WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep basketball team traveled to Matawan High School in Aberdeen Township to participate in the Husky Holiday Classic last week. They went 3-0 to capture the tournament title. In their opener, the Pirates defeated host team Matawan 77-41. Junior Jackson Bleecker led the scoring with 19 points and added 12 rebounds, while senior Nick Dunneman had 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals. Junior Asad Hall scored 12 points with three assists, and senior guard Gavin Kreitz scored 10 points with five rebounds and five assists. Junior Shawn Lyght scored 7 points but pulled down nine rebounds with three assists.
In the semifinals, the Pirates defeated Manalapan 66-45. Lyght led the team with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Dunneman scored 12 points with eight rebounds. Bleecker scored 11 points with five rebounds, while Kreitz scored 10 points with five rebounds. Senior CJ Stout scored 8 points, while senior Myles Thomason scored 7 points with five assists.
In the championship game, the Pirates defeated Union 57-47 behind Thomason, who scored 14 points with five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kreitz scored 13 points with three rebounds and three assists, Bleecker scored 10 points, Dunneman had 7 points with five rebounds, and senior Andrew Kaminski scored 7 points with four rebounds. In the third quarter, the Pirates led 27-16 when Union went on an 8-0 run, to cut the Pirate lead to 27-24, at which point SHP head coach Kevin Williams called a time-out. After the time-out, Seton Hall came out in a 2–3 zone defense and outscored Union 12-6 to end the third quarter, taking a 39-30 lead into the fourth quarter. Following the game, Bleecker was named to the all-tournament team and Dunneman was named tournament MVP.
Bleecker said, “I really needed to play real tough defense under the boards and get big rebounds.”
Dunneman added, “This was a complete team effort, as we all came together tonight. We needed this type of game to get ready for our conference and county tournament play.” Williams, who is in his 11th year as the Pirates’ head coach said, “Our rebounding was unbelievable, and our defense was fantastic. Everybody contributed in different ways tonight. I went to a 2–3 zone defense to take away their penetration, and it worked.”
On Sunday, Jan. 2, the Pirates traveled to Hackensack High School in Hackensack to participate in the New Year’s Jump Off Showcase and took on Montclair Immaculate in a Super Essex Conference–American Division game. At halftime, the Lions lead 32-26. Seton Hall opened the third quarter on a 17-8 run to take a 43-40 lead with 2:57 left. Immaculate closed out the quarter on a 9-6 run, when Tavian Pullock hit three 3-pointers, to take a 49-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter. With 2:18 left and SHP trailing 56-53, junior Jackson Bleecker passed to senior Gavin Kreitz, who connected on a 3-pointer to tie the score at 56-56. Kreitz connected on another 3-pointer on an assist by senior Nick Dunneman to give the Pirates a 59-56 lead with 1:55 left. Senior CJ Stout by a putback increased the lead to 61-56 with :57 left. Dunneman hit two free throws with :29.7 to make the score 63-56, and Kreitz closed out the game with a steal and layup with :22 left, making the final score 65-56, for the team’s fourth victory in a row.
Kreitz was selected the most valuable player of the game for Seton Hall Prep, scoring 22 points, all in the second half, and three steals. Dunneman finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Bleecker had 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. Senior Myles Thomason filled up the box score with 4 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals, and Stout had 5 points, five rebounds and three assists.
For Immaculate, MVP Tavian Pullock scored 20 points, Justin Price scored 18 points, and Angel Rodriguez scored 10 points.
Following the game, Kreitz said, “I flushed my struggles of the first half and just played in the second half. Our defense really stepped it up, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Seton Hall outscored Immaculate 19-7 during that quarter.
Seton Hall Prep hoops team wins Husky Holiday Classic title in Matawan added by Jeff Goldberg on
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