HAMILTON ― There were reasons the New Providence High School boys basketball team was a Central Jersey Group I finalist. The 10th-seeded Pioneers just did not show it in the first 16 minutes of Friday night’s championship game against top-seeded Thrive Charter.
That’s when Charter built a 31-point lead that cost the Pioneers any chance of a significant upset in a 65-44 loss, though a 23-7 New Providence third-quarter run made the setback to the talented Titans a little more bearable.
The Pioneers showed their low seed didn’t mean much. They won at No. 7 Keyport, No. 2 Middlesex and No. 3 Point Pleasant Beach.
They staged a 14-0 run built around four 3-pointers to start the second half Friday that got the attention of the crowd. But it will be Thrive Charter that will face South Jersey winner Woodbury in the state semifinals.
New Providence finished the season 11-18, but went much farther than all the teams it played during the season.
“I was proud of the way the kids competed in the second half, they didn’t pack it in,” said coach Art Cattano. “We hit a few shots that we weren’t hitting in the first half and they missed some and it makes a difference. That’s the way the game goes.”
Cattano added that Thrive Charter was clearly the best team his club had played all season. The Titans couldn’t miss in the first quarter, with junior Tyler Hammond scoring 19 of his game-high 23 points in the opening period.
“They are very big and athletic, there was only so much we could do,” said New Providence senior TJ Munn.
The Pioneers began with their traditional man to man, went to a half court trap, then zone. The Titans still couldn’t miss and even hit a couple of four-point plays.
“They were still hitting shots. Sometimes you have games like that,” said Cattano.
The Pioneers started hitting shots as the second half began. Devin Cumiskey hit two 3s. Colin McAloon and James Millet had one apiece. The Pioneers had seven for the game.
“Let’s get a good possession, let’s defend, I don’t care what the score or where it gets, we need to get a good shot no longer how long it takes us,” said Cattano when asked what the halftime message was.
“We knew they would slow down at some point and we took advantage of that,” Munn said. “We had to be more patient.”
Munn had 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. McAloon had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.
