EWING — With a division title on the line Thursday night, the Ewing boys basketball team left it all on the floor at Emil Wandishin Gymnasium. Nine different Blue Devils scored. Six connected on a 3-pointer. Three buried buzzer beaters at the ends of the first three quarters. And collectively, the y clamped down defensively in the final two quarters by forcing 28 percent shooting and seven turnovers. It was the type of dominating effort that Ewing has been searching for and finally delivered in a 66-43 win over Hopewell Valley. “I think on both sides of the floor it was probably one of our most complete performances,” head coach Paul Jones said. “Sharing the rock on offense, but we didn’t let up on the defensive end, and that’s what I’m most proud of.” Ewing (13-4) left no doubt by scoring the first 11 points and cruising for nearly the entire game outside of Hopewell Valley (11-5) briefly cutting the deficit to six points with two minutes left in the second quarter. Terrance Traylor, who has scored double figures in every game this season and recently became the program’s 17th 1,000-point scorer, had a game-high 16 points. Shawn Robertson added 10 off the bench and was one of two forwards, along with Jessiah Stephenson, who helped Ewing control the glass and rack up second-chance points on offense. Robertson’s putback at the end of the first quarter beat the buzzer to give Ewing a 19-6 lead. “I could help a lot. I rebound, I scored today,” Robertson said. “I just thank my coaches. They just tell me every day to work harder, my teammates tell me every day to work harder. They’re always trying to keep my head up, so I’m just happy to be here.” It was evident just how dangerous Ewing can be when all its role players are in sync. Josiah Andino and Michael Upshur fueled momentum with buzzer-beater 3s at the end of the second and third quarters. Jeremiah Upshur, Hyshyon Cannon and Jason Carter connected on shots from beyond the arc as well. Much of the offensive fluidity resulted from Ewing’s tough zone defense and traps in the half court, which led to smooth outlet passes on fast breaks. “Really chase them off the line and turn them into, I would say, midrange shooters — contested midrange shots — because we know they like to drive, they like to shoot the 3, they like to share the rock as a team,” Jones said of the defensive game plan. “We really overcommunicated today, we talked. It was a wonderful time for the kids today.” With the victory, Ewing shares the CVC Colonial Division championship with Trenton as both teams finished 5-1 in the division. Ewing lost to Trenton three weeks ago, 70-57, but the Blue Devils are eager for a potential rematch in the CVC Tournament because they’ve been at full strength for only two games this season due to injuries and illnesses. One of their starters, Davion Morton, is currently out of action and is uncertain to return this season. But the Blue Devils sure looked like they turned a corner on Thursday. “Everyone is just hungry,” Jones said. “I think they’re now starting to buy into ‘we’re a family,’ we have something special here that we could do, and just showing the love to everybody like we preach.” HOPEWELL VALLEY (43) Yadamiec 3-2-11, Heide 3-1-8, Rybovic 1-0-2, Ballek 2-5-10, Vlasac 2-2-8, Jacob Berman 2-0-4. Totals — 13-10-43. EWING (66) Traylor 7-0-16, Thomas 2-1-5, Stephenson 2-5-9, J. Upshur 3-0-7, Robertson 5-0-10, Cannon 1-2-5, M. Upshur 1-3-6, Andino 1-0-3, Carter 2-0-5. Totals — 24-11-66. Hopewell Valley (11-5) 6 13 13 11 — 43 Ewing (13-4) 19 15 21 11 — 66 3-point goals: Yadamiec 3, Vlasac 2, Heide, Ballek (HV), Traylor 2, J. Upshur, Cannon, M. Upshur, Andino, Carter (E). ...read more read less