Hopewell Valley’s Jude Berman reacts after he made a 3-pointer against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Milan Desai, left, goes to put up a shot as Ewing’s Joel Cineus, center, and Leslie Summiel, right, defend during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Ethan Rich goes to hand the ball off to a teammate against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing’s Terrance Traylor reacts after he made a 3-pointer against Hopewell Valley during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Ethan Rich shoots a free throw against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing’s Terrance Traylor, left, drives to the basket and is fouled by Hopewell Valley’s Christian Heide, right, during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’ Ethan Rich, back, and Ewing’s Leslie Summiel, front, jump center during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing’s Joel Cineus, center, shoots the ball between Hopewell Valley’s Cooper Briehler, left, and Ethan Rich, right, during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing’s Terrance Traylor, right, shoots the ball as Hopewell Valley’s Kyle Yademiec, left, defends during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Milan Desai goes to lay the ball in against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing’s Brandon Williams lays the ball up against Hopewell Valley during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing’s Kristian Thomas, right, dribbles the ball as Hopewell Valley’s Jude Berman, left, defends during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Jude Berman, front, spins around the defense of Ewing’s Kristian Thomas, back, during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Ewing coach Paul Jones looks on from the sideline against Hopewell Valley during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley coach Matt Stein yells to his team against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Hopewell Valley’s Ethan Rich, left, celebrates with coach Matt Stein, right, after the first of his two dunks in the fourth quarter against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Show Caption1 of 16Hopewell Valley’s Jude Berman reacts after he made a 3-pointer against Ewing during a CVC Colonial Division boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Hopewell Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Expand HOPEWELL TWP. — Ethan Rich had never started in a varsity basketball game and had only ever dunked the ball during JV games. How about entering the starting lineup for the 2024-25 season opener and then dunking twice in the fourth quarter? The 6-foot-6 senior forward did just that Tuesday night as Hopewell Valley beat Ewing at home, 52-44. “It went great,” Rich said when a smile when asked about his debut. “A lot of fun.” The Bulldogs needed several players to step up with big plays in a battle between top CVC teams. No play was bigger than when Ewing turned the ball over and Milan Desai passed it to Rich for a dunk that pushed Hopewell’s lead to 43-36 with 4:01 remaining, culminating in a big celebration on the bench with Rich chest-bumping coach Matt Stein. “He doesn’t usually get that excited for me, so that was cool,” Rich said. “It was fun. We had a big student section, so props to them, too. It was awesome.” After Ewing cut Hopewell’s lead to 38-36 one minute earlier, the Bulldogs responded with a clutch 3-pointer by Jude Berman, who had a team-high 17 points. Rich’s first dunk forced Ewing to call timeout in what proved to be a huge momentum-shifter. “I’ve got to give the credit to Milan,” Rich said. “Milan gave me a great pass. We do it all the time in practice. We both dunk. He saw me, he passed it up; it felt great.” Desai finished with 13 points, Cooper Briehler had eight, Rich had six and Christian Heide had four. Stein said Kyle Yadamiec and Dean Mantuano, who each had two points plus good ball-handling and defense, were all critical to the win against an athletic, physical Ewing team. “They do a great job getting to the rim, and so our big thing is to try to slow them down, make them run their offense, try to mix it up there towards the end to try to throw them off,” Stein said. “They started to do a lot of pick and rolls, hitting the big guy down low. So we had to try to stop them inside because they have a lot of guys who can get to the rim as well as big guys inside who are very strong.” Rich, one of Hopewell’s three new starters this year, helped contain Ewing big man Joel Cineus, who had to work hard for 12 points to be one of two Ewing players in double figures along with Terrance Traylor’s 17. “I like to say that I’m very vocal on the court,” Rich said. “If I see something, call it out. I watch a lot of film, so if I see a play, call it out so we know how to communicate defensively.” Stein said that Rich’s ability to rebound, protect the rim, finish dump-off passes and knock down shots are all going to be crucial for Hopewell this year. Special moments, like getting to celebrate a dunk, are all about the chemistry formed between the players and coaches, especially over the summer at Albright College’s Team Camp. “It’s just great being around a group of kids who want to work hard during practices and just want to be around each other,” Stein said. “It’s awesome.” Hopewell is coming off arguably the best season in program history after finishing 21-6 and reaching the sectional semifinals. The quest to replicate that success starts with Berman, who was second on the team in scoring as a sophomore and is one of the state’s top point guards. “Jude does a great job. He’s the general, and he makes our team go and he knows that,” Stein said. “He has a big responsibility. I know he didn’t start the game how he wanted to, but how he picked it up — he made some big shots, some big plays, handled the ball well towards the end. So he was big for us.” Rich made an even bolder claim when describing Hopewell’s general. “Shiftiest guy in New Jersey. That’s what he is,” Rich said. “That’s kind of the engine there. He’s the man. Him and Milan are the scoring machines on the team, and they facilitate phenomenally, too. So we all really just got it going tonight. Good team chemistry; we all hang out outside of basketball, so it’s just a lot of fun getting a win with them.” Hopewell ultimately got the job done by exchanging the lead with Ewing four times in the first quarter, ending the second quarter on a 7-0 run to make it 22-22 at halftime, and then scoring five straight points to begin the third quarter to seize the lead for good. Berman and Desai each knocked down three 3-pointers, whereas Ewing’s entire team converted only two 3-pointers. That was another key separator for Hopewell in a close game. “Every single year Ewing is a tough team, well-coached, so we knew it was going to be a battle the entire time,” Stein said. EWING (44) Traylor 5-6-17, Thomas 2-0-4, Cineus 4-4-12, Summiel 2-0-4, Richards 1-0-3, Williams 2-0-4. Totals — 16-10-44. HOPEWELL (52) Berman 6-2-17, Desai 4-2-13, Rich 3-0-6, Heide 1-2-4, Briehler 2-4-8, Yadamiec 1-0-2, Mantuano 1-0-2. Totals — 18-10-52. Ewing (1-1) 9 13 8 14 — 44 Hopewell (0-1) 10 12 12 18 — 52 3-point goals: Traylor, Richards (E), Berman 3, Desai 3 (H).