Seton Hall Prep junior Shawn Lyght dribbles around a Morristown Beard player in the sectional first round.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep basketball team concluded a great season after losing a heartbreaker of a game to second-seeded Don Bosco Prep, 39-38, in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Non-Public A North tournament semifinal game on Monday, March 7, at DBP in Ramsey.
In the fourth quarter, with third-seeded SHP trailing 37-33, SHP junior Jackson Bleecker hit a 3-pointer off a scramble from senior Myles Thomason with :31.6 to make the score 37-36. After two Don Bosco Prep free throws with :25.6 left made it 39-36, Thomason scored on a layup with :04.2 to make the score 39-38. With :03.2 left, second-seeded Don Bosco missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the Pirates’ final off-balance shot bounced off the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Following the game, Don Bosco Prep head coach Kevin Diverio said, “Seton Hall knew us and played us awesome. That was an old-school defensive game.”
Junior Darrius Phillips led the Pirates with 9 points and eight rebounds, while seniors Gavin Kreitz, Nick Dunneman, and Elijah Garris all had 6 points. Thomason finished with six rebounds and five assists, while Dunneman had four rebounds and two assists. The loss snapped the Pirates’ 14-game winning streak. The Pirates completed their season with a 23-4 record and were Essex County Tournament champions and Super Essex Conference–American Division champions. They also had a five-game winning streak during the season.
In the first round of the Non-Public A North tournament, the third-seeded Pirates hosted No. 14 seed Morristown Beard at Frank J. Tracey Gymnasium in West Orange last Wednesday, March 2. The Pirates won 77-47. The Pirates were led by Bleecker, who scored 18 points. Kreitz scored 14 points with five assists, Phillips scored 9 points with eight rebounds and three blocks, and junior Liam Toohey added 8 points with three rebounds.
Two days later, the Pirates hosted No. 11 seed Paramus Catholic and defeated the Paladins 64-40 in the quarterfinal round. Dunneman led the Pirates with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Bleecker scored 14 points with five rebounds. Thomason scored 9 points with eight assists and three steals, and junior Shawn Lyght scored 8 points with four steals.
Photos Courtesy of Rich Morris/SHP
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