WEST WINDSOR: One in, one not at MCT

Pirates to play for boys’ title

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   In the end, it was execution down the stretch that made the difference for both West Windsor-Plainsboro South and Princeton High in their Mercer County Tournament boys’ basketball semifinal games on Wednesday night.
   The top-seeded Pirates made some key plays in the fourth quarter, while also shutting down fifth-seeded Notre Dame on the defensive end to emerge with a 44-42 win.
   Princeton, the No. 2 seed, made some crucial mistakes in the fourth quarter as third-seeded Pennington held on to defeat the Little Tigers, 53-48.
   WW-P South will face Pennington in the MCT championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Mercer County Community College. It is the second appearance in the finals in the last three years for the Pirates.
   WW-P South trailed the Irish, 20-17, at halftime and, 36-33, heading into the fourth quarter before holding them to just three points in the first 7:58 of the fourth quarter to seize the win.
   ”We had to play a lot smarter on defense so that we could get back into it,” said senior point guard Chris Johnson, whose steal and layup capped a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter that gave South a 42-38 lead. “We were playing lazy on defense and that caused us to get into foul trouble. I knew our bench would step up and play as hard as they could for us. We just tried to keep it the same. We had to pressure the ball and try not to go for blocks and steals so much.”
   The Pirates’ top scorer, Austin Witter, picked up two fouls in the first three minutes, which led to a slow start on offense. But strong play on the defensive end, as well as from the bench, allowed South to stay close and eventually grab the lead.
   ”It’s not good to get our best guy in foul trouble,” said senior Dan Balevski, who finished with 12 points and also made the three-point shot that gave the Pirates the lead for good in the fourth quarter. “We just had to keep working together because we know we have other guys on this team that can play basketball. We had to work through it and play smart.
   ”We wanted to pressure them. When we did pressure them in the first half they turned it over. So in the second half we decided to pressure them more and be up in their face the whole time. We tried to do that in the second half and we were successful.”
   Witter eventually got back on the floor and finished with 12 points. He also helped make a difference on the defensive end.
   ”I was very proud of the way we came out and we became the aggressor in the second half,” said South coach Bob Schurtz, whose team will open Central Jersey Group IV tournament play on Wednesday. “I thought a lot of it was that we sat around waiting the whole first half. We had several guys get in foul trouble. But I thought we were able to come out in the second half and dictate how we were going to play the rest of the game. We pressured the ball well. We attacked the rim much better.
   ”Nothing was more indicative of that than Dan’s play to start the second half, getting the basket-and-one going to the rim. He was kind of the answer all night long. Defensively, he had two big stops in that fourth quarter. Offensively he had the ‘and one’ to start the half and three-pointer at the end of it.”
   Now the Pirates, who improved to 21-2, are a win away from the MCT title.
   ”Our goal since the beginning of the season was to win our division, win the county and then see what we could do in states,” Balevski said. “We wanted to make it to the finals since the beginning of the season and now we’re finally there. I’ve heard Pennington is a good team. Hopefully we’ll have a good practice (Thursday) and come out ready to play on Friday.”
   Added Johnson: “It would have been very disappointing if we lost. We’ve worked real hard, day in and day out. If we had lost this game it would have been very hard for us. I know Pennington beat a real good Princeton team, so they have to be very good.”
   The Little Tigers were nearly the opposition for South, but came up just short against the Red Raiders. Princeton fought back from a 17-6 deficit in the second quarter to grab a 20-19 lead at halftime.
   They had the lead at 38-36 early in the fourth quarter before some turnovers helped Pennington go on a 11-4 run to build a 47-42 lead that was too much to overcome.
   ”I thought we did a decent job trying to stay composed in our offense,” Princeton coach Jason Carter said. “But a couple of mistakes in our defensive end led to some turnovers and easy baskets. In a big game you can’t give up those easy baskets.
   ”They’re a tough team and they created some tough matchups for us. They hit a couple big shots towards the end and we missed a couple shots and that was the difference in the game.”
   Princeton, which will open the Central Jersey Group III tournament on Thursday at Point Pleasant Boro, still has plenty to be proud of. The Little Tigers have won 16 games and were a win away from a spot in the county final.
   ”We’ve progressed in every way this season,” said Carter, whose team was led by Brian Dunlap with 19 points. “Last year we were a win away from the division title and we lost in the second round of the county tournament. This year we won the division and we are in the semis of the county tournament. So we’re moving forward. We just have to take it one step at a time.”