WEST ORANGE – Senior TJ Gibbs scored 38 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the second-seeded Seton Hall Prep past seventh-seeded Pope John XXIII of Sparta, 74-63, in the quarterfinal round of the state Non-Public A tournament at SHP on Friday, March 4.
The SHP Pirates jumped out to a 13-0 lead behind Gibbs’ nine points and senior guard JJ Jenkins’ four points. SHP led the whole game but Pope John cut the lead to one at 45-44 late in the third quarter before the Pirates pulled away.
Gibbs also was 21-of-21 at the free throw line as the team was 32-of-34 for the game.
Senior forward Zach Keller scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds; Jenkins finished with six points; junior forward Treyvon Bennett had six points and five rebounds; and senior forward Ryan Toohers had six points and five rebounds for the Pirates, who won their 23rd straight game to improve to 28-1.
The Pirates will host third-seeded Bergen Catholic in the semifinals on Monday, March 8, at 7 p.m. The other semifinal pits fifth-seeded St. Joseph of Montvale at top-seeded Don Bosco Prep on March 8. The final is March 10 at Rutgers University at 6 p.m.
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