milford’s shooting continued to deteriorate. The Knights were outscored in the second half 41-19.

"We came out strong out of the half and it was more of a team effort," said Cresskill coach Marty Rivard. "We just picked up and played better on defense."

Although Torenberg didn’t put up as many points in the second half, he contributed assists and steals. Brian Fisch also helped out scoring four of his six points on the night to fuel a 13-2 run midway in the third quarter, which silenced the crowd.

In the fourth quarter, Cresskill was able to squash any chance of a New Milford comeback by ripping offensive rebounds off the boards to earn extra chances and control the clock. The Cougars, in each quarter, had a balanced scoring effort.

"A lot of different guys were on tonight and Erik (Torenberg) did an excellent job," said Rivard. "We didn’t get impatient and really did some things we wanted to."

The Cougars were able to run their plays successfully through the end of the game, even with the starters sitting. Some players were playfully bitter about sitting, but boastful about the win.

"I love beating New Milford, since they are our rivals," said Morman. "I wanted to stay in the game and run up the score on them."

With the return of Morman (from injury and illness) the Cougars have been undefeated, but it’s not only his inside game that has given the team confidence. Cresskill as a whole has been contributing and Torenberg pinpointed the exact moment when it all came together.

"We have an inside presence with Morman and we now feel complete, but playing together is another key to success," said Torenberg. "The turning point was the win at Demarest, we’ve been playing great since."

In addition to continuing the streak, the Cougars with the rivalry win over the Knights clinch a spot in the Bergen Jamboree.

"It’s good to be in the Jamboree," said Rivard. "If you asked me if we were going to make it three weeks ago I might have thought otherwise, but the whole team has really been playing hard."

E-mail: cheung@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6709