Boys Basketball NJSIAA Sectional Quarterfinal Scoreboard, Feb. 27

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Quarterfinals

Central Jersey Group III

(4) Hopewell Valley 49, (5) Colts Neck 40

Senior Vova Trotsko scored 17 points and the Cougars (17-9) cut a 14-point deficit to four before ultimately coming up short against the Bulldogs (21-5) on the road.

Hopewell Valley led, 36-22, late in the third quarter, but Colts Neck authored an 11-1 run that cut the home team's lead to 37-33 with 3:05 left. Hopewell, however, collected enough points from the free-throw line and held the Cougars to two field goals the rest of the way to close out the victory.

John Michael Vlasac scored a game-high 20 points to lead Hopewell Valley, which will travel to top-seeded Red Bank for the sectional semifinals on Thursday.

(7) Freehold Boro 58, (2) Nottingham 56

Junior Aidan Hamlin-Woolfolk scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and the Colonials (21-7) erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to shock the defending sectional champion North Stars (21-7) and reach the sectional semifinal Thursday at No. 6 Ewing.

Freehold Boro stormed out to a 21-11 lead by the final minute of the first quarter before Nottingham stormed back to tie the game, 28-28, by halftime. The North Stars then scored the first 13 points of the third quarter to take a commanding 13-point lead and later led, 50-41, heading to the fourth.

The Colonials then responded with a 9-0 run to open the fourth, capped by the first of two game-tying transition dunks by Hamlin-Woolfolk. The second of the two tied the game at 56 with just over a minute to go.

Junior Brian Tassey gave Freehold Boro a 57-56 lead by hitting the second of two free throws with 49 seconds left. After a Nottingham turnover, senior Christian DiGiso hit 1-of-2 from the line with 20 seconds left to put the Colonials ahead, 58-56.

After Nottingham took a timeout with 12 seconds left and another with four, DiGiso defended the potential game-winning three-point attempt as time expired, which did not escape the reach of the senior guard.

DiGiso scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, hit four three-pointers and handed out three assists. Tassey finished with eight points and three assists, while junior Qua'Mir Everett scored all 11 of his points in the first quarter to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots -- the second of which prevented a Nottingham breakaway layup late in the fourth quarter.

Dom Raymond matched Hamlin-Woolfolk with a game-high 17 points to lead Nottingham.

(1) Red Bank 59, (8) Robbinsville 48

Junior Zayier Dean scored 17 points and the Bucs (20-4) pulled ahead in the second quarter before burying the Ravens (18-10) with a huge run in the third to advance to the sectional semifinals Thursday against No. 4 Hopewell Valley.

Senior Braydon Kirkpatrick added 13 points and junior Ryan Fisher pitched in 11 for Red Bank, which outscored Robbinsville, 23-7, during the third quarter to turn what was a 27-24 halftime lead for the Bucs into a 50-31 rout. Red Bank also outscored Robbinsville, 15-9, in the second quarter to take a 15-12 lead.

Tyler Bunnell led Robbinsville with a game-high 20 points.

Central Jersey Group I

(1) Henry Hudson 49, (8) Eagle Academy 43 (OT)

Junior Jack Fitzpatrick scored 13 of his 18 points after halftime and freshman JoJo Newell contributed 10 of his 14 in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Admirals (21-4) pull out a spirited win over the defending sectional champions from Eagle Academy (13-13).

Eagle Academy led, 37-32, with under two minutes to play, but Henry Hudson rallied with two layups by Newell that pulled the Admirals to within 38-36 with 56 seconds left. After two more missed free throws by Eagle, Fitzpatrick earned a trip to the free-throw line with 29.5 seconds left and buried both attempts to make it 38-38.

Henry Hudson came up with a stop on the defensive end and each team failed to do anything with one second left on the clock, sending the game into overtime.

Sophomore Michael Fitzpatrick got the Admirals started with a three from the left wing to open the overtime scoring, followed by a finish by Newell off a feed from junior Kevin Pharo. Newell scored again off a Pharo assist to make it 45-40 and Pharo converted a layup of his own off a find by sophomore Billy Quinn.

Fitzpatrick then hit two free throws to put the game on ice.

Newell also grabbed nine rebounds and four steals, while Fitzpatrick chipped in three assists and three steals. Pharo finished with six points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the win.

Al-Zakhir Al-Qadir led Eagle Academy with a game-high 19 points.

Henry Hudson will host No. 5 Manville Thursday in the sectional semifinal round.

(3) College Achieve 89, (11) Point Beach 31

Deuce Jones put up 22 points, six assists and five steals, while David Munro (13 points, 15 rebounds) posted a double-double with five steals to lead the Knights (18-7) over the Garnet Gulls (12-14) and into the sectional semifinals Thursday at No. 2 Shore.

Jebron Harris added 12 points and seven rebounds, Frank Hoynowski poured in 11 points and Nas Hart pitched in nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots for College Achieve.

Sophomore Jacob Edgecomb led Point Beach with 19 points.

(2) Shore 51, (7) South Hunterdon 33

Senior Gianni Fiumefreddo led a balanced attack with 15 points and the Blue Devils (19-8) rolled through the Eagles (9-15) and into the sectional semifinals for the second straight season.

Senior Joe Santi added 14 points and senior Alex George threw in 12 for Shore, which will host No. 3 College Achieve of Asbury Park -- currently the No. 12 team in the state, according to NJ Advance Media -- in Thursday's Central Jersey Group I semifinal.

South Jersey Group II

(4) Moorestown 60, (12) Barnegat 52 (OT)

Junior Mason Krey scored 22 points and hit two clutch three-pointers in the final minute to help the Bengals (17-10) overcome a seven-point deficit in the last 1:06 of regulation, but the Quakers (20-8) regrouped and turned Barnegat away in overtime to keep their sectional title defense in South Group III alive.

Krey's first three-pointer cut Moorestown's lead to 46-42 and senior Jamari Smith scored as he was fouled to make it 48-44. Smith missed the free throw, but the rebound was tapped out and Krey canned another three to make it 48-47.

After 1-of-2 free throws by Moorestown, Smith attacked the paint and pulled up for a short jumper that tied the game at 49 with 30 seconds to go. Barnegat delivered a stop on the other and got Smith the ball, but his floater in the lane would not fall.

Barnegat trailed by as many as 11 during the fourth quarter before forcing overtime.

Smith finished with a 15 points, while C.J. Hayes led a balanced Moorestown offense with 14 points.