Lawrence boys basketball
By: Jim Green
Lawrence High School boys basketball coach Pat Tarrant said he had never been more proud of one of his teams following a loss.
The Cardinals were defeated by Hightstown 53-52 on the road Feb. 16 in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals. But Tarrant didn’t really feel like his team lost anything that night.
"Both teams played their guts out, and no team really lost the game," Tarrant said. "That was a special game that will be remembered by everyone that was there for a long time."
Junior center Brett Brackett paced the Cardinals with 12 points, and emerging senior forward Shamil Rodriguez added 11. Junior guard Chris Martine had eight points, including a 3-pointer with less than a minute left in the first overtime that helped Lawrence force a second OT.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Hightstown star Kurt Rodgers would not be denied on his home court, finishing with 22 and converting a conventional 3-point play hitting a leaning jumper and the subsequent foul shot with five seconds left to win the game.
"Rodgers just made a nice play," Tarrant said. "He made a big free throw. They hit a ton of free throws all night, and that was the difference. We couldn’t get to the line, and when we did, we missed a few."
With under a minute left in the first overtime, the Cardinals found themselves down by four points, but Martine nailed a 3 with 10 seconds left, and senior guard Jamil Brown was later fouled, making 1-of-2 free throws to send the game to a second overtime.
"There were a lot of plays like that from both teams throughout the game," Tarrant said.
Although the Cardinals lost a heartbreaker, they did not get down on themselves afterward.
"They were disappointed, but they realized they were part of a special game," Tarrant said. "We had chances to win it in regulation and the first overtime."
Still, Tarrant wasn’t sure how his team would bounce back Friday when it faced Steinert in a tournament consolation game at LHS.
"It’s a consolation round, so you never know how you’re going to respond," Tarrant said. "It was a tough game for Steinert, too, because they were coming off a tough loss to Hopewell (in the quarterfinals)."
The Cardinals quickly put any fears Tarrant might have to rest, jumping out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter and never looking back, beating the Spartans 79-46. Martine poured in 16 points including four 3-pointers while Brown and senior guard Matt Stein each added 12.
"I thought we played very well offensively against Steinert," Tarrant said. "All the team contributed."
The Cardinals outscored the Spartans in every period, putting the game away with a dominant 25-14 run in the third quarter.
"For whatever reason, our guys stayed more aggressive throughout the game," Tarrant said. "Maybe it was because we can look forward to the state tournament and prepare for that, where Steinert could not."
The fact that Lawrence played such a classic game against Hightstown in the quarterfinal round of the county tournament speaks highly of the Colonial Valley Conference this season. After beating the Spartans, the Cardinals are 15-8 overall and 9-3 in the CVC.
Tarrant is hoping the tough CVC schedule will help fourth-seeded Lawrence when it plays host to fifth-seeded Freehold at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Central Jersey Group IV quarterfinals.
"It’s been a great year in our league very exciting," Tarrant said. "Our three league losses were by a total of nine or 10 points. We could have been 12-0 in the league. It was really exciting."
NOTES: Last season, Lawrence lost to Red Bank 61-32 in the Central Jersey Group III quarterfinals.
Hightstown lost to Hopewell 49-41 in the county tournament semifinals Feb. 18 at Mercer County Community College. The Bulldogs advance to face Trenton in tonight’s (Thursday night’s) tournament final at MCCC.