Seton Hall Prep basketball team wins second straight Essex County Tournament title

WEST ORANGE – The top-seeded Seton Hall Prep varsity basketball team showed much resolve in the second half in defeating second-seeded Newark East Side, 50-44, to win the 70th Essex County Tournament championship for the second consecutive season on Saturday, Feb. 27, at Essex County College in Newark.

Senior guard and University of Notre Dame-bound T.J. Gibbs had 15 points and six rebounds; senior forward Zach Keller had 13 points and six rebounds and senior guard Brandon Oladapo had seven points to lead Pirates, who won their 22nd straight game to improve to a 27-1 record.

It marked the Pirates’ fifth ECT title in six seasons. The Pirates also won their 17th ECT title to extend their tournament record.

Leading 33-20 at halftime, SHP withstood a tremendous East Side comeback to maintain a 36-35 lead after three quarters.

Late in the fourth quarter, East Side cut the Pirates’ lead to 47-44, but Gibbs hit three of four free throws in the last 31 seconds to seal the title.

Senior guard Stephen Ferraro, junior forward Treyvon Bennett and senior forward Ryan Toohers each scored four points for SHP, which has won all three meetings with East Side this season, with the other two games coming in Super Essex Conference-American Division play.

Keller, who will play quarterback for the Princeton University football team in the fall, said of East Side, “They’re an unbelievable team. When we saw they put a box-and-one defense on T.J., we knew that the others would have to step up and make big plays.”

In the first half, Keller scored six points and Oladapo had seven points. “Brandon was unbelievable,” said Keller of Oladapo. “He came in and gave us some outstanding energy.”

Gibbs also praised his teammates for gutting out the win against a tough East Side team. “They were definitely a physical team and did a great job of denying me the ball,” said Gibbs of East Side. “It was a real tough game. We really played great as a team and did not panic when they cut the lead to 1 after the third quarter. It does not matter who takes the shots. We all have confidence in each other.”

SHP head coach Kevin Williams was proud of his team for winning the game in a hard-fought effort. “When you play East Side, it is about getting rebounds and stops and we did that down the stretch, as well as hitting our free throws (9-13 in the fourth quarter). We played tough games like this down in South Carolina (during the Christmas break) and Gill St. Bernard’s three weeks ago, so there is no panic in this team. The Essex County Tournament definitely gets us ready for the State Tournament.”

In the ECT semifinals at West Orange High School on Feb. 23, the Pirates defeated fifth-seeded Newark West Side, 61-46. Keller had 16 points and 13 rebounds; senior guard J.J. Jenkins had 11 points and four assists; Toohers had 12 points and five rebounds; junior guard Austin Williams had nine points and four assists; and Ferraro had eight points, four rebounds and five assists.

The next day, the Pirates defeated Rutgers Prep, 80-49, at SHP in the final regular-season game. Gibbs had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists; Keller had 16 points and five rebounds; Williams notched 11 points and five steals; Toohers recorded nine points and seven rebounds; and Ferraro scored eight points.

The Pirates appeared in their 27th ECT final to extend their tournament record. The Pirates have reached the ECT final for seven straight seasons (2010-2016). In 21 seasons (1996-2016), the Pirates have appeared in the ECT final 19 times, with 2006 and 2009 as the only years they did not make it to the final. In that span, they are 13-6 in the ECT final.

The Pirates will gear up for the postseason. SHP, seeded No. 2 , will host the winner of No. 10 seed Delbarton and No. 7 seed Pope John in the quarterfinals of the state North Jersey Non-Public A tournament on March 4. The top seed is Don Bosco Prep.