CHATHAM, NJ -- Chatham boys basketball coach Todd Ervin's mantra after every game to his team is that they need to keep improving.

But even Ervin had to admit he was impressed with the play of the Cougars after they defeated a good Morristown team, 67-50, to secure their eighth straight win on Saturday night.

"Is that what (our winning streak) is? Wow," Ervin said. "That's pretty good. Everyone I thought played good. That's what we want. We made free throws, which we haven't done all year, so it was a good effort."

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Ervin likely uttered a few more "wows" when he looked over the scorebook and noticed that Chatham (9-2) had all five of its starters score in double figures, with senior Tim Platek leading the way with 17 points and senior Ryan Leskauskas scoring 14. There was also 10 points apiece from seniors Nick Cutlip and Danny Morton and 10 more from freshman Mike MacAniff.

Leskauskas and Platek fueled a 20-7 second quarter for Chatham that handed the Cougars a 28-15 lead at the halftime break. Leskauskas hit for eight points in the period and Platek had six.

But the highlight of the first half was freshman MacAniff's driving spin move that he banked in during Chatham's 12-0 spurt that made it 20-10.

"(MacAniff) played great, you would never know he's a freshman," Ervin said. "He wasn't fazed, gave us offense, and played good defense."

Morristown (6-5) came out in the second half with a full-court zone press that slowed down Chatham's transition offense. Still, the Cougars were able to maintain their lead, getting a 3-pointer from the corner by Platek (see below) off a feed from Morton for a 35-24 lead.

MacAniff answered after a Colonials' basket with a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer (see below) to push Chatham in front, 40-28, with 3:21 to go in the third.

Chatham closed out the third period with a 9-2 run. Leskauskas ignited the burst with one-handed jumper in the lane (see below) and Mike Tedesco came out of a tangle of bodies under the boards to contribute a put-back basket. Nick Fabijanic came up with a hustling offensive rebound and fed Will Walsh, who was fouled and sank both free throws.

With Leskauskas on the bench icing his knee, Morton gave Chatham all the momentum it needed heading into the final period when he swished in a long 3-pointer at the buzzer (see below) for a 49-32 lead.

Chatham scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, with 14 of those points coming at the foul line, where the Cougars sank 14 of 16 (87.5%) over the final eight minutes.

COUGAR NOTES: If you go by the last names, it appears that Chatham had its usual senior starting five on the court, but freshman Mike MacAniff got the call when his older brother, Jack, sustained a hairline fracture of his arm during practice on Friday.

"I found out I was starting this morning when I looked at the scouting report and my name was in there and it said who I was covering," Mike MacAniff said. "It felt good to be out there and that I was the one replacing Jack."

MacAniff's first career start was a success as he scored a career-high 10 points ... the Cougars received a scare when leading scorer Ryan Leskauskas hit the floor hard on a drive to the basket and was in considerable pain after banging his knee. He was able to return to play in the fourth quarter ... Chatham is 9-0 this season when it scores at least 56 points ... the Cougars hit 20 of 25 fouls, 80%, for the game and sank 88.8% in the second half when they connected on 16 of 18 free throws. Tim Platek was 6 for 6 from the line and Danny Morton made 5 of 6 ... Morristown made 5 of 12 free throws, 41.6% ... Platek picked up two fouls in the first two and a half minutes of the game - both on charges - but got one of them back just seconds after foul No. 2 when he drew a charge on a driving Morristown player ... the Cougars will try to extend their winning streak to nine when they travel to meet Roxbury (3-6), 7 p.m. Thursday. Chatham's current run started with a 62-50 home win vs. Robury on Dec. 21.