JACKSON >> The Trenton Catholic Academy boys basketball team could not have dreamed up a better start to Wednesday night’s Non-Public B South final.
Unfortunately for the Iron Mikes, the second half was a cold dose of reality.
Despite TCA leading top-seeded Roselle Catholic by as many as 19 points early in the second quarter, the Lions stormed back to stun the Mikes, 72-67, ending their season.
“We just didn’t play good enough defense,” said TCA senior Malachi Richardson. “We didn’t make free throws and we didn’t get stops.”
The defense that Richardson is referring to was that played against Roselle’s five-star point guard Isaiah Briscoe, who dominated the game down the stretch with his ability to get into the lane, absorb contact and finish at the rim. The Kentucky commit had 15 of his game-high 34 points in the final quarter.
“(Briscoe) does it so easily and fluidly and calmly,” TCA coach Fred Falchi said. “I always say that it looks like he’s having a lot of fun. It’s not that the other kids don’t have fun, but it’s just a game to him. The pressure doesn’t get to him.”
Free throws were also an issue, as the Mikes shot just 6-of-13 from the line.
“It was just a lot of fundamental things,” Falchi said. “When you get two teams like this, that’s what it comes down to.”
The loss was a particularly tough one for Richardson, who will be playing his college basketball at Syracuse next season. Richardson won the Tournament of Champions with Roselle Catholic as a sophomore before returning to TCA, where his former team has now eliminated him from the postseason in back-to-back seasons.
“It was great coming back and being able to play in front of my family,” Richardson said. “I really wanted to come back and win another Tournament of Champions, but we fell short.”
For the first half, at least, it looked like Richardson’s dream was going to survive the day. Roselle came out ice cold in the first quarter, with Briscoe starting 2-of-9 from the field. TCA, on the other hand, was moving the ball as well as it had all season, with all five starters contributing.
“We came out good,” said senior point guard Marcus Floyd, emphasizing the “good” for effect. “We came out real good”
Though a 15-2 run to start the second quarter put the Mikes up 30-11, they knew that Roselle – which is considered one of the best high school basketball teams in the country – was too talented to stay down for long.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be that type of game,” Floyd said. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight.”
The Lions roster contains no fewer than eight Division I prospects, and five players 6-foot-7 or taller. Forward Chris Silva chose South Carolina over offers from the likes of Syracuse, Villanova and Georgetown, while the 6-9 Nazreon Reid is considered one of the best freshmen in the country.
All that talent eventually began to pay dividends on the court. In the second half, it seemed that just about any shot Roselle missed around the rim turned into an emphatic putback slam. The turning point may have come in the third, when Briscoe threw an off-the-backboard alley-oop to Silva on a fast break.
“There isn’t too much (Briscoe) can’t do,” Floyd said.
Richardson led the Mikes with 21 points, including three big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep his squad in the game. Floyd added 17 points despite the tough matchup, while junior forward Richmond Aririguzoh came up big with 13.
Though TCA was obviously disappointed with the result, nobody was arguing about its effort in taking a team like Roselle to the wire.
“We fought,” Floyd said. “I’ll run with these guys any time. Myles (Powell) played hard. NuNu (Marquise Bell) played hard. Richmond (Aririguzoh) played real hard. I’ll go fight with them any time. We play that game again and we might come out (on top).”
TCA (67)Powell 3-1-8, Richardson 6-4-21, Floyd 8-0-17, Arirguzoh 6-1-13, Bell 1-0-2, Alfred 1-0-2, Ellington 0-0-0, Berroa 1-0-2, Anderson 1-0-2, Peterson 0-0-0.
Totals – 27-6-67.ROSELLE CATHOLIC (72)
Silva 6-1-13, Briscoe 10-14-34, Sarr 2-2-7, Pretlow 0-3-3, Bullock 2-0-5, David 0-1-1, Reid 4-0-9.
Totals – 24-21-72.TCA (22-5) 15 19 11 22 – 67 Roselle C. (25-4) 9 15 22 26 – 72
3-point goals – Powell, Richardson 5 (TCA). Sarr, Bullock, Reid (RC).
