Hillsborough three barrage buries Montgomery boys early in Skyland Raritan win

Only once in his career had Junior Zion Harrison hit more than twice from beyond the arc in a single game. And through the first five games this year, he only hit once.

But Tuesday night he did it four times as part of a nine-triple onslaught, as Hillsborough put Montgomery behind the eight ball early, and beat the Cougars 64-43 in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Harrison had three treys in the first quarter alone, as the Raiders (5-1, 2-1 in the Skyland Raritan Division) hit seven of their nine from beyond the arc in the first half, pushing out to a 21-6 first quarter lead, and a 34-19 lead at half.

Montgomery (3-5, 0-2) wouldn’t go away though. Three times, Hillsborough had a 20-point lead, only to see the Cougars climb back to within 14 or 15, thanks mostly in part to freshman guard Ethan Lin, who had 17 points and scored in all four quarters.

Harrison finished with a game-high 22 points, while fellow junior Jayden Green added 15.

The Raiders – who started last season 3-11, enduring COVID absenteeism along the way – have now won 11 of their last 14 regular season games, and are looking like a team to contend with in their division, if not the county, with their only loss coming to Ridge on Opening Night.

They’ve yet to play unbeaten division-leader Immaculata, however, but will get their first chance next Tuesday night at home. First, this Thursday night, they’ll visit Watchung Hills, which is 5-1 after suffering its first loss of the season Tuesday evening, 62-55 at home to the Spartans, who are now 6-0.

The win also snapped a six-game skid for Hillsborough against Montgomery, the Raiders’ first win in the series since February 7, 2017.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by SportsPlex at Metuchen, as Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe catches up with Hillsborough head coach Tim Palek and junior guard Zion Harrison: