Before the madness begins on the college level, the high school kids got their time to shine in the state tournament as all three local teams reached their respective Central Jersey Group tournaments, which started
by Michael Mack
Before the madness begins on the college level, the high school kids got their time to shine in the state tournament as all three local teams reached their respective Central Jersey Group tournaments, which started last Monday.
Florence started out on good note by taking on Piscataway Tech in the first round of the Central Jersey Group 1 tournament. The fourth seeded Flashes handled their business, beating the 13th seed by a final of 47-34. It didn’t come easy however, as Florence actually trailed by two after the third quarter before allowing just one point in the fourth.
Next up for Florence was fifth seeded South Amboy. This game went a bit smoother for the Flashes as they won each quarter en route to a 62-51 victory, punching their ticket to the semifinals.
Unfortunately for the Flashes, the semifinals were where they ran into top seeded Point Pleasant Beach.
”We knew it was going to be a tough task,” said Florence head coach Cesar Pereda. “We knew they were an excellent team and we would have to have a perfect game.”
The game was not exactly a perfect one for the Flashes. Point Pleasant Beach built a 17-point lead by halftime and never looked back. Florence lost the game by a final of 69-43.
Pereda said he feels that there were positives that came out of the loss however.
”I’m proud of the kids,” he said. “They played hard till the end.”
Florence finished their season with an 18-9 record and a very satisfied coach that sees this season as a success.
”The kids exceeded my expectations,” he said. “They improved from the first game to the last, which is all you ask for as a coach.”
Bordentown earned the 15th seed in the Central Jersey Group 2 tournament and took on second seeded Lakewood. The rankings were reflected in the final score, as Lakewood toppled the Scotties by 43 points, 88-45.
”Lakewood is a very good team,” said Bordentown Head Coach John Myers. “We had some scoring opportunities early, but we did not capitalize. Things just got away from us at that point.”
Bordentown finished with a 10-16 record, falling short of their goal of finishing above .500. That doesn’t mean there were not other goals that the Scotties did achieve.
”The state playoffs is something that you need to experience to really appreciate,” said Myers. “Entering the state playoffs was a pre-season goal.”
With the season now complete, Myers is already looking forward to and preparing for next year.
”Only time will tell on what will change. Let me keep that little secret until next year,” he said. “However, workouts and conditioning will be two aspects of our summer workouts.”
Northern Burlington qualified for the Central Jersey Group 3 tournament as the 12th seed. That lined them up against fifth seeded Middletown North in the first round.
It looked like the Greyhounds had a shot after they got out of the first quarter with a five-point lead, but that did not as they trailed by nine at the half. NBC lost by a final of 64-49, ending their season with a record of 8-18.
Head coach Gene Darling said while the season’s results were not ideal, they provided a learning opportunity for the team.
”The season overall in terms of wins and losses was not great,” said Darling. “However, I believe we learned a lot about ourselves what we need to work on to compete next year.
”Next year we will continue to compete on a nightly basis,” he added. “We will work hard in the summer getting stronger and getting into a summer league to get this young team more experience together.”

