Jeep Store Friday NJSIAA Boys Basketball Scoreboard, 3/1/19
NJSIAA Tournament
Sectional Semifinals
Central Jersey Group IV
(3) Freehold Twp. 58, (7) Monroe 47
Senior Greg Billups scored a game-high 22 points and the Patriots (22-4) shook off a poor offensive first half to race past the Falcons (17-11) and into the sectional final for the fourth time in five years.
Freehold Township trailed Monroe, 19-13, at halftime before storming in front with a 24-14 third quarter.
Senior Cristian Corcione added 13 points and senior Seth Meisner poured in 11 for Freehold Township, which will travel to play top-seeded Trenton in the Central Jersey Group IV final on Monday. Trenton plays its home games at Rivera Community Middle School.
Freehold Township is in search of its first ever NJSIAA sectional championship. The Patriots lost in the CJ IV final in three consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2017 and have been to the sectional final five times since 2007 without coming away with a title.
Central Jersey Group II
(1) Manasquan 79, (4) Governor Livingston 44
Senior Brad McCabe poured in 22 points and the Warriors (28-3) routed the Highlanders (16-9) to advance to the Central Jersey Group II final Monday at home against No. 3 Lincoln.
Junior Kieran Flanagan and freshman Ben Roy each added 14 points, with Flanagan adding six points and six assists and Roy handing out four assists.
Junior Alex Galvan put up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and senior Xander Korolik came up a just short with nine points and eight boards.
Monday's championship game will be a rematch of last year's CJ II quarterfinal game, which Lincoln won in Manasquan as a No. 10 seed with a 49-46, overtime victory over the then-second-seeded Warriors.
(3) Lincoln 49, (2) Rumson-Fair Haven 44
Senior Ian O'Connor scored a game-high 28 points but the Bulldogs (18-9) fell to the Lions (20-8), ending their bid for a third straight Central Jersey Group II championship.
Lincoln led by nine points with under three minutes left and Rumson pulled within 45-42 on a three-pointer by O'Connor. The Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game, trailing 47-44, but O'Connor's three from the right wing was a little too strong with under 10 seconds to go.
Senior Donte Darby hit a pair of free throws to ice the game and finished with 19 points to lead Lincoln, which will play at Manasquan in Monday's championship game.
Senior Jackson McCarthy battled foul trouble throughout the game for Rumson and fouled out with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter.
South Jersey Group IV
(2) Cherokee 53, (3) Toms River North 47
Junior Jakari Spence scored a game-high 22 points but it was not enough for the Mariners (24-5) to get past the Chiefs (21-8) on the road.
Senior Nick Duncsak added nine points and eight rebounds for Toms River North, which defeated Cherokee during the regular season, 44-43.
Anthony DiCaro and Damien Smith each scored 13 points to lead Cherokee, which will host No. 4 Millville in Monday's sectional championship game.
Sectional Quarterfinals
(3) Rutgers Prep 84, (11) Mater Dei Prep 56
Sophomore standout Trey Patterson scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Argonauts (18-8) shake off a first-half challenge from the Seraphs (13-10).
Mater Dei trailed Rutgers Prep by only five at halftime, 34-29, before the home team took over in the third with a 24-13 quarter.
Rutgers Prep advances to play at Ranney in the sectional semifinals on Monday.
(2) Ranney 68, (7) Trenton Catholic 54
Senior Bryan Antoine led four players in double-figure scoring with 19 points and added six rebounds and four assists as the Panthers (26-3) jumped out to a fast start in racing past the Iron Mikes (16-10).
Antoine connected on 3-of-4 three-pointers in the first quarter and Ranney went 7-for-10 as a team to take a 26-9 lead on Trenton Catholic after one. Despite Ranney cooling off and scoring only nine points in the second quarter, Trenton Catholic never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Senior Scottie Lewis added 17 points, six assists and six rebounds while junior Phillip Wheeler pitched in 16 points and five boards. Senior Alex Klatsky added 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Antoine also turned in a noteworthy defensive effort by holding fellow Big East commit Khalif Battle to five points for the game. Battle is committed to play at Butler while Antoine will head to Villanova.
Junior Jamir Watkins - who spent his sophomore year at Mater Dei Prep - led Trenton Catholic with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Ranney will host No. 3 Rutgers Prep in the sectional semifinals on Monday night.