The Bordentown Regional High School boys’ basketball team may have been eliminated from the state tournament one game shy of a visit to the sectional championship, but the players still have plenty of reasons to hang their heads high.
Bordentown secured a spot as the fifth seed in the Central Jersey, Group 2 state sectional tournament this winter.
The Scotties opened the state tournament at home with a victory on March 3 when they defeated 12th-seeded South Plainfield High School, 80-49.
Bordentown then earned a 64-57 road victory on March 5 against fourth-seeded Robbinsville High School in the state sectional’s quarterfinal round.
With the table set for a potential sectional championship appearance, Bordentown faced the top No. 1 seed, Manasquan High School, in the semifinal round on March 7 in Manasquan.
Manasquan displayed the prowess that will make it a strong contender to win the overall Group 2 state championship when the Monmouth County school defeated Bordentown, 80-67.
Bordentown’s season ended at 17-12 overall.
But among the highlights of this successful campaign was a 6-2 showing in the Burlington County Scholastic League’s Patriot Division. That record resulted in a division championship for the Scotties, their second straight and fourth in the last five seasons.
Perhaps the biggest component to the Scotties’ success this year was the dynamic scoring duo of seniors Gavin Shiver and Jordan Martin.
As one of Burlington County’s top scorers, Martin recorded 543 points this season in 28 games. Martin closed out his high school career with more than 1,400 points scored.
Meanwhile, Shiver followed not too far behind with 514 points in 28 games this winter. Shiver finished his high school career with 1,050 points.
Seniors Osvaldo Urena and Roshon Vankline provided support around the rim this winter as well. Urena finished with 236 points in 27 games and Vankline put up 212 points in 27 games.