Lady Bengals Fall to Nutley in Season Opener

The Bloomfield girl's basketball team exploded to an early 7-0 lead in last night's season opener but couldn't stay hot enough against Nutley High School. The Raiders went on to pound the Bengals, 44-27, before a crowded gym at Bloomfield High School.

"We started out pretty strong," said coach Mike Sceurman. "Then (Nutley) called time out, regrouped a little bit and kind of stuck in the game."

The Bengals were down by about 12 in the half after the Raiders took the lead in the second quarter. Sceurman said Bloomfield bounced back with a tight third and fourth quarter, but indecisiveness on offense coupled with turn-overs led to the team's loss.

"I give credit to Nutley," said Sceurman. "I think we're going to be good. We're not there yet because we still have new and returning kids."

Sceurman said reaching a level of cohesiveness will give the girl's squad the potential to be top contenders in the state. An early 9 a.m. practice this morning helped the girls bounce back from last night's defeat.

"We really didn't have a hang over this morning. We viewed it as one game," said Sceurman. "I told them half the teams in New Jersey (today) are 1-0 and the other half are 0-1."

The Lady Bengals next face Weequahic High School at home on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

"Our main goal is to have everyone play together as a team," Sceurman said. "It's a little bit longer of a process than I and the kids would like, would like, but we're starting to get there."