At the end of the game Cresskill coach Marty Rivard was proud that even though his squad didn’t come out on top, they never quit.

"We made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t work hard," said Rivard. "We proved that in the fourth quarter, which was an indication of how we play. We know we didn’t lose because we had a lack of heart."

That is what he told his team in the locker room after the 78-58 blowout loss to Hackensack. In the fourth quarter the Cougars outscored the Comets and still gave it their top effort, even though the game was already out of reach heading into the half.

Hackensack had height advantage at every position, but Cresskill always believed they could be competitive.

"We kept on fighting and we weren’t intimidated by their players," said Erik Torenberg. "They were able to play good half court defense and it was tough to handle the pressure."

In the first quarter it was the inside penetration of Hackensack against Cresskill’s perimeter shooting. The Cougars were forced to live on the outside, since they had a hard time trying to set up any operations inside because of the height difference.

Brian Hasenstab and Torenberg drained a couple early jumpers, but it was the defense that kept Cresskill in it and at the end of the first they trailed by only three, 10-7.

"Our defense was really good from the start and we were able to get a couple of their guys in foul trouble," said Torenberg.

Hackensack made in-between quarter adjustments and the results were immediately noticeable. The Cresskill rebounders were unable to box out the Comets underneath. The Cougars were also quickly tiring, as the starters were left gasping for air.

"They’re 10 guys deep and they controlled the tempo because of that," said Mike Sanchez.

Cresskill started the second quarter unable to orchestrate quality shot attempts, as the Comets increased the defensive pressure. Hackensack also capitalized on the opposition’s misses and turnovers.

"They had height on us and we had to fight for everything," said Phil Morman. "I think we held our own in the first quarter, but it was their weight against ours and we got tired."

By the 4:30 mark, the Comets had pulled away by nine, 20-11. Hackensack asserted its inside presence and ruled underneath. Whether it was offensive or defensive rebounds, they all went to the Comets.

Cresskill had to double any cutter on the inside, as Hackensack was able to exploit the height disparity, which left shooters open on the wings.

Hackensack’s Alex George made the Cougars pay, sinking eight points in the second quarter.

"Alex is just a sophomore, so we get high, then low, then high, then low from him," said Comet coach Gordon "Scooter" Whiting. "You just never know. But today, he showed his poise."

The Comets sailed to a 32-20 lead at the half.

Rivard told his team that they could fare better in the second half if "they beat the pressure and kept up the decent half court defense."

Hackensack came out of the half and went right to work building on their lead by attacking through the inside. On the other side of the court Cresskill tried forcing passes, which only got picked off.

"It’s frustrating when you can’t run the offense," said Brian Fisch. "You have to ad lib out there and you can’t do anything you practiced."

Keon Williams was the offensive catalyst for Hackensack and he really came alive in the third quarter. Cresskill knew they had to shut him down and did that in the first half, but Williams reigned in the second half.

Even though Cresskill found themselves down by 22 points heading into the fourth, the Cougar starters gave it their all.

Morman finally found his touch and made sharp cuts down the lane for layups. And while Sanchez was five inches shorter than his counterpart, he too managed to squeeze and scramble his way to the basket.

"We did better in the fourth quarter because we were breaking their pressure," said Rivard. "We never quit and played hard all the time. We were able to come back a little bit."

The Cougars closed the gap to within 12 points, but the damage was too severe for Cresskill to pose a real threat.

Torenberg attributed the late spurt to a "burst of adrenaline."

Michael Medina and Williams put the Cougars away for good, nailing outside shots.

"We did a few good things, but Keon Williams was playing above the rim, and we did the best we could," said Rivard.

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