CHATHAM, NJ -- Todd Ervin had to call in sick for the first two games of the "Cougar Classic" on Monday and Tuesday and what the Chatham boys basketball coach saw from watching the livestream of those games didn't make him feel any better.

"I'll tell you, it's like a rude awakening," Ervin said. "You can actually see stuff from up there, it's such a different angle, you can see play off the ball better. I let them have it at practice (Wednesday) about the way we played. We should have beaten New Providence and Cranford by more points than we did."

Ervin got what he wanted from his team on Thursday night when Chatham closed out the "Cougar Classic" with a dominating 67-35 decision vs. Hanover Park for its fourth straight victory.

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Senior forward Nick Cutlip led the team with 17 points and senior guard Tim Platek ended with 10 points. But the biggest impact may have been the play of the team's leading scorer Ryan Leskauskas, who shot less and passed more.

"We had a little conversation in the first quarter about how I can impact the game," Leskauskas, who finished with six points, said. "My teammates were making the right cuts and I was finding them and we got the win. Winning is what I care about the most."

Ryan Leskauskas, Tim Platek and Nick Cutlip talk about the win

"I thought we played good on both ends of the floor," Ervin said. "I wanted them to defend, move the ball better on offense and be more unselfish. Hopefully, they can see that when the ball moves, we play better."

An example of that improved ball movement came in the fourth quarter when the ball went from Platek to Jack MacAniff to Leskauskas and back to a cutting Platek for the basket (see below).

The Cougars began to open up their lead in the second quarter with a 20-8 run. Platek started the quarter off with a steal for two points and then grabbed a loose ball and sent it to Cutlip, who was fouled and sank both. Cutlip then scored inside off a pass from Leskauskas, who followed with a drive of his own for two points.

Leskauskas then sank both ends of a one-and-one situation and Nick Fabijanic dropped in one foul shot. Freshman guard Ryan Leach then scored seven straight points with a drive through the lane, a 3-pointer from the left corner off a pass from Platek and two foul shots. Cutlip's steal for two points made it 35-20 at the break.

Chatham (5-2) opened the third quarter with a 15-5 burst that was sparked by Cutlip, who scored on a spin move off a pass from Leskauskas (see below), converted a layup and nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing.

Platek kept the run going by grabbing the board off his own miss and scoring. Leskauskas then drove the lane for two more points (see below) before Platek set up Mike Tedesco with a behind-the-back pass (see below) for a 50-25 advantage.

COUGAR NOTES: Chatham will try to extend its winning streak to five when it meets Montville (2-2) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at CHS ... senior guard Jack MacAniff has scored 20 points over the last two games for the Cougars, including a career-high 11 points vs. Cranford ... freshman guard Ryan Leach scored all seven of his points during a personal 7-0 run he put together late in the first half for Chatham. He scored 23 points off the bench in the three "Cougar Classic" games ... Chatham sank 14 of 17 fouls (82.3%) compared to 4-of-9 shooting from the line by Hanover Park.