UNION LOCAL’S Luke Merritt (20) eyes the basket Friday night against Morgan in a Div. III contest in Morristown.

MORRISTOWN – Even the best of seasons can have tough endings.

Case in point: Union Local.

The senior-dominated Jets produced an 18-win campaign and stand a solid chance of capturing the OVAC 4A championship. But Friday night that sparkling season came to a most disappointing conclusion as Union Local dropped a tough 46-42 decision to Morgan in a Division III sectional co-final at “The Hangar.”

This marks the second straight season the Jets have been eliminated from the post-season by the Raiders, last year’s coming in triple overtime.

Union Local’s defensive effort was superb, as has been the case all season. Coach Zach Delman adeptly mixed defensive looks, utilizing zone, triangle-and-two and man-to-man to stymie the Raiders. However, the Jets’ fate was sealed by an extremely poor shooting night.

“You have to make shots. If we make shots we win,” Delman said. “That has been the case all season for us. We had good looks.

“Defensively, I thought we were excellent. We wanted to change things up,” he added. “We didn’t want the district player-of-the-year (Carver Myers) beat us. But to their credit, their role players stepped up and hurt us.”

Morgan improved to 15-6 on the season and will now visit Tusky Valley Tuesday at Zoarville in a district semifinal. The Trojans advanced by downing Garaway last night.

“I am very proud of our effort. We beat a very good team,” Morgan coach Rob Justice said. “We had some young kids really step up and make plays at crunch time.

“We didn’t crack down the stretch. We made some key fouls shots when we needed them,” he added. “This is a nice reward for a tough season. We were hit hard by COVID then bad weather set in. We have not been able to practice much.”

Morgan took a 13-8 lead after one quarter thanks to seven points from senior Gabe Altier.

The Jets received four points in the round from senior Nathan Meyer, who played well at both ends of the floor all night long.

Union Local drew even at 20-all by intermission as senior Liam Vinskovich delivered seven points for the hosts while Meyer chipped in with three more tallies.

Things remained nip-and-tuck through the third panel. The Trojans used a last-second bucket from freshman Carson Mummy to take a 31-30 lead into the final period.

Morgan stretched its advantage to 38-33 three minutes into the final chapter before Meyer goaled to slow the Raider run. A trey from Carter Mayle boosted the Raider lead to 41-35 with 3:33 left to play.

Union Local senior ace Luke Merritt delivered two charity tosses to make it a 41-37 reading at the 2:37 juncture. Neither team was able to score until Vinskovich buried a key trey with 59 seconds to play, bringing the Jets to within 41-40.

Mayle meshed two free throws 11 seconds later, making it a 43-40 Morgan edge. The Jets subsequently misfired from the floor before Myers drained one-of-two free throws, good for a four-point lead with 31.7 ticks left.

Merritt quickly pared the deficit to two with a driving layup. Union Local regained possession as its fullcourt pressure forced a turnover with 17 seconds left.

The Jets, however, failed to take advantage of the opportunity as they returned the favor and also turned the ball over. Mayle was fouled with 14 seconds to play. He cashed both freebies, upping the count to 46-42. Union Local’s demise was finalized as it committed another turnover.

Mayle led the Raiders with 11 points while Altier added 10 counters.

Vinskovich topped all scorers with 15 points. Meyer and Merritt each netted 11 counters. Merritt’s bucket with 22 seconds to play enabled him to finish his banner career with 1,001 points.

Union Local committed 10 turnovers on the night, one more than the Raiders. The Jets started five seniors, all of whom played the entire 32 minutes.

“It’s a tough way to end the season. We had a lot of success this year, especially after starting 0-2. We set the school record for best defensive scoring average as we only gave up 44 points a game,” Delman said. “You hate to see another team cutting down the nets on your home floor. But we had our chances tonight.

“This group of seniors we had this year is a special bunch. They won only four games as eighth graders,” he continued. “They are a testament to how successful you can be when you never miss open gyms or practices and you do what you are supposed to do. They are a great bunch and I consider this team as one of the best to every to suit top here.”