WEST ORANGE, NJ — The sixth-seeded Seton Hall Prep basketball team defeated No. 3 seed East Orange Campus High School, 67-61, in the quarterfinal round of the 77th Essex County Tournament at George “Slatts” Ballard Gymnasium at East Orange Campus HS in East Orange.
After both teams were tied 28-28 at halftime, the Pirates broke through in the third quarter, outscoring the Jaguars, 17-11, behind 6 points by junior Dylan Guzzardo, and 4 points by senior Gino Romano and sophomore Daniel Beazer, while sophomore Alex Ante scored 3 points.
Romano had a strong performance, scoring 18 points, which included 11 free throws, going eight-for-10 in the second half. Beazer and Guzzardo each contributed 14 points, while Ante netted 12 points and eight rebounds. Junior Primo Delgardo handed out eight assists and had five steals.
Following the game, SHP head coach Kevin Williams said, “Today, we put it all together. We played great defense, we took care of the ball, limited our turnovers and made free throws.” Romano added, “We needed to execute on defense, limit our turnovers and make our free throws. Today, we showed we can beat anyone when we play together and do those three things.”
The Pirates will be making their 45th appearance in the semifinals of the ECT and 28th of the last 30 years. Seton Hall will face No. 2 seed St. Benedict’s at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, at West Orange HS.
The Pirates and the Gray Bees have met four times in the history of the ECT:
- 1957: St. Benedict’s won, 53-49, quarterfinals.
- 1958: SHP won, 37-36, quarterfinals.
- 1971: St. Benedict’s won, 74-69, first round.
- 1983: SHP won, 60-56, first round.
On Thursday, Feb. 1, the Pirates traveled to Newark to face West Side and defeated the Rough Riders, 78-51. Romano led the scoring with 16 points, while Ante had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Beazer scored 9 points with four rebounds, while junior Cole Jordan scored 7 points with four assists and four steals and junior Brendan Mathay also scored 7 points with four rebounds.
On Monday, Jan. 29, Seton Hall hosted Arts High School at Frank J. Tracey Gymnasium and lost to the Jaguars in a very tough game, 51-45. Ante led the scoring with 10 points and five rebounds, while Romano scored 9 points and Guzzardo also scored 9 points.
Photos Courtesy of Seton Hall Prep
Seton Hall Prep vs. Arts (Jan. 30, at SHP). Arts won, 51-45.
Seton Hall Prep basketball team advances to ECT semifinals added by Jeff Goldberg on
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